Over their seventeen-month history, The Boyz have waffled between lighter and darker concepts. Long-time readers will know that I’m most inclined towards their funkier material, but November’s No Air ended up growing on me quite a bit. Nevertheless, I was excited to see that Bloom Bloom would bring them back to a bright, poppy sound. And really, this is about as lighthearted as they’ve ever sounded. The song sacrifices any sense of edginess in favor of its lethally catchy hooks.
The first few times through, I worried that Bloom Bloom’s chorus was too saccharine — almost whiny in its eagerness to bore its way into listeners’ memories. I’m still not sure how I feel about the higher-pitched vocal arrangement, but the song itself has proven to stick. Described as “electro house,” Bloom Bloom jettisons the expected 90’s influence and brings in a synth-heavy instrumental that draws upon fizzy electronics and vaguely tropical flourishes for an aural sugar rush.
The song plays it hesitant for most of its first verse, holding back the inevitable beat drop for longer than expected. This sense of anticipation gives the chorus quite a bit of punch. A prominent kick comes in to anchor the breezy melody and prevent things from going too cotton candy sweet. It’s the kind of song that probably would have worked better in the hands of someone like Astro, but The Boyz still prove up to the task. They’re at their best when the energy really gets going. Bloom Bloom has a few too many lulls for my taste, even if they result in some fun rap breaks and a momentum-building pre-chorus. Overall, this doesn’t quite match the high precedent set by Right Here and Giddy Up, but it’s another strong, upbeat entry in The Boyz’ discography.
| Hooks | 9 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 9 |
| RATING | 8.5 |
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The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
It’s ok. It is greatly helped for those of us over here that the chorus is kinda sorta in English. Bloom Bloom pow something something wow wow wow, wow wow.
I haven’t really listened to them but a few times, I usually thought their composer was trying too hard, both lyrics and music. Too many wow wow wow’s and eeny meeny miny mo’s. Too many,very slightly different chord changes that no one but Kevin from ReacttotheK would appreciate. Sometimes the choreo trying to hard to be Seventeen, which they aren’t (no one is).
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I like it! You can always count on The Boyz to release something fitting for the season, if nothing else. Definitely a very high pitched song, but I think it pulls it off. What I think is interesting is that it sort of sounds to me like a very strong B-side—both my friend and I agreed that Bloom Bloom and Clover kind of straddle the line between title and album track in an interesting way (this friend also said that Clover sounds like it should be the music for Mario Kart’s Rainbow Road, which I know I’ll never unhear).
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For me, Clover > Bloom Bloom. But, it’s produced by e.one so I’m not too surprised!
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I don’t love it as much as Giddy up or Right here, but this kind of upbeat fresh music is always welcome for me. Im curious what you think of the other two tracks? Personally, Clover is my album favourite!
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Clover is definitely the superior track and would’ve made a wonderful title track without sacrificing the spring concept they’re going for. I’ll write more about it in a “buried treasure” review sometime in the next few days.
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I’m also glad they’re back to a brighter sound, though I agree (as with most it seems) that right here and giddy up are still their highest point for now.
(Also, my repeat song at the moment is Neon by Yukika, was wondering if you heard it. It’s an interesting concept: Japanese city pop aesthetic but with modern visuals, sung in Korean by a Japanese singer. It didn’t pop out to me as hard as Yubin’s Lady on first listen, but it’s really stuck with me recently)
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If I had my way, they’d form a partnership with Albi Albertsson (composer of Right Here) and develop that sound further. Part of the reason their discography feels so scattershot is that they work with new composers for every title track.
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