I wasn’t too kind with BVNDIT’s debut single Hocus Pocus, but it wasn’t because it was an objectively bad song. It just felt devoid of any unique point — like musical wallpaper that blended with every other like-minded, tropical-pop offering of the past few years. Luckily, BVNDIT have made a very quick turnaround with their follow-up, releasing Dramatic (드라마틱) only five weeks after their debut. The song doesn’t make markedly different strides from its predecessor, but its overall appeal is slightly stronger.
Dramatic doesn’t match its title. There’s little theatricality to be found, at least if you’ve been following K-pop trends since 2016. We’ve all heard this kind of vaguely tropical, instrumental-drop-as-chorus structure so many times, and there’s little to be wrung from its charms this late in the game. As a follow-up, it’s a sonic sequel to Hocus Pocus, and still doesn’t do much to set BVNDIT apart from their many peers. However, the girls pull off the style with polish.
This feels like the song I expected (G)I-DLE to return with after the success of last spring’s Latata. It’s very 2017/18, which is a shame. I hate to see rookie groups begin their career by hitching onto a trend that’s on its way out. But, Dramatic has the same verve that made Latata such a hit. Its rap verses (and ad-libs) are especially charismatic, sprinkled judiciously over much of the song’s running time. The instrumental drop is a bit ho-hum, but we’ve definitely heard worse. Even so, I’m gonna need BVNDIT to make an unexpected, impactful move with their next single. There are simply too many strong rookies this year for stylistically safe material like this to stand out.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.5 |
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The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
these girls look and perform like backup dancers, they’re just really boring
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My mind went to G-idle too, but G-idle has enough quirks to their music because they really write their own songs to make them more interesting.
Then I thought of – that other one – the one that debuted in Nov – but oh wait was it that other one, or perhaps the one with the red background and does the dance like this at the chorus drop, or … seriously I am listening to old Kville top song lists on youtube trying to find that other new group that came to mind that I don’t listen to, and yanno what, yeah this song it basic kpop. There are a dozen or more groups like this.
Technically it is “Bandit”, but to me they will always be Bundit.
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Definitely agree that I enjoyed this more than Hocus Pocus (PLT’s song of the same name remains superior). But it still sounds too dime a dozen for kpop songs and unlike (g)I-dle, they don’t show the stage presence/ charisma to make it really blow up. It looks like they’re doing fairly well in Korea regardless, but MNH should really be grateful they have Chungha to bring attention to them.
[Also I’m guessing you’ll be reviewing the Seventeen Japanese single that just came out. I’ve only listened once so far, and I’m loathe to let Call! which was my favorite title song from them last year to get surpassed so quickly but…. whew. The vocals sound great. It’s structurally and sonically reminiscent of home (especially with the empty space/vocals only play) in some ways but I was definitely more drawn to this on first listen. Also Jun got lines.]
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