When it comes to boy group releases, 2020 has been lousy so far. In fact, I looked back at my reviews for the year, and it’s been three whole months since I rated a K-pop boy group title track above an 8.25. That’s kind of staggering, and totally unprecedented when it comes to the history of this site. Almost every 2020 boy group release has sounded interchangeable – moody, dark and stuffed to the brim with trap hi-hats. Given CRAVITY’s young age and its members’ bright personas on Produce X 101, I hoped they’d deliver something more upbeat and playful. But, despite its title, Break All The Rules breaks absolutely no rules whatsoever.
This doesn’t make Rules a bad song, but it does make it an underwhelming debut. Though plagued by other issues, Starship Entertainment has largely done a good job giving each of its artists their own unique sound. However, CRAVITY feels too much like a younger, less aggressive Monsta X. You can’t blame the agency for chasing successful trends, but I really had my fingers crossed for a Boyfriend version 2.0 or a male take on WJSN’s spacey sound.
Instead, Break All The Rules offers a more melodic version of NCT 127’s guitar-fueled Kick It. The pulsing instrumental is the song’s strongest element, bringing a satisfying drive to the verses and chorus. In between, we get one of those generic, trap-laced builds that does little to set the group apart. Rules’ chorus is a little amorphous for my taste. I like the vocals, and parts of the melody actually remind me of second generation K-pop. But overall, this hook feels aimless – in search of one killer refrain that never quite materializes. And more than anything, Break All The Rules’ silly posturing just isn’t the kind of image that will help CRAVITY stand out. The group has tons of promise, but they need their own perspective. As much as I was looking forward to this debut, my 2020 boy group flat line continues with yet another cut-and-paste, could-be-anyone effort.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 7.75 |
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The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
You captured all my thoughts on this exactly. The song is okay but I was pretty let down when it turned out they were going to make the same kind of music MX has been making, I was truly hoping for Starship to give them something different. Maybe they’ll get there eventually.
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……………………………………..Yawn
This song is soooo boring, now while it does have some nice vocals its just so….meh
I’d go as far to say that this is worse than Dr. Bebe, and that breakdown isn’t doing this track any favors. I just can’t believe how Starship gave them a prologue film which was so interesting and dump that away for a release that’s so pointless. Along with a basic song, they ditched their plot lines and went for a super basic MV. Sure it looks good at times but wheres the personality, wheres the flair? And what happened to that story they started? What the hell was Starship thinking and why does this exist?
Please, please, please, please, Got7 please release something good. Please break the boy-group curse. I don’t care if you keep those messy verses, just give us a good chorus, a You Are Pt.2, a refined version of lullaby. It doesn’t matter anymore.
Also I’d like to add that Monsta X is having a comeback and if their comeback sounds anything like this………….
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Just at about the second chorus when watching the video for the 3rd time or so, I found myself wondering “wait, if this is the actual MV, then what was that prologue for?” Although, in hindsight, they do seem to be using some kind of small power of telekinesis or something, so it seems akin to EXO’s MAMA, perhaps.
Now, the song. Although I find it quite generic, I do like the buildup to the chorus, but then the accelerating percussion starts and when they say “let’s break all the rules”, that’s the climax, with all going downhill from there. I think the actual chorus breaks the flow of the whole song too much and it doesn’t recover again from that second verse.
Although I do expect great things from them yet, given the rest of the album, and I beg to differ from Nick with the identity issue. I mean, they do lack it, but I don’t think it’s THAT important if they manage to make solid releases. Not everyone’s gonna be Infinite in such a saturated industry. I’ll content myself with a decent song while hoping for the rare Crooked or MAMA.
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Also was I the only one who noticed the similarities between this music video and EXO’s Tempo?
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The amount of cubes on display do make it seem similar xD
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You aren’t, like clockwork a bunch of EXO-Ls on Twitter are making threads on all the similarities and accusing them of plagiarism….as usual lol
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They need to relax the similarities aren’t that bad
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cravity is good group , feel there music , they are not trash
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Don’t worry they aren’t trash, and have some good things going for them. The members are great and hold a lot of potential. Its’s just that I was extremely excited for their debut and had many strong feelings once I realized I wasn’t going to like it that much. Though I have to say, some of they’re album tracks are pretty good but I just wished they had their own unique colour. But not to fear, I’m sure they’ll improve with time, hopefully.
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*their*
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Top of the Chain and Cloud 9 are so much better!
This is just meh.
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Top of the Chain deserved to be the title track tbh. that song is phenomenal.
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I agree that it’s a good song, but it doesn’t fix their identity issues. Still sounds like Monsta X lite.
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Boring and generic that is all
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Why is everything so predictable nowdays ? I feel like I’ve heard this song hundreds of time, here is your verse, then your soft-toned prechorus with your speed-up instrumental and the (not-so-great) chorus. I rolled my eyes when the rapper came into the second verse.
It’s not a bad song but I can’t say what this group has more to offer than another and nothing makes me to want to know. Last week I wrote about how I didn’t like MCND’s two releases, I probably found their two songs less good than this one, but I recognized some potential and didn’t want to be too negative because at least they tried.
When will we go out of this infernal spiral ? Where are the flashy sounds and the bright coloured MV ?
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Just…..generic. I thought the first 10 seconds percussion have promises, then the trap started coming in and i thought “Ah, another one of those.”
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I like the instrumental of the chorus and dance break. Unfortunately, the verses and the melody of the chorus stopped the song from going anywhere. Maybe they should have pumped up the second verse rap part more (like Ateez – Wonderland?)
It really reminds me of TOO – Magnolia…
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Am I the only one who actually likes Magnolia? The poor boys are going to RtK with half of the world making fun of them now…
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Basic boy band.
My mind went to the wonder that is Jopping. Well, at least here the lyricists didn’t invent words, but they did break all the rules, criminal. I feel the burning.
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there amazeing
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