Review

Song Review: Everglow – Adios

In a year flush with debuts, Everglow’s Bon Bon Chocolat stood out thanks to its edgy sound. I wasn’t as enthralled with the song as others seem to be, but I’m always eager for more girl groups who push against the grain. New single Adios continues this approach, borrowing from BLACKPINK’s repertoire to craft what feels like a sonic sequel to Kill This Love. In doing so, Adios builds upon both the best and worst elements of its genre. It’s a striking follow-up for the group, but one that will likely polarize opinion.

Though I compare the song to BLACKPINK, Adios actually reminds me more of Stray Kids’ Side Effects. It’s not nearly as polished or interesting, but the track has a similarly instrumental-heavy structure. Side Effects managed to flawlessly tie its disparate moments together, but Adios feels more piecemeal. To borrow an old K-pop adage, it truly comes across as several different songs stitched together. Of these pieces, I’m not a huge fan of the hard-hitting trap rap that opens the track and continues throughout the second verse. These segments sacrifice hookiness for posturing, underlined by an irritating whistle that doesn’t do anything to set the song apart. This sense of monotony continues into the pre-chorus, which throws a forgettable melody over a stereotypical EDM build.

After an extended bout of whispered refrains, Adios explodes into its central instrumental drop. While this production has nothing on the intense psytrance of Side Effects, its brassy blast feels like the hook that Kill This Love was aiming for. There’s nothing remotely original about it, but the unabashed bombast is welcome. I like the girls’ militaristic chant as well, even if it’s not particularly melodic. Thankfully, the song ends on a high as additional brass is brought in for a sucker punch of a climax. I may still not be completely sold on Everglow’s discography, but I appreciate the energy.

 Hooks 7
 Production 8
 Longevity 7
 Bias 8
 RATING 7.5

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13 thoughts on “Song Review: Everglow – Adios

  1. Something felt very jarring about the transition into the pre-chorus melody. There was just nothing in the instrumental to make it feel like a cohesive continuation from the choruses. The song does feel like an improved upon version of KTL, and the girls definitely sell it impressively on stage as well. Watching them perform this juxtaposed to their more restrained B-side (You Don’t Know Me), they definitely shine more on stage and have a more magnetic charisma performing this type of genre, so I can see why going with a song like this works for them, especially at such an early stage in their career. Seeing how g-idle has struggled ever since releasing Señorita, I can see the importance of having a strong performance piece for a rookie group. I just hope they can figure out a forward trajectory musically that improves on this and transitions into something you really want to listen to on a music playlist without needing an accompanying performance or music video to really enjoy.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Hey! You can’t write these things while I am drinking coffee.
      I was trying to place the chorus / hook melody yesterday because it sounded so familiar, and I think you nailed it. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.

      imho this is KTL with a few extra extras and a smattering of Whistle and ddu ddudududu, to whit
      F
      F again
      another F
      another nother F
      down to D (or Eflat here)
      back to F
      D again (Eflat)

      and then in this song continue down to Bflat.
      da capo al fine
      coda

      Like

  2. OK, to say something nice about Blackpink: despite only releasing about 2 songs each year, they do have influence because not only this song but the Ailee “Room Shaker” from July and CLC song from June all are heavily influenced by the BP sound.

    This song, here the Lisa-style line, here is the Jenny-style line, Here is where it gets Rose-like moody, here is Jisoo the quiet one with actual talent. (OK I said that.) I don’t even stan BP but I know their names which is more than some groups I do stan.

    It is debatable whether that is a good thing, depending on your preferences and biases, but it is happening a lot. Ailee song was the same, except the vocals were far better, of course.

    Like

  3. I thought this song was a hot mess and it was such a letdown because “Bon Bon Chocolat” was such a good song. “Piecemeal” songs like this live and die by the strength of their constituent parts and most of the sections feel like filler meant to mark time until a killing part comes, but it never delivers so the song just ends up feeling scatterbrained.

    The song is just a sonic overload. It feels like it’s compensating for a lack of substance in the lyrics and melody by overwhelming us with sound and it just doesn’t work for me. This has never been my style though and I’m sure it would go off in a club, so they know what they’re doing.

    Liked by 1 person

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