IMFACT is a new boy group from the infamous Star Empire agency, also home to acts like ZE:A and Nine Muses. I’m a big fan of both of those groups, though I realize that their debut songs were less than amazing. IMFACT continues this pattern, making a bizarre debut with Lollipop.

The song attempts to combine what sounds like a vaudevillian-inspired tuba (or trombone?) with a modern dance beat. I appreciate the gesture, but I’m not sure that it works as well as it could. The vocals end up getting a bit lost in the mix during the verse, and it isn’t until the first chorus that things really click. On the plus side, the song has actually sounded better each time I’ve listened to it. I put that down to the hook, which is incredibly catchy, if a little basic. And once you’re able to process all the disparate elements fighting each other in the song’s production, the melody begins to stick. I also appreciate the vocals in the chorus, which remind me of a less polished Beast.

On a side note, the first time I heard IMFACT’s oft-repeated pronunciation of “lollipop,” I heard it as “lolita.” That’s going to take awhile to fade from memory. For native English speakers, its a strange placement — enunciating the “i” instead of the “loll.” But that’s kpop, my friends!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_CTPzCHElU