Review

Buried Treasure: Astro – All Good

Astro - All GoodA K-pop group’s title track isn’t always the best song on their album, even if it’s the one most people will hear. Sometimes, b-sides deserve recognition too. In the singles-oriented world of K-pop, I want to spotlight some of these buried treasures and give them the props they deserve.


I’m not super thrilled with the bulk of Astro’s new album, but I think you could pull four or five of the strongest tracks and have a really strong mini. Thankfully, One is my favorite Astro title track since All Night, and has already had surprising staying power. My other highlights tend to be upbeat, with the summery All Good standing out.

As with much of the album, this song doesn’t bring anything new to the table. But, I tend to enjoy these kind of brisk, energetic pop tracks. Astro’s vocals are especially well-suited to this material, and it’s fun to hear them back in their element. All Good is fueled by a whistled hook and uncluttered, synth-kissed dance beat. Its chorus is similarly straightforward, but takes its time unveiling two separate refrains that compliment each other well.

From the second verse on, the production kicks up a notch and we’re introduced to brass flourishes, synth strings and a looser structure that takes advantages of the track’s upbeat vibes. When All Good finally takes a moment to breathe, its tempo shift occurs during the bridge. This is the perfect place for it, and allows the track to build back up for the climax. It’s a buoyant finale that leads directly into All Stars, which takes a more electronic approach to this same energy. Back to back, they’re a fun blast of pop joy.

 Hooks 8
 Production 9
 Longevity 9
 Bias 8
 RATING 8.5

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4 thoughts on “Buried Treasure: Astro – All Good

  1. Yay, buried treasure! This one gives me Crazy, Sexy Cool but with a little more tempo and a little less sophistication. This really sounds like Astro again.

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    • On an unrelated note, I’m only just looking at the Atlantis teasers and I am beyond excited. It sounds and looks phenomenal.

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  2. When I first heard the album a couple of other songs made a bigger impression on me (Gemini, Stardust, Butterfly Effect) but I came across the M Countdown performance of All Good two days ago, and it was such a delight. It was refreshing, cool, summery, and everything gave me such happy vibes. This was the Astro I’d initially gotten to know, and while One is a perfectly fine title track (and really different for Astro in terms of their discography) All Good gave me that Astro sound I really love and I’m glad to see them coming out with something like this even as they try something else.

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  3. I think the second half of the album is much stronger than the first. I do love that they’ve really leaned into the cosmic theme this time. I feel like this is the first whistling hook I’ve actually enjoyed in a while. All Good is definitely my favorite song on the album, although I like One a lot too.

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