KARD – 'RED MOON'

Track List:

1. Go Baby

2. Red Moon

3. Enemy

4. Inferno

5. Dumb Litty

KARD has dropped their newest EP, 'Red Moon.' They released "Dumb Litty" last year to whet your appetite, so now we have a full mini-album. It contains 5 tracks, including "Dumb Litty" and title track "Red Moon."

The EP starts out with "Go Baby," pretty much a reggae tune. It's more slavish to the form than the reggaeton they made their name with. But in some ways, I'm glad to see them go back to what they started with. I also really like the aggressive, deep-voiced raps.

With "Red Moon," they distance themselves from reggae and go full-on EDM. This is a more filled out song than "Go Baby." It just feels like there's more to it. If you're not sick of EDM yet, then you should enjoy this one. It's danceable, catchy AF, and in every way a bop. I didn't like "Enemy" as much as I was hoping to. It feels like they wrote more than one song, but couldn't go very far with it, so they squished it all together in one track. I have to admit: it started out strong. And I like Jiwoo and Somin. But it kind of devolved from there, lacking a proper second verse, and drenching it in techno effects.

"Inferno" is a serious departure from the KARD sound. Not only is it the hardest song, most energetic they've done, it also lacks Jiwoo and Somin. No, this is BM and J.Seph's party. And they pull out all the stops here. It may not sound entirely like KARD, but in this case, it's a good thing. Probably my favorite song on the album.

We won't be covering "Dumb Litty," since it's a pre-release single from last year.

So KARD has a brand new style. They have wholeheartedly embraced EDM, for better or for worse. I have to admit when I first heard "Dumb Litty," I wasn't sold on it. But I have to say that they did a pretty good job here. They don't seem to have lost any of their earnestness or energy... The only thing I could ask for is maybe another verse, more lyrics, something. I fell in love with their voices and presentation. Maybe in future releases will see a little more of the old KARD, a little more of their personalities shining through.

MV REVIEW

"Red Moon" takes the 'band in a box' trope to new levels, but covers an awful lot of familiar ground.

And therein lies the conundrum: an awful lot of cool laser effects and rooms are shown here. Laser cages, mirrors, props seemingly suspended in mid-air, rooms with fancy lamps, walls painted red, and lasers dancing in front and behind them. All this and more.

My problem is: I've seen it before. All of it. Maybe in a slightly different form, but none of it was really new or original. A lot of this stuff is pretty familiar to anybody who enjoys boy bands.

But I also have to give credit where credit is due. Some of the angles were different, and I like how the lasers weren't stationary. And I talked about the angles -- that was fun to see the members from below, or far away. And the scenes cut from one to the other pretty fast. They don't linger for long. Keeping it moving kept it interesting.

There is no real fan service here, but there are the obligatory sexy shots. Face shots, maybe showing a bare shoulder, rubbing the back of a neck, etc. All there for no more reason than eye candy. That's not original either, but I do enjoy seeing Somin and Jiwoo, so there is that.

Objectively, I could have been bored. Subjectively, I probably should have been. But I wasn't, which means this video is a success.

Score

MV Relevance...........8

MV Production..........8

MV Concept..............8

MV SCORE: 8.0

Album Production.....9

Album Concept.........8

Tracklisting...............9

ALBUM SCORE: 8.6

OVERALL................8.3