It’s exhausting to consider that SF9 shall be celebrating their tenth (!) anniversary subsequent 12 months. Their discography has remained remarkably constant, and each as soon as and awhile they’ll pull out a complete stunner. As with a lot of their current releases, Love Race sees their group configuration barely diminished with six out of eight members selling this time round.
Listening to the album’s spotlight medley, it grew to become instantly clear I’d take pleasure in a number of b-sides greater than that title observe. This isn’t a brand new phenomenon with SF9 as they have an inclination to have no less than one standout album observe on every of their initiatives. However whereas Love Race isn’t at all times my factor, the complete tune is stronger than the teasers urged. Its worst instincts (the cringy, overdone post-chorus chant) aren’t an enormous a part of the observe and the general association unveils a extra boisterous sound than anticipated.
After an atmospheric purple herring intro, Love Race swerves right into a guitar-backed verse characterised by slurry melodies perched someplace singing and rap. The instrumental has a grungy 90’s texture that would have been developed into a really distinctive sound. As an alternative, the type is bent to the whims of a extra standard Ok-pop template. Nevertheless, the primary half of every refrain widens the scope of the music in a satisfying approach, including a contact of bombast that works properly. In my thoughts, this tune pairs properly with OnlyOneOf’s equally race-themed seOul drift from two years in the past.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Manufacturing | 8 |
| Longevity | 9 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8.25 |
Grade: B