New Release Friday: BLACKPINK Mark Their Comeback - ‘DEADLINE’ (EP)

BLACKPINK: DEADLINE (EP)

SCORE: 60/100

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BLACKPINK have been a longtime K-Pop favorite of mine, but it is highly unfortunate to see the state in which the genre has been in for the last few years, with a steady decline affecting every single group in the genre, and artists like Katseye lead this harsh, Westernized decline.

The unfortunate thing about K-Pop is just how hard the groups attempt to root themselves in Americanized aesthetics to appeal to a Western audience; this means that their music only works for a very highly selective group of people, and the outskirts of the fandom are left wondering why a genre that was once so expressive is so devoid of anything worth listening to or resonating with.

Not only is this EP an example of the cultural loss that K-Pop has endured, the group also chose to work with both Dr. Luke and Diplo, both of whom have been involved in sexual assault scandals, with Dr. Luke being one of the most heinously disgusting and evil figures in all of pop music - meaning that it is impossible to go into this project without noting this misstep in their choice of staff.

The writing on this EP is incredibly sloppy and full of lyrics that are nearly laughable, and everything feels scarily rushed for a project that was so many years in the works. It feels as if the members will never find the maturity that they need, and members like LISA are holding the entirety of the group back in its quality. 

Despite some good beats and jumpy production as well as "fine" vocals, everything just feels lazy and washed out - continuing the striking trend of K-Pop becoming a severely mistreated genre. It isn't the worst EP without a doubt, and songs like 'JUMP' are incredibly fun, but it's impossible to not notice the drop in quality after the first two songs, where the EP goes from mid-level/decent K-Pop to more of the grating, trap heavy music that has plagued the genre in the 21st century. 

You're better off listening to the first two tracks and skipping the rest, and then you have yourself a great little K-Pop project - but if you stay for the whole EP? You may start to wonder what the future holds for the group.