Release Date: January 16, 2023
Track Listing
- Stamp On It
- Goddess Level
- Alter Ego
- Rose
- Outlaw
- Mala
Review
On December 23, 2022, it was announced that GOT the beat would return with their first EP, Stamp On It. The album’s self-titled lead single was performed during the SMTOWN Live 2023: SMCU Palace@Kwangya concert giving fans a sneak preview of what to expect from the group.
Stamp On It is a less chaotic and listenable version of their debut, Step Back. Thankfully there are no lame “back up off my man, bitch!” lyrics making the song worse.
However, the telltale signs of the current SM hybrid pop formula are firmly in place. Moreover, it sets the table for the rest of the album firmly, as every other song follows the same template in one way or another.
To what degree this is followed depends on the song. Much of the material on this EP sounds like it would be right at home on an aespa album. More specifically, the Savage era of aespa.
Alter Ego and Rose are songs that deviate slightly from everything else. Alter Ego, in particular, is probably the most “conventional” sounding of the tracks on this EP, where the shifts between different rhythms aren’t as jarring. By default, that makes it the most accessible song to take in.
Conversely, Rose is an R&B and Hip-Hop hybrid that would equate to the only “slow” song on the EP. Similar to Alter Ego, it’s a straightforward type of track that sounds like something that would be fitting on Red Velvet’s recent albums. So if that is your thing, you’ll dig this track.
While listening to this EP on a loop, I concluded that if the other tracks on Stamp On It were streamlined to use beats like the cool R&B breaks within them, they would be much better. But zoomer music is the trend for SM these days, so that is only a pipe dream.
I don’t find Stamp On It to be that great, apart from the two songs I mentioned. I’m probably not the target audience for this style of music, to be honest. But if you smell what SM is cooking currently, you should have no problems with this EP.
