Release Date: March 20, 2023
Track Listing
- Young, Dumb, Stupid
- Love Me Like This
- PAXXWORD
- Just Did It
- My Gosh
- HOME
Review
NMIXX is a six-member girl group on JYP Entertainment. They originally debuted as a seven-member group in February 2022 with the single Ad Mare.
Their style of music, called MIXX POP, was defined by the single’s title track O.O., a mish-mash of different types of music into a single track. This kind of composition is polarizing. Some listeners will find the MIXX POP style refreshing, while others will find the lack of cohesion and haphazard tempo/genre changes a bit of a mess.
In September 2022, NMIXX returned with their second single, ENTWURF and the tile track Dice. This song also falls under the MIXX POP sound, but to a lesser extreme than O.O. For some, this would be the gateway into the NMIXX world as Dice was a bit easier to get into than O.O.
Plus, the b-side COOL (Your Rainbow) was a revelation since it stripped a lot of the noise from their song template, kept things simple, and allowed the members to carry the song with their vocal talents.
Fast forward to 2023, and NMIXX released their first EP, expérgo—their first as a six-member group after the unexpected departure of Jinni in December 2022.
The pre-release single Young, Dumb, Stupid is unlike their previous songs. Combining Hip-Hop with the familiar melody of Frere Jacques, Young, Dumb, Stupid could be considered a step backwards by those who prefer the chaotic nature of the MIXX POP sound.
The album’s title track, Love Me Like This, is equally not what fans of NMIXX were expecting. Compared to O.O. and Dice, this is a very safe K-Pop song. To me, it’s reminiscent of Wonder Girls’ Like This, so it’s a-okay in my book.
The remainder of expérgo follows the pattern of trying to shed their old sound in favour of a more ear-friendly style of music. And this could upset fans the most as they become a little ITZY-lite in the process.
That’s not necessarily bad, but how you feel will probably differ depending on what you believe works best for NMIXX musically.
Of the b-sides, Just Did It and My Gosh are the ones that garner the most attention. The former is the only song that sticks closest to the MIXX POP formula of yore, so if you are gagging for something close to that version of NMIXX, that is the song for you.
The latter is a mid-tempo pop song that allows the members of NMIXX to show off their vocals, similar to COOL (Your Rainbow). It’s nice to hear the members sing freely over an open, airy instrumental that allows them to channel their inner divas.
As I have hinted numerous times in this review, expérgo isn’t going to please everyone. It might cause some to write NMIXX off and curse JYPE for neutering them. But if you consider this album another part of NMIXX’s journey, you’ll probably enjoy it more and look forward to what else they can offer.
Buy expérgo Normal Version from YesAsia
