[Double Review] Draw You + One Summer – D1CE

When I look at my ‘To Review’ list that I posted on Twitter the other week (Shameless plug – Follow my Twitter @kpopreviewed), One of the artists on the list is D1CE (or D-ONCE), who made their debut last year with Wake Up. The group returned with Draw You back in mid-June and more recently with One Summer just this week. Given that they have a more recent release, I thought I check D1CE first and both their releases today in a double review to knock two songs in one go.

As mentioned above, Draw You has been out for a while and so has been sitting on playlist for a while now. That length of time has really allowed the song to grow on me, as the song failed to capture my attention the first time around (otherwise, I wouldn’t have left it two months on the list). Draw You is a mid-tempo ballad track that doesn’t really go anywhere for me. This is a feeling that has remained with me since day one. Aside from showing us that they are a vocally capable group, Draw You doesn’t offer much excitement or jaw-dropping amazingness. There are some good melodies, the instrumental was pretty pleasant and I enjoyed the rapping moments prior to each chorus. These are the elements that have grown on me over time. If I had to just sum up the song in a short description, then ‘luke-warm pleasant’ would be the term I use.

One Summer is the more recent release, actually dropping just four days ago. The song belongs to the Summer category, given how upbeat and vibrant the instrumental feels. I really like that high-pitch reverse water drop like sound in the background. It is rather repetitive, but it was a nice detail in this otherwise typical instrumental. I also enjoyed the use of synths throughout the song, which helped in this vibrancy department. If the group continued anything from their earlier song, it would be the solid vocals and rapping potential It just would have been nice if their vocals and rapping were presented alongside catchy hooks and melodies. This is undoubtedly an important aspect of any song. You lack the right hooks and melodies, you pretty much dulled the potential. What we got was pretty typical and lacked excitement. One Summer had a good foundation, but it just disappointed me with its skippable momentum.

Based on the music video, One Summer doesnt seem like a formal comeback (I have yet to see a live performance for this release). The members just sit around sitting to the song and there is a bunch of closeups of the members to give the video some variety. It is the type of video where you seen it once, you have seen it all. I did like their focus on blue in the group shots and the one colour dominance in the closeup shots. But other than that, there isn’t much else to the video. As for Draw You, the music video is a lot more interesting, in the sense that there is more to it. It is a artistic video, with the lighting and colours giving off a warming feeling (despite the cool blue colour corner). This makes sense as the song was all about being able to draw someone they were attracted to, based on their memories from seeing that person. The special effects also helped with that artistic factor as well. I really liked the sky effects and the minimialist vibe of the set they were in.

Interestingly, Draw You doesn’t feature any choreography in the music video. I find the moves are fitting for the song’s seperate section, as the mid-tempo nature calls for a choreography. However, I feel that the moves could have been finetuned to feel more cohesive, given how they go into a more hip-hop vibe during the rap sequences, which didn’t blend as well with the less loaded vocal moments (i.e. verses).

Draw You
Song – 7/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 6.5/10
Overall Rating – 7.2/10