One of the longest running groups of all time has finally made their comeback with their 10th studio album in celebration of their 15 years in the industry. For any of the new KPOP fans who are wondering, I am talking about Super Junior, who made their debut way back in 2005. Their 10th studio album is titled The Renaissance and features the title track, House Party. Previously, the group was teased their 10th studio album release with the pre-release The Melody. The album release was also originally scheduled for a December 2020 release, but was later postponed to February 2021. It was once again postponed until March 16th, which was when the album and new single, House Party, was officially released.

For the most part, House Party was a decent song. The song delves into funky pop track. It is something that Super Junior has done before. But this has less quirks than their usual releases and feel relatively more plain. However, at the same time, I do think Super Junior manages to infuse their own character and showmanship into the song. Furthermore, I think the plainness is offset by relentlessness of the song’s energy, which is practically 100% throughout the song. I also find their rap centric delivery to be quite engaging, despite it falling more to the cringy side of the spectrum. Their vocals during the chorus where they are all singing together really make the song feel more wholesome and feel-good. This momentum continues into the second verse, until we are interrupted by the most ill fitting trap hip-hop breakdown sequence ever. My reaction to it the first time around was a jaw drop and a confused look on my face. And while I do want to go back to replay the song for those funky feel good vibes, I have to brace myself as they lead us into this unnecessary edgy sequence in the song. Another aspect which I don’t like about this particular sequence is how much it felt like an insert. There is no transition into this segment. There was no attempt to blend it in or build up to it, which could have potentially made it sit a bit better in the song. It to me broke the song and I am left gutted by this as I was enjoying the high that they had going on preceding the second verse. Even though they returned to the what they started off with, House Party is left impacted by the sudden poorly thought out breakdown in the second verse.

I don’t know about you. But I expected something a little more along the lines of a house party, given the song’s name, and not just a house dinner. I am a bit disappointed on that part. But I guess the video make sense, given that a lot of our world are bored out of their minds because of quarantining and being in self isolation. And a dinner party with a couple of people, given that is what is most likely all you can do at the moment. Aside from touching on the current climate, the music video actually looks nice. I really like the elegant suits they wear. Their casual wear is a hit and miss for me. I did like the edgy black outfits they wore during the breakdown, though I am not exactly into the whole idea of shooting guns at your fellow members for no apparent reason. The music video had to do something edgy to match with that part of the song, so I acknowledge that. But even here, it looks really ill-fitting concept wise.

The choreography looks nice. I would have expected it to be a lot simpler, but I like it that they make sure the choreography matches the relentless nature of the energy exuded from the song. I also like how it still remains playful and looks fun as well.

Song – 6/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 7/10