[Double Review] Wings + Let Me Know – PIXY

PIXY is next up on the reviewing schedule. And to date, I have missed both their debut and first comeback, so I will be reviewing them both here today! For those who don’t know PIXY, they are a six member female group formed through a collaboration between ALLART Entertainment (home to Park Jung Min, one of the members of the now inactive SS501) and Happy Tribe Entertainment (home of the currently inactive Boys Republic). The group consist of Ella (former member of Cherry Bullet), Lola, Satbyul (former member of GsA), Dia, Sua and Dajung (former member of SUPA). The members made their debut back in February with Wings and ‘recently’ returned mid-May with their first mini-album (Fairy Forest: Bravery) and the title track, Let Me Know.

First up is their debut single, Wings. Wings start out with very creepy whispering that really sets the scene. It is a very bold and intriguing start that brings forward horror and cult-like vibes. The rushed manner of this whisper felt like the member was inciting some sort of spell. As we move from the whispering introductions, the dance track becomes plain. Wings is essentially any other release out there that taps into the world of dark and angsty pop music. The instrumental feels familiar as a result and doesn’t really bring anything new to the game. And it is this that I didn’t pay much attention to it at first. I did like how the music continued the horror theme, however, giving the song that uniqueness to very well needed to stand out. As per most songs, casual listens have managed to snowball me into liking the song. What really grew on me was the shouty chanty style of the chorus. It might be overwhelming for some, but I felt it was what really sold me with Wings. It was addictive and felt very aligned with their horror concept for their debut. The final chorus was definitely set up to leave an impression, with the members sing-screaming their name over consistent percussion. It did, for me, at least. Elsewhere, their vocals and rapping were definitely shown off. Wings may not have started out as the promising debut. But it got there in the end.

Let Me Know faired a lot better initially, compared to Wings. While Let Me Know does fall more on the mainstream side overall, I think Let Me Know really nailed some aspects that I thought really helped me enjoy the song more. From the start, the song opens up with guitar riffs and complimenting synths. It isn’t as apparent here, but it actually become a refreshing piece in this song, especially following the chorus. I felt the vocals and rapping in the first verse alone already leaves a strong impression on you. If you feel the same way, then just wait for the rest of the song. The rapping in the second verse is a personal favourite of mine, along with the sweetness that the vocals in the bridge bring to the song). The pre-chorus brings in more percussive instrumentation that creates a great incline towards the chorus. I am a bit torn with the chorus, but I am leaning towards liking it at this stage. It takes on this brassy EDM style, which feels pretty standard and does also feel heavy-handed. I would have liked for something a little more vibrant and not so much heavy, like what we got here. I feel something more vibrant would have been a better fit for the song and the rest of the instrumentation in the verses. But it does have a level of explosiveness and definitely continues the momentum from the pre-chorus. Overall, Let Me Know does have an air of typicaliness to it. But it still shows off PIXY’s abilities, which increases my excitement for their future releases.

The music video for Wings earns big praises from me. The horror vibes we get from the song are translated extremely well into visuals for the music video. The start with the members in a corridor and the lights from the room flashing was very bold. Their black dresses, huge shoulder detailing and headpiece looked really fashionable and stylish as well! I also really liked the erratic nature of some of the scenes to match the erratic synths in the song, which helps give off that impression of going crazy. The crashing chandelier was also quite something. The members’ acting and facial expressions also needs to be acknowledged. The music video for Let Me Know is connected with the former music video, with flashes of Wings appearing throughout the video (although you blink, you will miss those flashes) and elements of Wings appearing in Let Me Know (i.e. flaming tree and butterflies). I would love to sit down and see what other connections there are. In a visual sense, Let Me Know has a bit more colour and mixes said colour with the black to create another stylish atmosphere. The closeups also highlight the visuals of the members and really helps create an aesthetic vibe.

Let Me Know impressively opens with five of the members holding up the last member with their legs. While it isn’t anything too crazy to execute, it is definitely a bold image to start your performance off with and it definitely got me intrigued to watch the rest. In addition to that opening, the animalistic side of the group comes out with this powerful choreography. For Wings‘ performance, I really liked how they didn’t hold back and their synchronisation made this a really strong choreography as well.

Wings
Song – 7.5/10
Music Video -10/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 8.4/10