Continuing on from last week’s catch up, I have selected Stray Kids latest release as the next track to review. Stray Kids released a new mixtape single at the end of June titled Mixtape: OH. It is the group’s first release since Back Door last year and their participation on the survival show Kingdom: Legendary War. It is also marks the return of Hyunjin, who has sat out group activities (including Kingdom: Legendary War) over the last few months due to a bullying scandal. His return raises the anticipation of their impending August comeback. But ahead of that review, let’s give Mixtape: OH a listen.

Mixtape: OH takes on a melodic profile, which strays a bit away from the usual genre in which mixtapes are usually aligned with (i.e. hip-hop). It also strays away from their usual sound that they opt for in their main title tracks, which tends to be bold and dance-centric. But while it is different than ‘business as usual’ for the group, Mixtape: OH puts the spotlight on the group’s vocals. We have seen Stray Kids put out ballads before through their albums and have heard all the members sing in some capacity. So them showing off their singing abilities come as no surprise to me. And this song doesn’t really featuring any mind-blowing vocal work that wows or amazes me. Rather what makes this song a nice release is the pleasantness, which I find to be really glowing. This effect is partly due to the lightness of the vocals, but it also adds appeal to better position the vocals at the same time. Contributing to the glowing nature of Mixtape: OH are the instrumentals. The soothing nature of this release really encapsulates that pleasant description, with it being nothing less or nothing more than just that. I also like the soft jabs in which the instrumental has at the start of the choruses, which in turn causes the members to punctuate their delivery in a similar manner. It was a good effect and one that I felt to be the most memorable aspect of the song, music-wise. The tropical influence was also a decent touch to make this song feel somewhat refreshing for the Summer season (and not like a heavy ballad that otherwise would have been ideal for Winter). Mixtape: OH is a strong showing from the members, even though it isn’t their best (and I don’t think it is meant to be their best). Though, it does get me into the mood for more Stray Kids, which is certain to come within a blink of an eye.

First things first, welcome back to Hyunjin. It is definitely nice to have the full group back together again. Now, onto the rest of the music video. In their previous Mixtape music videos, we have seen a bit of a story come together. In Mixtape: Gone Days, we saw the members close to one another as friends in a classroom setting. In Mixtape: On Track, we saw the friendship of some of the members tested when two of them fall in love with a female classmate. And now, in Mixtape: OH, it seems like that friendship had broken down with each of the members going their separate ways and acting cold to one another. Based on what we see in the video, the member do miss those olds days in which they were together. But we dont see them come back together by the end of the video. However, Felix wishes for the members to return with the help of his birthday cake. So if there is another mixtape release, I believe that would be the subject of the next music video.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 8/10
Overall Rating – 8/10