aespa is one of the few artists that kicks off this new week, returning with their third mini-album My World and the title track Spicy. This comeback follows the group’s pre-release single Welcome to My World, which dropped last week and is a song that I will review separately in the near future. Spicy also follows the group’s 2022 comeback Girls.

Spicy is quite a change to their last comeback and even aespa’s wider discography thus far. Their main title tracks have been of more of an EDM base thus far, but Spicy manages to spice it up with a more pop-leaning comeback. Despite that however, Spicy still manages to conform to aespa’s roots, featuring textural form of EDM, dynamic bass and heavy beats – all of which still manages to make an intense statement. Not once did I feel the instrumental was overwhelming, which easily could have taken over hadn’t it been for the members (more on this in just a second). I liked the more vibrant and brighter tone the synths take on, while the dynamic profile of the instrumentation felt very suitable for the upcoming Summer season that I keep mentioning about. The pop side of the song comes through via the melodies choruses, which by far is my favourite part of Spicy. I am surprised that Spicy managed to still incorporate such pleasantly executed melodic flourishes in such an intense piece. This is mainly achieved by the members and their powerful vocals, which Spicy undoubtedly puts on full display. Upon reflection, the hooks are a bit cringy in my opinion, but I have managed to overlook this during each listen I have given Spicy so far. The rapping is more contained in the verses of the song. But while they pretty much were on par with the intensity of the song in the verses as well, I personally felt that the verses just weren’t as memorable. Hence I can’t justify giving Spicy a perfect rating. But they were so so close to earning it had it not been for the lesser memorable verses.

For once, aespa is not in their virtual world or a built set. I was prepared to see their a virtual landscape and some super cool graphics. But seeing them in actual sunshine and the real world feels very refreshing. That being said, we do get a virtual reference via the glitchy background. A nice subtle nod to their concept as a group. I really liked the confidence that the members instill on the viewers throughout the video. The music video also features some fun moments, such as a car falling from the sky into a reserved parking spot at the start of the video and the frozen-in-time party (which actually looks quite cool).

From what I can see in the music video, it appears the choreography aspect of the comeback is the weakest. None of the moves that featured in the video highlights their performance skills that the members have shown in the past. The most promising moment in the routine was during the bridge of the song (which kind of serves as the instrumental/dance break). The moves here were sharp and showed potential. But I just feel the rest was a bit plain.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 8.5/10
Performance – 6.5/10
Overall Rating – 8.4/10