The next album to be reviewed on my blog is KARD’s ICKY, which was released in May of this year. The mini-album features the pre-release single Without You, the title track ICKY, a remixed version of the pre-release track and three side tracks – a total of 6 tracks. The release of ICKY follows the news that the group had renewed their contract with DSP Media and begins the group’s world tour that is currently ongoing. It also follows the release of Re:, last year’s mini-album release.

1. ICKY (Title Track) – Click here to read the full review for ICKY. (7.5/10)

2. Without You (Pre-Release Track) – Click here to read the full review for Without You. (6/10)

3. Fxxk You – Fxxk You is one of two unit tracks on this mini-album. This one features Jiwoo and Somin, who both gracefully drop f-bombs in the song with their sexy yet smooth vocals. Obviously, the song is much more than just f-bombs (even though it is the most memorable line of the song), with the pair expressing their love to their partner. The melodies were so flowy and the Latin influence on the instrumentation was super effective. I really liked the how the electric guitar plays into that Latin influence. Fxxk You was such a charismatic and captivating listen. (9/10)

4. Been That Boy – BM and J.Seph are the two other members of the quartet and they bring us the second unit track. Been That Boy is a rap song that features trap and moombahton elements in its background. This combination brought a serious and subtly intense atmosphere that heightens the suspense and tension of the track. The two members each brough something different in Been That Boy. J.Seph brought power and speed which I would love to hear more of in future songs, while BM brought impact with his lines and delivery. (8/10)

5. CAKE – One of the things I don’t understand from this mini-album is why CAKE was not chosen to be the title track. The intensity and the sexiness that both the male and female members exuded from just their vocals and rapping alone was a highlight for me. The instrumental was dark and edgy, but also refreshing at the same time. And when I first heard this song months ago, I felt like it would have rivalled the likes of their more bombastic tracks like Bomb Bomb (which is my personal favourite of theirs). I also highly recommend that you check out the dance performance that was released for CAKE, as that pretty much captures all of the sentiments above I had for CAKE. (10/10)

6. Without You (Alok Remix) – Refer to the link to the full review of Without You above.

Overall Album Rating – 8.1/10