Making their return this week is KickFlip, who returns with their 5th mini-album, Kick Off The Wall Pt. 1. This mini-album features the title track of the same name (sans the Pt. 1 bit and features rapper iann dorr) and the pre-release single Puzzle Piece. This review will focus on the title track. It’s the group’s second comeback of the year, following their earlier My First Kick and Eye-Poppin’ era.
Kick Off The Wall continues KickFlip’s pop-rock sound and blends it with electronic elements to create a super cool, dynamic track. It is one of the elements that really sold me on this track on first listen. Everything melds together so well (the chorus is a great example of how the pop-rock and synths come together cohesively), and the synth-dominant instrumental break is a textural wonderland. The members are very lively and punchy throughout Kick Off The Wall. I enjoyed how they channelled the instrumental’s dynamic nature. The song’s hooks also add to that punchiness. This definitely gives Kick Off The Wall its catchy, addictive quality. It was pretty hard to put the song down. iann dorr is given the bridge to rap in, and I liked how it doesn’t shortchange Minje’s rap sequence. Both sounded great! Actually, I also like how his bit fits into Kick Off The Wall and sounds just as lively and dynamic as the members.
My biggest issue with this comeback was the music video. Not the whole video, but where they used a specific post-production technique (green screens). The opening scene to the first chorus looked so bad and cheapened the video. Similarly, the pre-chorus sequence before the second chorus, where the members broke down walls and kicked up dust, felt the same way. Those scenes could have been refined a lot more. JYP Entertainment is a big company; surely they could have done better. Though it was nice to see the featuring artist in the music video and alongside the members at the end.
The performance aspect was really good. The best parts are the choruses, where the energy is highest, and the members embody it well. The dance break was also super cool. On the flip side, the dance moves during the verses could have been more interesting
Song – 9/10
Music Video – 7/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 8.2/10
