Song Review:: MEOVV: TOXIC- TOXIC

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  • Release date: 2024 November 18
  • Album tracklist: TOXIC, BODY
  • Album runtime: 5 minutes

 I'm glad at least the title track is the length it is. So, when I originally reviewed their debut, I wasn't as paranoid about ages because I didn't realize Max and Taemin situations were as common as they are, which is nauseating. MEOVV, thankfully, does not have a Max or Taemin situation. But she was still only fifteen at debut, and is still only fifteen because she doesn't turn sixteen until next month. But I really liked their debut song.

The first twenty or so seconds of the song have incredibly subtle instrumentals with a very low pitch to contrast the feminine voice singing, and then an occasional tink is added. This continues for roughly another twenty seconds before everything smooths out and the instrumentals transition to simply a piano. All of this adds up to the first minute or so of the song being completely dominated by the voices which are allowed to shine in a way we don't often get even from groups who are established heavyweights in the realm of vocals. But even then, the instrumentals never go much above a whisper. The song is borderline acapella, and I am so impressed by that.

After their burst of energy from their debut song, this is their attempt at a version of...Okay, I don't have a lot of experience with a lot of recent pop music, but I'm thinking maybe Billie Eilish? Basically the entirety of my knowledge of what she sounds like is from the Barbie movie. But also, I think there are some strokes of similarities here. Frankly I like that they went for wildly different sounds with their first two singles, but I also know that it is important to consolidate concepts at the start for others. They really, genuinely have good voices, and I like the fact that they got the chance to highlight that fact. I'm curious to see what they sound like live.

The music video is bleak in a way that's fully befitting the kind of song this is. Bleak and beautiful. I'm not necessarily sure that it affects my enjoyment of the song one way or the other, but I'm also not going to argue with anyone who feels that the music video enhances the song, because I could in fact see that as being the case. 



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