Song Review:: AM8IC: LUKOIE- Link Up {Debut}

• Release date: 2025 November 10

• Album tracklist: Paracosm, Link Up, Escher, Buzzin', LUKOIE, Black Moon

• Album runtime: 15 minutes

 There are two pre-debut songs I have to cover, because with The Show vanishing and ASC being canceled, the rookies and the smaller groups need more active attention than ever if they want to have a shot at surviving. If they’re good, I want to help introduce more people to them. The whole lot of them are twenty-one or older, which is great. All of them are also Chinese, which is kind of cool. One of them is a Carat, so I automatically like him. Fingers crossed. I did get up early to vote on The Show and heard them perform. Live vocals, which was good. Supported some of my grumping, which is less good. And now that I’m awake again (for good this time, and properly awake), I don’t remember what they sounded like other than some breathing in the mics. That’s no shade to them; I fell back asleep after my alarm and the only reason that I woke up to even hear them perform was because my phone started playing the livestream. So, here we are. Hopefully the song is good because my grumpy, mostly asleep self clearly had opinions about them live.

This is a fascinating track. I understand now why I was confused last night (and grumpy, I’m in a constant state of grumpiness if I’m woken up, even if it’s for something I want and like) when the song started because I couldn’t tell that a song had started. This sounds a lot like a specific track from a specific movie soundtrack with more of a normal beat layered over the top. I mean, the beginning of it is so familiar. I cannot place it though. That being said, the combination of the two sides of the song is genuinely fascinating because it’s multi-faceted. Also, I love the squeaky door closing at the beginning.

I’m remembering what Grumpy Sleepy Fangirl was thinking while listening to it. The song is too high. Normally I whine about high songs for the girls and how that forces their choreography to be a certain way if they don’t want to sound breathy during their dancing. This does translate over to the boy groups when they have to be in falsetto. It’s generally difficult to be in falsetto and still have a well-supported voice, especially with a rookie group that doesn’t have the stamina of some of the older groups, but that’s a simple fix. Now, that being said, I do like this song. It doesn’t turn my brain to goo, but it’s pleasant enough and there’s enough variation in the tone that I can handle it on repeat. I think it’s the consistent volume that makes it less enthralling than it should be for me. But this is nice.

You know, I don’t generally expect anything past my birthday to be spooky, but that’s exactly what we got here. Y’all, this music video might have to get added to the Halloween recs for next year. I am here for this. I'm also now really curious to hear what Black Moon sounds like.