Bite Review: Meovv’s “Drop Top” Doesn’t Find its Footing Until the Last Minute

Based solely on charisma and talent, Meovv are some of the most exciting rookies in K-pop. Their releases, on the other hand, have been a mixed bag. From their fun but uneven debut “Meow,” to the catchy but unpolished “Hands Up,” all of their songs to-date have a near-even split of positive and negative qualities.

This trend continues with “Drop Top,” the title track from their first EP. Interestingly, this time all of the song’s cons are gathered in its first two-thirds of its MV. Meanwhile, the track’s best qualities only come to the surface in the (literal) final minute.

Initially, “Drop Top” suffers from a startling lack of visual ambition. Compared to pre-release “Hands Up,” which was chaotic but certainly not boring, “Drop Top” is downright drab. Set after set offers nothing unique or appealing. It’s one boring interior after another, plus some unnecessary flashing lights, unflattering night vision footage, and a series of very artificial-looking arial cityscape shots.

Since the song’s lyrics tell a (sincere but predictable) story of breaking free from past challenges and forging a new, bright future, the MV probably intended the shadowy and character-less interiors to convey a sense of the doubts and hard times that had to be survived. However, there are a million more interesting ways to show that instead of eating up more than half your screentime with forgettable images.

Fortunately, the last part of “Drop Top” offers more creative moments. Heading into the second chorus, the members leap from a cardboard box into an open sky. Subsequent sequences that show them flying, shot in a naturalistic style, are genuinely captivating. There’s also some nice animation and a smart use of fish eye lens shots to add momentum to the final chorus.

This spike in visual ingenuity coincides with the best parts of the song musically. The song’s early verses are, frankly, catastrophic. The empty production style of “Drop Top” fails to balance the members’ powerful and emotive voices (many of the members have a singing style that calls to mind Black Pink’s Jisoo, who has always thrived within lush EDM or pop production). With nothing to play off of, their singing overwhelms the track, coming across as whiny and even pitchy. That’s before we even hit the brutally unrhythmic rap section that takes up the whole second verse. Meovv have already proven they can sing very well and rap decently, but “Drop Top” turns their strengths into weaknesses with its failure to frame their vocals appropriately.

The chorus has potential from the start. Nevertheless, it’s helped enormously by a genuinely beautiful bridge (the best part of the track by far) and the visual push of the MV’s last section, exploding for the first time into full life in its last iteration.

The final minute of “Drop Top” gives a glimpse into the good song it could have been. Taken as it is, however, it’s mediocre at best…and if Meovv are going to fulfill anything close to their full potential, mediocre material is not going to cut it.

(YouTube. Images via the Black Label.)