Song Review: ALL(H)OURS – Dang Dang

Though they’ve released their fair share of duds, at its best ALL(H)OURS’ music offers creative production and the kind of addictive hooks that characterized many second-gen hits. I was no fan of their latest pre-release Hop, but the teasers for title track Dang Dang had me anticipating another compelling blend of genres from the guys. True to its advertising, Dang Dang melds EDM energy with heavy metal bombast. Those who are tired of K-pop’s urge to subdue its ambition (me! me!!) will find plenty to love here. Dang Dang is big, bold and unrelenting. In short, it kicks ass. It’s knowingly silly (the “hell yeah!” hook almost verges on parody), but delivered with a straight face and plenty of panache. And at a healthy three minutes and eleven seconds, the song leaves room to deliver the goods and then some. While Dang Dang might not be the melodic feast I’m usually in the mood for, it unleashes its hooks with a force so pummeling you have no chance to look away. Better yet, it ornaments its songwriting with exciting flourishes — a huge power note there, a combative breakdown there. The sheer amount of sing-talking has me hesitant to bump this up to a “9” rating, but I could see it ge...