Song Review: Boyfriend – Starlit Voices

Whenever I write about a Boyfriend song, I find myself begging readers to go back and check out their discography. To my mind, they have one of the most underrated catalogs in all of K-pop — especially if you enjoy the work of producers Sweetune. Unfortunately, their last six years have been a series of dull anniversary releases, the kind of schlocky fan-song material that does a disservice to their killer legacy.

Starlit Voices (밤하늘을 수놓던 우리 목소리) is another soft, pretty mid-tempo to add to this pile of inessential anniversary tracks. This time, at least they try to recapture some of the strings-heavy drama of past work. But without a suite of instantly-memorable melodies we end up with a solid-but-unspectacular pop track — the kind of thing that might have been buried on the second half of an album led by much stronger material.

I’m not sure what a “starlit voice” is (can a voice be “lit” by stars?), but the song doesn’t give me the celestial vibes the title suggests. Instead, it spins its wheels with a series of sentimental turns, finally amping up the drama during its electric guitar fueled bridge. It’s too little, too late for this hesitant comeback. Go listen to Janus instead.

Grade: C