Song Review: ILLIT – I Got Your Back (ft. Hana’s Jisoo & Momoka)

ILLIT’s music has grown more gimmicky with time, often on the hunt for the best TikTok challenge rather than the best songwriting. This is more of an observation than a judgment because there have been plenty of great K-pop groups who built their careers around gimmicks in the past. But every once and awhile, it’s nice to be reminded that they can also be a solid, straightforward pop group. This reminder has appeared most frequently in their Japanese work and continues with new single I Got You Back. I Got Your Back gives ILLIT a pop-rock backdrop to work with and squeezes in two members of popular J-pop group Hana for good measure. It’s a fun time, even if the song doesn’t amount to much once its over. This is a brief spurt of energy, kicking up immediately and dispensing its shiny, singalong hooks in under two-and-a-half minutes. This doesn’t leave any room for musical bloat, but also prevents the track from taking any interesting chances. To its credit, I Got Your Back stuffs as much as it can into its brief runtime. Once the vocals begin, there’s hardly a moment the girls aren’t delivering some sort of spunky refrain. The tradeoff for this approach comes at the song’s finale, w...