Song Review: NEXZ – Saucin’

I love when a group surprises me, and last year NEXZ made it onto my personal bias list with the brilliant Beat-Boxer. This year, their even-better Mmchk solidified that status and had me looking forward to anything the guys released next. New single Saucin’ was premiered last week at KCON LA and draws heavy inspiration from Dutch Europop band Vengaboys. Given K-pop’s heavy, unending obsession with Y2K sounds, I’m surprised this particular sub-genre hasn’t been explored much before. Saucin’ isn’t as fully-formed or thrilling as NEXZ’s past few Korean comebacks, but it remembers one very important tenet: K-pop should be fun! This is a party track through and through and often flirts with becoming unforgiveably obnoxious. This description pretty much sums up 90s Eurodance as a whole, which just happens to be a genre I love. There are a few moments (the “wheels on the bus” interpolation) where I fear Saucin’ will tip right over the line and lose me, but overall I think we’re safe. The trouble with novelty songs is longevity. I have no idea how Saucin’ will fare in the long run. I doubt I’ll be reaching for it over Beat-Boxer or Mmchk in a year’s time. But as a vehicle for NEXZ’s color...