The musical future of Hearts2Hearts is an intriguing one. Between their last comeback, Lemon Tang, which had the girls veering off from their usual soft chillness for a cheerleadery pop song (à la “Red Flavor” by Red Velvet), and the next, which we have as much of an idea about as you, Hearts2Hearts have release a handful of taster singles to keep the excitement going while we wait.
“ICONIC HEART”, released as a Japanese single and thus having the hyper sonic structuring of one, received its Korean version less than a month later, after listens had hiked up quite well for a non-Korean track. It’s got that typical magical girl chord progression, lead by future bass and other electronic elements, is brimming with optimism and a beat as up as the sky.
“Moonride” followed, which we expect to be on the girls’ next comeback EP or album. This is closer to what we’ve known Hearts2Hearts for: the sweet but calm bops that can work as both a song at a K-Pop dance club or study music. Their megahit “RUDE!”, heard on every high street in Seoul at least 1000 times, is the perfect exemplar of a good Hearts2Hearts song following this formula. While “Moonride” isn’t going to have the same immortality as “RUDE!” or “FOCUS”, it’s a very welcomed reminder of what we’ve come to love Hearts2Hearts for. The prechoruses are particularly lovely, directed with the beautiful vocals of Stella, Ye-on, Carmen and Yuha in their respective parts, with some lyrical magic that sums up the whole song:
Feel the new energy
When the clouds are within reach
I inspire you, and you inspire me
Just let yourself get lost in it slowly
The girls returned to this newer hyperpop style of theirs with single “Candy Box Lover” in collaboration with the animated series Catch! Teenieping. It might blend into the sea of countless sweet-sounding pop songs of this variety in East Asian pop, however one can’t deny the gorgeousness flowing across all Hearts2Hearts’ voices, and for that alone, makes even the most basic of their songs worth a listen.
Most recently they released another collaboration track “Next Chapter”, this time with the video game Arena of Valor. While it’s even more hyper than the previous, it does feature the odd interesting musical element, such as abundant orchestral hits in the choruses.
With these releases in mind, we can’t be sure if the magical joyride will continue into their next album, or if they’ll return to their softcore ways they started off with. What we have had reiterated to us though in these few songs is that vocal imperfection is unheard of to the girls of Hearts2Hearts. Those years of training have paid off, and we’re more than certain that even if the next album is full-on sea shanties, the girls will sing them beautifully.
Hearts2Hearts are on Instagram and all major streaming platforms. You can listen to their latest singles here.
