Have you heard? LE SSERAFIM are sizzling, scalding, searingly hot. But it’s a wanted heat: like the oasis in the desert, such musical plains had run dry for quite some time with the state of pop being so repetitive. However K-Pop’s girl groups are on it these days. Amongst our favourites, the most fearless of them all have just made their most recent effort welcome relief.
The titular song’s sound is pretty calm for LE SSERAFIM, but lets the girls show what they’ve got going on vocals-wise: the exact inverse of last year’s CRAZY, which simplified the singing for a catchier, repetitive direction. The gold-hued, fish-eyed fever dream that is the music video of “HOT” is yet another contender from girl groups these days that is pure, fresh art, down to the cinematography and Vegas wedding chic. The last dance under the clouds aflame is glorious.
As we’ve come to expect, LE SSERAFIM aren’t giving up on their spoken word poetry tradition at the front door of their releases, and track one of HOT, “Born Fire”, is yet another multilingual mood sampler, this time accompanied with an abundance of strings. Though we’re swimming in a pool of excellent girl group releases right now, “Ash” could be a standalone signifier that music is simply getting better. The head voice-residing chorus tickles the ear like the gentle synths that follow in its second part, wrapped in a reverb so mystical you’ll want to trap the immaculate vibes in a time capsule, just like Yunjin and Kazuha: “I want you to stop time.”
“So Cynical (Badum)” has a deep house chorus, but said house is so subtle it’s more like a shed. In a good way. “Come Over” makes you think, ‘Huh, this sounds like a Jungle song.’ And you’ll be delighted to hear the neo-soul legends really did wave their magic wand on the track. The collaboration with the fabulous band’s own J. Loyd and LE SSERAFIM hints at a beautiful future of unconventional music crossovers inventing new genres. The antidote to samey tried-and-tested pop.
As a whole the EP is a very chill and vibey endeavour, less like the addictive trendy pop as before, and more of a lovesong for your eardrums. LE SSERAFIM, certified hitmakers previously, have gotten even better than before. With a fun little Summer beat, standout B-sides, and the unmistakable confidence of girls that know what they want to be, we’re sure we can expect more gems from the girls in years to come.
HOT is out now. LE SSERAFIM can be found on Instagram here.