[Review] Whiplash – aespa

With each comeback, aespa is growing further in popularity. They completely smashed with the pre-release single for their last comeback, Supernova, and followed up similarly with Armageddon. Now, the group is back to do all that again and go even further with their fifth mini-album and title track of the same name, Whiplash.

There are two sides to Whiplash—the exciting and the mild. For me, the exciting side of the song comes through the instrumentation. The catwalk strut energy from the electropop instrumentation (very on-brand for the group) in Whiplash is very prominent and something I cannot get out of my head. There were opportunities for Whiplash to be sharper, but the heavy bass makes up for it. As for the mild side, that was because of the members’ delivery. However, I don’t blame aespa for that. The serious tone from that catwalk strutting energy identified as great earlier probably stifles the material the members could bring forth. It constricts their ability to Whiplash feel robust and dynamic. Instead, that type of energy takes more of a back seat – it is still there, but it isn’t the driving force of Whiplash. As such, I don’t find their spoken delivery of Whiplash‘s title and chorus compelling. However, I am not calling it bad. This delivery does have its moments, particularly since it gives Whiplash a sophisticated and elegant feel. When the members get a chance to deliver some melodic lines, these parts add to that sleek feel. But when you compare their delivery in Whiplash to their delivery in Supernova or even Drama from the end of last year, Whiplash feels a lot drier and more effort to get through.

I have to say that the YouTube algorithm has been really pushing Whiplash since it dropped. However, I am not upset by this, as this music video was a spectacle. The members looked like models, embracing that side of the song. The video had a futuristic vibe that I found very cool, particularly with the camera elements in the beginning and the outdoor scenes. The choreography shots were simple but shot in a manner through camera work and angles that felt unique and different from all other music videos. Even the simple and empty backgrounds and text flashes felt sophisticated and artistic. To top it all off, the editing made what felt like a simple video into a complex masterpiece. Whiplash‘s video is definitely one to watch.

aespa combines their usual performance style with some sexiness to capitalise the music’s catwalk strut energy. And I am all for it. But I think the performance lacks that key defining dance move that I could associate with Whiplash. Nothing screams out strongly enough to be that move, which is disappointing given all of aespa’s title tracks in the last 12 months had a defining move for their given eras.

Song – 7.5/10
Music Video – 10/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 8.4/10