[Review] XOXZ – IVE

IVE made their return at the start of the week with their 4th mini-album, IVE SECRET, and the lead single XOXZ. It is their first overall release since their July Japanese comeback with Be Alright and their first Korean comeback since their 3rd mini-album IVE Empathy, which featured singles REBEL HEART and ATTITUDE.

Except for last year’s Accendio and TKO from their previous mini-album, whenever IVE has promoted a song with an edgier and darker style, it has been a miss for me. The new single XOXZ appears to follow that trend. The choruses were the biggest miss in the entire song, in my opinion. It was very dry and lacklustre. There was some good to be found in the chorus, such as the dramatic flair in the instrumental and the whispery delivery of the XOXZ title. However, somehow, putting all of that together just didn’t have the desired impact and created a fizzler of a centrepiece. The fast-spoken lines should have been an intriguing component, but the execution just didn’t stick with me and was easily overlooked. A similar comment can be applied to most of the song. However, it isn’t all bad news for XOXZ. I really liked the ethereal pre-choruses. It is just a pity that the follow-through (i.e., the chorus) was a let-down.

The music video for XOXZ unfolds as a dream, starting with a truck crashing through the window of a high-rise apartment. This is then followed by the dream version of IVE taking the sleeping member on a journey of her dreams. I really liked IVE’s edgy looks throughout the music video, and I feel elements of the video call back to IVE’s Accendio‘s music video (i.e., the goat horns). The only aspect of the video I didn’t like was the dings that start to appear during the bridge portion and in the ending card. It just made the video feel overly cheesy.

The performance aspect of the comeback was pretty good. Nothing stood out on its own, but rather the choreography (as a whole) did a decent job of encapsulating those edgy tones from the song. I also enjoyed the balance between the members’ cuteness and power in the routine.

Song – 6/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 7/10