Song Review: ATEEZ – Ice On My Teeth

ATEEZ’s career has been divided neatly into series: Treasure, Fever, The World, and now Golden Hour. I’m sure hardcore fans will be able to identify sounds and storylines that make each series unique, but to the casual listener the group has retained many of its musical hallmarks across all these eras, favoring sonic bombast and hip-hop swag. New single Ice On My Teeth tilts toward the latter, further exploring the sounds found in this spring’s Work.

To be honest, the title “Ice On My Teeth” had me side-eyeing this song before it was even released. I’ve been quite vocal about how tired I’ve become of braggadocious, look-at-me, I’m so cool/rich/bad/whatever songs in K-pop. There’s nothing new left in the tank when it comes to this subject matter and it’s become a crutch for the industry. However, ATEEZ subvert expectations here by going quite subdued and bolstering the otherwise unremarkable trap beat with ornate strings embellishment. In many ways, this is a dramatic departure from the group’s singles run and that adventurousness is appreciated.

Songs of this style don’t always appeal to me and I’m unconvinced by Ice On My Teeth‘s silly centerpiece (we seriously need to dial back on English lyrics if they’re going to be this bad), but the track delivers a mood that’s more refined and engaging than their past few efforts. By dialing down their usual intensity, the listener is brought closer to the music. Beyond its symphonic elements, there’s not much about Ice that will keep me coming back for more, and I crave a stronger set of melodies and more colorful selection of rap verses. I can’t help but imagine what a pioneer like G-Dragon could have done on this track. Keeping with the spirit of the production, ATEEZ’s performance feels overly muted —  but boy is that instrumental a beauty.

Grade: C+