Song Review: Hongjoong (ATEEZ) x Bazzi – ENOuGH

ATEEZ scored an unlikely viral hit with this summer’s Bad, which has led to more attention from the Korean public. Up until now, it’s felt like the group has drawn their biggest support from international audiences, but that seems to be evening out. However, international collaborations continue to flourish and K-pop loves nothing more than pairing with a once-buzzy artist about a decade past their commercial peak. Such is the case with this pairing. ATEEZ’s leader Hongjoong joins forces with American artist Bazzy, who enjoyed a brief time in the spotlight back in 2017 (a year before ATEEZ debuted!). And come to think of it, this song could have been released back in 2017 as well. It’s a sluggish sing-talk affair that puts atmosphere above all else. Both artists sound like they’re half-lucid. Slurred vocals are meant to evoke some kind of sentiment, but it all feels overly inert to me. ENOuGH‘s instrumental is quite sparse. There are a few interesting electronic textures here and there, but most of the production trudges with as much intention as the songwriting. And at just over two minutes, there’s no chance for the track to develop into anything worth slogging through. There’s a...