Song Review: Nowadays – Why Not?

Given Cube Entertainment’s once-savvy position in the K-pop industry, I’m surprised how soft their launch of new boy group Nowadays has been. Their debut came and went without much fanfare, followed by a cover version of Beast’s Rainy Day. Neither of these tracks helped establish Nowadays as a unique group of their own, so first comeback Why Not has some catching up to do.

Honestly, I’m still not convinced. The song is one long boy group trope, from its shout-rap verses to the overstuffed, fussy percussion. However, Why Not‘s biggest struggle is its lack of sonic diversity. The entire track hits with the same (high) energy and forgets to funnel this drive into a variety of melodic and rhythmic approaches. The shouty chorus sounds much like those shouty verses, resulting in an exhausting listen that quickly grows monotonous. The guys sell a sense of fun but the song itself isn’t.

More frustratingly, I still don’t sense what makes Nowadays different from any other newly debuted boy group. Its members are clearly talented, but with material like this I fear they’ll quickly fall to the background. A rock-meets-dubstep dance break offers the song’s only taste of something different. Maybe lean further in that direction?

Grade: C