Song Review: PLAVE – Pump Up The Volume!

Initially, I dug my heels in when it came to writing about PLAVE’s music on this blog. As popular as they are, this “virtual” boy band almost feels like a different genre than K-pop. And despite their punchy rock sound, I haven’t found much of their music compelling enough to compensate for the lack of real life visuals. Still, my ears perk up whenever I hear a song title like “Pump Up The Volume!” I’m always ready to turn a track all the way up, and PLAVE seem poised to usher in a good time.

This rock song leans into the rollicking sound found in some Korean OSTs. You can practically envision the fun montage soundtracked by this music. Pump Up The Volume‘s driving beat and familiar melodies go down easy, but the song stumbles when it tries to go too cute. The second verse is a bit too cartoony for me, interrupting the DAY6-esque energy fueling the rest of the track. Apart from that, Volume is sturdy but unspectacular. The opening vocals possess a grit that promises more fierceness than we end up getting, though there’s some nice guitar shredding as we reach the conclusion.

In short, PLAVE’s concept already puts them at a disadvantage with me, leaving the music with a ton of heavy lifting to do. So far, I remain unconvinced.

Grade: C+