HOT ISSUE (aka. 핫이슈/Honest Outstanding Terrific Issue) is S2 Entertainment’s latest girl group. Consisting of Nahyun, Mayna, Hyeongshin, Dana, Yewon, Yebin and Dain, this group debuted today with the mini-album ‘ISSUE MAKER‘.
Let’s check the music in this release.
ISSUE MAKER
An edgy sound and intense synth opens up this release in ‘GRATATA‘, this dance track is the title song for this EP and has a super catchy hook and chorus. The harmonizations are super in this song, and the balance of rapping and vocals is good.
The music video shows the members in fierce looks and a very cool attitude. Watch it below.
‘Dunga Dunga‘ takes over with latin-pop vibes and a very fun and up-beat tempo. The rap-line in this track stood out for me, they absolutely killed it. The harmonization of the vocals in the pre-chorus was super smooth.
Co-composed, co-written and co-produced by Dana, and co-written by Hyeongshin, ‘Hide In The Dark‘ plays next. The R&B feel in this song mixed with the electronic beats and the piano are just a fantastic mix, it made the song super emotional and unique.
This track is rather unexpected after the previous two songs, but I am glad to see that they are experimenting with their sound and style. The vocal line took over and owned it.
We continue with the R&B inspired sound in ‘Purple‘, the groovy bass in this track is fantastic and the ad-libs are total perfection.
Last on this release is ‘We Go‘ with a fun, playful and up-beat tempo, this song borderlines bubblegum pop and it is a lovely musical addition to this release. Super cute.
HOT ISSUE went for a debut mini-album where they explore different genres and nailed all of them. Make sure to listen to this release here.
