It’s been over a full year since we’ve seen a comeback from veteran boy group CROSS GENE, and their first since Chinese member Casper left the group. The five remaining members are back with a new, sensual concept in “Touch It.” And the choreo is even complete with blindfolds.

The Music Video

Admittedly, the whole blindfold thing completely threw me off as soon as the video started. Nothing could emotionally prepare me for that kind of concept. But, if eye-catching is what they were going for, then it certainly worked. The aesthetic of the videography is dark, with contrasting neon lighting and a lot of natural elements—reminiscent of a mixture between UP10TION’s “Candyland” and VIXX’s “Shangri-La,” with a little bit of “Chained Up” thrown in the mix. Therefore it is safe to say that “Touch It” is a beautiful and aesthetically pleasing piece without a shadow of a doubt.

The group’s choreography is also a major highlight of this comeback. There is a creative use of the blindfold fabric throughout the song, as it is used as a major prop for each of the boys during their performance. This element adds a unique element to the choreo, which is also executed quite flawlessly by the group. Their style is very strong and crisp, and the use of the blindfolds adds a sensual element to the entire performance.

The song itself has a very summery vibe with a subtle reggae beat driving the melody. Would I classify it as a bop? Maybe not at first listen, but the song definitely grows on you with time. For a track with such unique choreography and eye-catching visuals, I suppose I was expecting something less generic-sounding. That’s not to say the song itself is subpar, but it just doesn’t seem to match in quality to the other elements of the comeback.

The Album

New mini-album ZERO features four new tracks including the title. All of the new tracks have an upbeat and summery feeling to them, and as such, your sort of generic K-Pop dance tracks that tend to perform well. If you’re looking for musical variety, that won’t be found in this release. However, that doesn’t stop each of these tracks from having their own charm.

There’s no doubt that CROSS GENE is a talented and capable group. They still tend to get overshadowed by bigger names, and that is likely to remain true with this comeback. In my personal opinion, CROSS GENE will need to come up with something incredibly unique to get some spotlight. They’ve definitely done so with their choreography, but the music has yet to follow. Regardless, this comeback is definitely worth your attention.