T1419 “FLEX”es Hard

T1419 is back with the third installment of their BEFORE SUNRISE series. This single album features the new title track “FLEX,” along with Japanese and instrumental versions, and “Get the Bomb,” which may well be enough to tide you over until their next release. Maybe. Probably not. In other news, their newest music video has shattered expectations with their three million views (and counting) only 12 hours after release—and I, foolishly, thought they were a little bit of a hidden gem group. 

“FLEX”

Previous title tracks “ASURABALBALTA” and “EXIT” have already set the stage for what we can expect from T1419: it's gonna be gritty, it's gonna be hype, and it's gonna be unreasonably cool. “FLEX” is no exception, and you can probably guess what the song is about just by the title—they're flexing, you're flexing, we're all pumping each other up, and everyone's better for it.

The music video gets a little weird in a couple ways, for example, Gunwoo's somewhat questionable green hair that he still manages to look pretty good in. A better example is that it opens with a performing orchestra; there's a ballerina in there somewhere—conventional artistic talents, one might say—but they quickly make way for T1419 who saunter in with tattoos, bright hair, megaphones, and a bad attitude.

Given their framing as quintessential rebellious bad boys, the music video is appropriately chaotic. The ballerina is doing her thing during a food fight, the table of which is just a runway for Zero, Leo, and Kio. We've got Noa swinging an umbrella amidst rows of new cars, Kairi dumping a suitcase of money on the ground, Gunwoo in the boxing ring as well as acting up on the train with Sian and Kevin, and On delivering his verse clad in a fur coat like a new divorcé. 

Now, in terms of sound and production, this would also be a good time to reiterate that we do know what we’re getting with these guys. “FLEX” stands out from their other songs with its orchestral opening, which returns periodically throughout, though it’s otherwise drowned out by the noisy electronic synth that really makes it into the T1419 we’ve seen before. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it’s good, it works, and it’s fun, but I look forward to seeing them branch out musically. That being said, we’re all in for the electronic hip-hop jams, and the boys are just getting started.