WEi’s Not “Too Bad”

After the conclusion of their Identity series last summer, WEi is back with Love Pt. 1 : First Love. Previous title track "Bye, Bye, Bye" turned WEi's image on its head from the dark concept in "All Or Nothing" to bright colors and a distinctly pop sound—a trend that's continued in new title "Too Bad."

Initial teasers for "Too Bad" duped me into thinking this was about to be another Boy Group Loves Cars situation (they’ve reserved this for B-side "Super Bumpy"), but "duped" is the operative term here. The album's cover art with its pink and purple color scheme was a welcome surprise, and the music video blends both images together. The video opens with the boys at a gas station, in cool, mostly black outfits with a sports car pulled up, and the intro features a quiet, plucking synth line as the boys react to a (presumably beautiful) woman approaching the car. Cut to the lot of them lining up for choreo just as sweet as their vocals, and "Too Bad" just undid all of my assumptions within the first 15 seconds. 

Among many dance and noise EDM releases—this isn't a dig, this kind of thing almost always bangs, there's just been a lot at once—this style of upbeat, poppy music is something I've really been missing in K-Pop. For a little more detail, the chorus is what you'd expect which, in turn, doesn't make a huge impression, so the song shines brightest in its verses—with respect to the overall bubblegum flavor. With its classic hand-clap percussion, a "na-na-na" line in the chorus, and [translated] lyrics like “it’s not too bad, because the sky is prettier for no particular reason,” "Too Bad" is a perfect leadup for the incoming spring season. 

Edited by Kelly Sipko