ONEUS Brings it on TRICKSTER
ONEUS is back with another concept befitting el clowno: The Joker, complementary to 2021's "No diggity.” TRICKSTER's release was preceded by two episodic teasers wherein the boys encounter a dark figure who presents them with games of chance, or they just find a playing card, all the while being monitored by their own doppelgängers. The games in question prompt them to find “the true Joker,” and while it's unclear what that means, their doubles imply the answer is among them.
TITLE: "BRING IT ON"
Title track “Bring it on” is a callback to “No diggity” in more ways than one: in its wild aesthetic, experimental production with brassy chorus backing, and perhaps most notably, Leedo's green hair. The music video brings the teasers' events to a head, with RAVN pulling a Joker card, though Leedo is the only one who interacts with his double. Throughout the video, the boys play various games of chance, some that show little chance of winning at all—Cham Cham Cham with a revolver, guess which apple isn't poisoned, wait to see if the bomb explodes, etc. The song has quite a bit going on, and if that's not your thing, rest assured, the visuals will grab your attention.
The song's arrangement is excellent, especially with how impossible it seems for so many different sounds to meld together this cohesively. While it doesn't stand out too strongly among the rest of their discography, it does stand as a contribution to the trend of noise music while still being uniquely ONEUS.
ALBUM: TRICKSTER
TRICKSTER is a pretty big grab bag for a mini-album, with seven new tracks in total, including “Bring it on” and its English version. Following the intro and title, “Skydivin'” is an unexpected swerve into a pretty mainstream pop sound. It's light, upbeat, and cute; just a little something to cut the edge in the previous two tracks. “Firebomb” starts similarly, but it's something of a fake out, since its chorus comes in with a harsh string line that pushes it into some unknowable class of pop-meets-noise-meets-Old West, and it kind of rules.
“Fragile” is straight up R&B, and it's all good for a moment of pretty vocals over a lofi beat to study to. An unexpected new trend in recent K-Pop is that it’s a great time to release a wolf-inspired B-side, and ONEUS is on it with “Mr. Wolf.” It’s a fun song, with a little bit of a spooky chorus sung in a minor key, and I have no idea where this song comes from or what it’s about, but I’m into it—I’m into whatever this genre of song is. (Side note: as a scientist, there’s a growling sound effect that is definitely a tiger, but I’m not here to split hairs. But I am.)