Hearts2Hearts Makes New Sounds Their “FOCUS” in First EP
Photo: Hearts2Hearts Official X
After debuting with a single album in February and dropping a single in June, Hearts2Hearts released their first EP, FOCUS, on October 20. Jiwoo, Carmen, Yuha, Stella, Juun, A-na, Ian, and Ye-on begin to expand their sound with this EP. With the captivating title track “FOCUS” and new, bright B-sides, this release breaks new ground for the group.
TRACKLIST:
“FOCUS”
“Apple Pie”
“Pretty Please”
“Flutter”
“Blue Moon”
“STYLE” (physical album only)
The Pre-Release: “Pretty Please”
Hearts2Hearts focuses on the new jack swing genre for their pre-release “Pretty Please.” Released on September 24, this single captures the desire to explore new places with friends. “Pretty Please” takes an easy-listening approach with its upbeat instrumental and message.
This narrative makes it perfect as an advertisement for Pokémon Legends: Z-A, a newly-released game that used the song for its commercials in South Korea. The music video also plays on this idea, with various Pokémon showing up through stickers, keychains, drawings, and signs. The “Pretty Please” music video sets out to make something simple and delightful.
The Title Track: “FOCUS”
“FOCUS” sounds phenomenal. The song’s peppy piano notes paired with a groovy bassline makes its house instrumental the true focus. Composers David Wilson, Michael Matosic, Dewain Whitmore and Hailey Collier gave “FOCUS” a magical and hypnotic touch. Its lyrics hone on an obsession where a crush overwhelms a person’s senses. While the chorus opts for a spoken “I cannot focus on anything but you,” “FOCUS” features some standout vocal moments throughout, particularly from Ye-on.
The “FOCUS” music video represents the song through a beige and gray color palette and a diverse combination of shots. Despite the video showing a lot of personality through its camera direction, the drab colors pale in comparison. Both lyrically and instrumentally, “FOCUS” creates an anticipating energy that the music video does not match.
Check out the rest of the FOCUS EP for a dive into more music genres. Following “FOCUS” comes “Apple Pie,” a song that seems like it would use bubblegum pop. Instead, “Apple Pie” comes with a nu-disco instrumental made to “soundtrack a girls’ night in.” The other B-sides, the city-pop song “Flutter,” and the R&B song “Blue Moon” sound revitalizing with comforting instrumentals. FOCUS sets a creative foundation for Hearts2Hearts to continue building on.
Edited by Clark Royandoyan