Current #17: Astro- Knock

Released: May 4th, 2020

I haven't been following Astro much, but I have been listening to their past hit single Baby and it is really good. Other than that though, I haven't been keeping up with their discography, but I do believe that Astro has been seeing a surge in popularity, as evident by the increase in album sales and their recent debut in Japan. I think their latest release Knock has enough punch to help continue to fuel the surge, although it is definitely a step back from Baby.

Knock feels a lot like a less synthetic, more laid-back version of Seventeen's Don't Wanna Cry, at least in the verses where guitar riffs and piano chords lead the melody instead of synthesizers, slowing the song down considerably. However, the pace is short-lived, as the pre-chorus shifts an immediate increase in rhythm without sacrificing the use of instruments. There are some things to point out here; the transition to the higher octave in the piano is beautiful and is responsible for igniting the shift in speed, without accelerating too fast. The piano notes are brief, but loud, setting the stage for the beautiful descending chords to change course in the song's direction. The second thing is the pace of the vocals; the singing and the rapping doesn't ever stop for a breathier from now until the end of the chorus. There is a slight pause between the pre-chorus and the chorus though, which is my minor complaint; I wish the music was just continuous the entire way. But nevertheless, this observation is the key element to stirring up energy and it works very effectively.

As mentioned, the chorus continues to keep on pace from what was established earlier. Compared to the brilliant piano chords in the verses though, I wish the chorus was just as dynamic. The introduction of synths in the layering and the brief ascending of vocals in the latter half of it somewhat helps in keeping the pulse flowing, but the overall nature of it still felt somewhat monotonic. The phrases sounded the exact same scale-wise and I wish there was a chance for Astro here to truly uplift their vocals. The rap proceeding that does not do anything at all to make up for the lackluster chorus; if anything it slows down the momentum quite a bit.

Astro's Knock has its strong points; the use of instruments to shift the song's dynamics and add that factor of unpredictably is genuine and very clever. Rather than annexing more instruments and potentially adding complications to the melody, Knock plays it simple by changing the rhythm of the singing to portray the illusion of ascending high. All of these ideas are unique and possibly could have made Knock a game-changer, it's just a shame that the chorus couldn't live up to those same expectations.

RATING: 7.25/10