CURRENT #27: MONSTA X- FANTASIA

Released: May 26th, 2020

Monsta X recently celebrated their 5th anniversary, and the amount of music they've released up to this point has been quite impressive. 12 total albums, including one English-only release has resulted in Monsta X steadily gaining fame. From a music quality perspective though, it's a different story. Fighter and Shoot-Out were the only title tracks that really stood out to me, while everything else was a miss. As someone that watched them debut straight out of the survival show No Mercy, it's a no brainer that this group has raw talent. I wanted at least a couple of more songs that show off Monsta X's true potential, especially as they continue to age. Unfortunately Fantasia just isn't it.

Fantasia ultimately lacks the cohesiveness that stitches it together as an entire piece. The Moombahton-influenced track starts off strong, and continues to stay that way, up until the chorus, when everything falls flat on its face. The verses have some musical elements that deserve attention, most notably the background synths during the rap. Without them the rap part would have sounded too bland, and it's already making me wish there was an extension of the rap, as it does feel too short. Nevertheless, the pre-chorus comes right after, pumping in even more energy as Monsta X boasts off some impressive vocals.

Too bad the chorus couldn't keep up with the same vibes. Instead of peaking even further, the chorus spits out some meaningless chants in a rhythm that is a lot slower than in the verses. It sluggish slows the song down, despite the energetic beat, and leaves a huge sour taste on my mouth. Not even the lousy post-chorus can make up for it, where an alternation between some hooks and the "bring it back back back" chant just doesn't cut it. This entire sequence repeats in the second half of Fantasia up until the post-chorus, where some magic finally brews. The change to a slower beat allowed me to finally hear the wrath felt from the long "Ooooh" chant, followed by some high-energy vocals, before going back to dreaded chorus.

It's a shame Monsta X couldn't deliver with a song that clearly has the artist's name written all over it. Instead of following the ideal roller coaster path of momentum, Fantasia feels more like an inverse bell-curve, where the best part in the song feels completely muted. It's uninspiring, and it doesn't do any justice to Monsta X's rich discography at all.

RATING: 6.8/10