KARD is unique for k-pop, being a co-ed group (composed of both men and women) was formed in 2017 with four members who each represent a playing card: Jiwoo (the color Joker), J.Seph (the Ace), BM (the King), and Somin (the Black Joker). Occasionally they also have featured artists called “hidden cards”, such as KARA’s Youngji.

Here are my credentials: I honestly don’t know much about Kard, but I just finished a review on KARA, and in checking out their work as solo artists, I heard about Younji’s feature here. Also, I know a little about BM from his hosting of the podcast “Get Real” with Peniel, Junny, and Ashley, and I find him pretty funny, so I decided, why not take a quick break before doing another long review?

Single #1: Oh NaNa

Oh NaNa isn’t what I was expecting from KARD’s first single. I picture them as a darker-sounding group, but this song is as light as they come (besides the music video, which doesn’t seem to go with it). Made for the beach with a lighthearted beat, tropical influences, and notes of moombahton, it’s airy and full of breathing room, allowing the verses to spread out. Normally I’m not a fan of an anti-drop, but I think it works well here. I especially liked the last chorus, with its layered vocalizing. I didn’t think the rap verses flowed well, though.

Single #2: Don’t Recall

Don’t Recall is very easygoing for such a melancholy song, flowy and smooth. I enjoyed the choruses that go back and forth between the girls and the boys’ different voices, and Latin pop elements, but the raps pulled me out again. Though I didn’t dislike the hook, I wasn’t as much a fan of the anti-drop in this song, since I think the song would be better served by a fuller chorus (such as the outro, which is great).

Single #3: Rumor

Rumor is the last of KARD’s pre-debut “KARD project” work, and is even moodier and more monotone than the last few. It has similar Latin pop and tropical influences to both Oh NaNa and Don’t Recall, similar structure, and even a similar chorus. But the annoyances I had with the others are fully present here. The chorus is threadbare at best, and while it gets a good beat going at a few points, it’s a bit too fond of a sudden tempo change for me. It’s alright but doesn’t stand out much after the past two singles, to be honest. I will say, this song is much better at melding the rap verses with the rest of the singing than the others were.

EP #1: Hola Hola

Hola Hola combines the sunny, laid-back feeling of Oh NaNa with the brighter music video that their debut should have had. Again, the outro was probably my favorite section, and I don’t know why they keep having empty choruses while keeping the best parts to the final moments. This had the potential to be great, but it undercuts itself with the lack of a hook to get stuck in your head. Imagine if it had a Highway To Heaven style soaring chorus? It would immediately go on my summer playlist. Also, this is a random thing, but I swear to god, if I hear the phrase “baby girl” in one more k-pop song, I’m going to throw something. The only man who has ever said it without being creepy as hell is Derek Morgan from Criminal Minds; everyone else should go on a watch list.

From the EP, I didn’t have a hidden gem.

EP #2: You & Me

You In Me is the start of a shift into a darker sound, and its pulsing beat and moody vocals complement each other quite well. I have to say that again, I dislike the way that the rap comes out of nowhere and ruins the tense, dramatic atmosphere that the song worked so hard to create. But otherwise, I liked this one, especially the chorus led by Jiwoo and Somin. The time-lapse videography and creepy elements of the music video were also very cool.

From the EP, I enjoyed the percussion of Trust Me. It’s an interesting choice to have the single almost at the end of the album, rather than the first track. I also liked the idea of the unit tracks, but neither of them were for me.

EP #3: Ride On The Wind

Ride On The Wind returns to the beachy feeling and tropical influences from Oh NaNa, airy and unobtrusive. The issue is that it sometimes veers into so-unobtrusive-its-boring territory. Its chorus is as empty as they come, really, and so it ends up flowing in one ear and out the other, certainly not as strong as their debut. It’s fine, but nothing that unique.

From the EP, my hidden gem (and possibly my favorite song so far) was easily Dimelo, which dips its toes into reggaeton and has an expansive chorus. I really wish that it had been the single instead of Ride On The Wind. Also, I heard that BM wrote the Spanish lyrics himself—I’m not sure if he’s trilingual or not—so, color me impressed!

EP #4: Red Moon

Bomb Bomb uses a more bombastic form of Latin Pop than KARD’s gone for before. Though I wasn’t a fan of the overuse of autotune, I really liked the buildup in the pre-choruses…and then the song goes full-on anti-drop, with a harsh-on-the-ears chant and a squeaky electro sound that genuinely makes me crazy. With just a few changes to the chorus, I would have liked it. But no amount of BM dramatically taking his shirt off or Jiwoo staring seductively at the camera is going to save this. Sorry, guys. You can’t hip thrust a distraction from an instrumental that puts NCT 127’s Sticker to shame.

After the many annoyances I had with Bomb Bomb, I was hoping I would enjoy Dumb Litty more. But no. It has everything I disliked from Bomb Bomb, except now it’s a full song. There’s almost nothing here I’m a fan of, to be honest, from the over-autotuning to the flat-out yelled nonsensical chorus to the instrumental that seems designed to be headache-inducing. I did like the pre-chorus, though, which only made the chorus irritate me more, because it didn’t have to be bad. I normally listen to every group’s singles three or more times (once with the albums, once while watching MV’s, once in the background while typing up my review), but I only got through around one and a half with this one before I nearly threw my computer across the room. So…next!

Red Moon keeps the instrumental breakdowns, the interesting Latin pop influences, and the vocalized hooks from KARD’s past title tracks, but elevates them in a way I really appreciated. It has the kind of expansive yet catchy chorus that I wish their other singles would, while not sacrificing the hallmarks of their sound. I’m not a fan of the raps, for the reasons I’ve already mentioned, but besides that, I liked this one!

From the EP, I enjoyed the mile-a-minute pre-chorus from Enemy, though I wasn’t a fan of the chorus itself.

Single #4: Way With Words

The first thought I had when Gunshot started was that it’s very reminiscent of BLACKPINK’s Kill This Love, which makes my nostalgia kick in and makes me a bit more accepting of its small annoyances. Its first verse feels slowed down in a way that I haven’t decided if I like yet, and the raps don’t feel too out of place, so that’s a win. The Latin Pop influences are subtler here, and the song sounds much more like other k-pop of its era The outro, like in so many other KARD songs, is the best part, and I wish there was more to the chorus. But otherwise, I thought this one was good.

From the single, Way With Words, I enjoyed the more ballad-like sound of Hold On.

EP #5: RE

Ring The Alarm is another step in the right direction for KARD, a return to their roots of mixing k-pop sounds and reggaeton.  It’s a great mix of their smoother side and their more bombastic side, without sacrificing either one, and great example of delivering your core sound without losing quality or your identity. Of course there are things I’d change, because I’m me, like giving the chorus more of a payoff or making the raps a touch smoother, but overall, I really liked it! I especially loved the bridge and its lead-in to the final chorus.

From the EP, just called RE, I enjoyed the genuinely fun feeling of both Good Love and Whip.

EP #6: Icky

I’ve heard the hook of Icky before, and…didn’t like it, so to be honest, my hopes weren’t high for this song. I don’t really have anything to say about it that I haven’t said before. All the issues I’ve had in the past repeat themselves here ad nauseum, and frankly, it’s not worth repeating myself. I will say that it did like the melodic parts of the chorus, but it was hard to appreciate them with how grating the main hook was.

From the EP, I enjoyed the dance-ready horns and honest lyrics of Fxxk You.

EP #7: Way With Words

Tell My Momma marks a year and three months since KARD’s last comeback, a tough return in such a competitive industry. It’s got what feels like a much more melancholy sound despite being a love song, and is reminiscent of their earlier years. I definitely don’t dislike it; it’s a perfectly nice song. But I have a few issues. First, it’s a bit too empty in parts, and doesn’t hold my attention. Second, the hook has potential, but doesn’t quite achieve it, too understated and without a strong underlying beat. And third, I again  have the issue of the raps feeling not quite smooth with the tempo of the other parts. So, it’s fine, but it doesn’t really change my opinion on KARD.

From the EP, I enjoyed the confident delivery of Boombox and the build up of Shimmy Shimmy. My hidden gem was Waste My Time, which is driven by acoustic guitar and makes the most of all the members’ voices. It would’ve made a great single, I think.

Verdict: TL;DR

I’m glad I did this. I had a lot of fun finding out more about KARD. Besides having an excuse to rewatch some of my favorite episodes of Get Real with BM, including their interview with Holland and their great discussion of panic attacks and anxiety, I also watched their interview with Eric Nam and the B-T-S of a couple of their music videos. To be honest, I enjoyed their personalities so much more than I enjoyed their music.

My Top 5 songs are Oh NaNa, Don’t Recall, Dimelo, Red Moon, and Ring The Alarm, with Fxxk You as an honorable mention. KARD gets a 7.25 out of 10 from me. While I like the co-ed group idea in theory, I think that a lot of KARD’s tracks suffer from it, feeling like two separate songs put together: a smooth, girl group track and the kind of harsh-on-the-ears boy band EDM that gets on my nerves. When it works, it works really well, adding a unique, Latin-pop inspired sound into what can be a sometimes same-y industry. But when it doesn’t, which is more often than not, you’re left with good parts that just don’t fuse together.

Next time, we’re onto a boy group I don’t know very well, and then a girl group I’ve been looking forward to for a while. Tschüss!