TWS is as new a group as it’s possible to be, debuting just over a year ago at time of writing, in January of 2024. They were formed by Pledis Entertainment with six members: Hanjin, Jihoon, Shinyu, Dohoon, Youngjae, and Kyungmin, who ranged from 16 to 20 at debut. We’re back at it again with a group with members younger than me—cue the “god, what am I doing with my life” montage.

Here are my credentials: As is becoming a theme here, I don’t know much about TWS, but I have an online friend who won’t stop talking about them, and I thought, there’s got to be a reason she loves them so much, so here we are. Let’s get into it!

Single #1: Oh My My

I wasn’t expecting the strings that Oh My My starts with, and I certainly wasn’t expecting the almost immediate change after them to a hip-hop heavy verse. Sometimes, a bait and switch like this can work—like, say, in STAYC’s Bubble—but here it just doesn’t. There are good parts, absolutely (the post-chorus especially is a highlight) but I think I was expecting the song as a whole to be much more like the post-chorus, bright and catchy in a classic kpop way like the intro would suggest. All in all, it wasn’t for me. It’s not a bad song at all—god knows I’ve heard worse just on this blog—but it feels like two very different songs thrown together.

I will say that I really loved the MV that goes with it, which not only helped me a lot with the members’ names but also gave me the chance to get to know them better than I did before.

EP #1: Sparkling Blue

Plot Twist is much more the kind of song I was expecting from TWS. Not only is the music video very classic kdrama (a la IU’s Blueming or BoyNextDoor’s If I Say I Like You), but the main hook is just infectious in the best way. I’m not the biggest fan of the instrumental hook, even though it’s fun, because I think that the rest of the chorus is a lot more catchy. I’m of two minds about the “nananana” section that replaces the bridge: it’s also quite catchy and works well at keeping the mood up, but it’s also too short for my taste and doesn’t go anywhere. I think that’s the song’s biggest issue in general: it’s too short for any of its best ideas to have room.

From the EP, I enjoyed the bubbly sound of Unplugged Boy and the flares of brass in BFF.

Single #2: Hey! Hey!

The second Hey! Hey! started I was thinking: this. This is the sound I’ve been looking for. The rock edge in the verses paired with a solid underlying beat that prepares you for more, the pre-chorus that builds on itself, and then the chorus work perfectly together. The chorus reaches for the stars, feeling like it’s about to burst from joy. The whole track is like a breath of fresh air, rocketing out of the gate with its specifically youth-imbued happiness unchallenged, and it’s all the better for it. And the MV is just adorable. I was smiling like an idiot.

EP #2: Summer Beat!

If I’m S Can You Be My N? starts off with a pounding heartbeat that prepares you for more, its verses melding an acoustic sound with a classic k-pop one. I even didn’t mind the rap, which is unusual for me, but it flows in pretty seamlessly. The song doesn’t quite reach the heights of Hey! Hey! but it certainly comes close. Its beat is simple yet infectious, and by the end of the first chorus, you’ll be powerless to stop yourself from singing along. And, as is becoming a theme here, I loved the music video too; the frame rate makes the whole thing look very cartoony, a great choice for a song that would feel right at home as a sports anime theme.

From the EP, I enjoyed the sing-along chorus of Keep On.

Single #3: Last Bell

Last Festival goes in a different direction than TWS’ past singles, which all seem tailored for summer, instead aligning itself much more with winter. It has a beat that’s in between Oh My My and the later hits; chiefly poppy but with a strong hip-hop beat underneath, a combination that I’d say works pretty well. That being said, the song on the whole is a bit too subdued for my taste, like someone told them they had to go for a more “mature” feel when they didn’t want to. I felt like I kept waiting for the chorus to go somewhere that it wasn’t going to go, which left me a little underwhelmed at the end. That being said, it’s still a good song.

From the single, I liked both Highlight, which emphasized their great vocals, and Comma, my hidden gem, which is led by a slightly rockier edge, albeit in a very different way to Hey! Hey! was. It’s laid-back but not in a way that feels too light, like I’d say Last Festival does for me. (Also, maybe they heard me talk about punctuation in song titles and that’s why this is named the way it is.)

EP #3: Try With Us

I’m not entirely sure what it is about Countdown that makes me feel like it’s 2017 again—maybe that electronic pulsing background beat, or the nostalgia dripping from every pore? Either way, the chorus is bubbly and energetic, as is becoming TWS’ trademark, with rap-heavy verses and a light bridge to tie it all together into a bow. If I sound unenthusiastic, I’m sorry; this is a good song and I don’t want to make it sound like it’s not. But there’s nothing about it that feels very unique.

From the EP, I enjoyed the synthy, nostalgic sound of Random Play and the fritzy, bubbly pop of Go Back.

EP #4: Play Hard

Overdrive is, unsurprisingly, a return to the bright, bubbly sound that’s driven many of TWS’ past singles, a nice splash of summer in the middle of fall. It does something that few of their other title tracks have done, in my opinion, really going over the top with the ridiculousness and sense of fun. The chorus is one of their best in my opinion, bouncing around with a great sense of energy and a great mix of brass, guitar, and vocals. I was pleasantly surprised that the song has a fully-fledged bridge, despite its short runtime. I don’t think it’s as good as it could be, but if this is a sign of what’s to come, then I’m definitely excited for it.

I have to admit that despite my thoughts on the single, I didn’t really like this EP. Both Head Shoulders Knees Toes and Hot Blue Shoes are just too trap-heavy for my taste, and most of the other b-sides were a bit too laid-back to make much of an impression on me. That’s not to say that they’re bad—they were parts of each one I enjoyed, especially Here For You’s chorus—-but I don’t think I’ll be relistening to any of them.

Verdict: TL;DR

I’m glad I did this. I knew next to nothing about TWS before this deep dive, and I’m happy to say I’ve changed that. While I was editing, I watched their interview with iHeartRadio, their video with Spotify Korea, and, my personal favorite, their appearance on Daesung’s show.

My Top 5 songs were Hey! Hey!, Comma, Keep On, Go Back, and If I’m S Will You Be My N?, with Random Play as an honorable mention. TWS gets a 7.75 out of 10 from me. I don’t exactly know what my big problem with their discography was, to tell you the truth. They have a lot of good ideas, but their songs are often too short to fully flesh them out. Add to that that they’re doing a pretty classic style while not innovating on it in a way that feels characteristic to them like, say, Boy Next Door or Gfriend do, and here we are. I’ve covered a decent amount of groups in the two years I’ve been doing this blog, and TWS is absolutely not a bad group. They’re just not that unique or groundbreaking and I think that that’s really what I was expecting.

Next time, we’re onto our gallery round-up, and then a soloist I’ve been looking forward to for…ages, really. Tschüss!