Here are my credentials (again): I know a bit more about Aespa than I know about most other 4th and 5th generation girl groups. They had just debuted when I became a kpop fan and were among the first groups I became interested in after my introduction by Blackpink and Red Velvet. But I admit I lost interest later on as their music started to veer from my taste, and I thought that this review would be a good way to take a sharper look back at them. This is actually a redo of the first review I wrote on them over a year ago. Let’s get into it!

(Part One)

Single #4: Supernova

When I first listened to Supernova, my thoughts could probably be summed up by: that’s it? This was the song people were losing their minds about? And now, I get it. Supernova is one of those songs that needs time to grow (to explode, if you will) in your mind before you love it. Abandoning their clunkier EDM for a striking, minimalist synth-electro-pop, it too embraces that feeling of grandness, and that chorus elevates the whole thing with its clippy, confident speed. It’s not as smooth with its transitions as I’d like it to be, and I’d rather the main hook push even further, but I can appreciate its ambition and the way the final chorus absolutely knocks it out of the park. It’s not quite perfect, sure, but it gets damn close.

Album #1: Armageddon

While Supernova’s undeniably grown on me since 2024, Armageddon has…not. It lives up to its name, that’s for sure, coming in like a battering ram and not letting up after. It’s just not a good song, I’m sorry. There are good parts, sure, but the song itself is too preoccupied with threadbare hooks and sounding cool, instead of actually being cool. It’s disappointing, especially after the promise they showed in Supernova. A part of me was hoping I’d feel differently this time around, but no. It’s still incomprehensible.

Armageddon is Aespa’s first full album, often one of my favorite things to see from a group. This one I’m of two minds about. On the one hand there’s a lot of parts I like: the build-up in Licorice, the whistling hook of Bahama, so on and so forth. But they’re just that: part. There’s only one song I enjoy the entire way through, that I’d consider for a hidden gem, the synths-meets-acoustic Live My Life, and to be fair, it’s a damn good one. But the album as a whole feels half-baked, a lot of great ideas that just don’t quite get there, and I can’t help being a little disappointed.

EP #5: Whiplash

Whiplash makes the choice to start with its chorus, which I actually didn’t realize it until it came around again. Again we’re left with good parts—-especially that bridge—but besides that, the song, as is usual with Aespa, doesn’t live up to its potential. But honestly, it just gets on my nerves, and if I wanted to hear a song that sounded like this, I’d just listen to Le Sserafim’s Crazy, which manages to have a similar structure but has so much more fun innovating within it. Whiplash doesn’t feel like fun, and for the love of god, who’s going to tell SM Entertainment that repeating a song’s hook ad nauseum doesn’t equal a chorus? Also, I recognize that it’s a creative decision, but having them just dance in black on a white background makes it look like the video has no budget. What is this, a Super Junior video? The scenes outside are much better.

From the EP, I only had one b-side that I really enjoyed: Just Another Girl. With a pared-down instrumental a great payoff, it’s the kind of strong I wish so many more of their songs were. But mostly, this was another release where I could see the potential but the payoffs were lacking.

Single #3: Dirty Work

From the honey-toned, vintage-influenced promo pictures of Dirty Work, you might be expecting an 80s/90s inspired track that’s a bit more “down to earth” than aespa’s usual, like Spicy. I know I did. But from the first ten seconds of the MV, which is stubbornly near-monochrome and features a frankly incomprehensible amount of backup dancers, it appears that I was wrong. I don’t really have much to say about Dirty Work, to be honest with you. I could talk about the weird pronunciation of “bad business” that veers uncomfortably close to AAVE, or the uninspired electronic beat underpinning the equally uninspired “I’m SO much cooler than you” lyrics, but my biggest problem is the fact that the whole thing feels so…lazy. It’s not even like I hate it. I’m just frustrated that they don’t have better material when they have so much potential.

EP #6: Rich Man

Full confession: I was expecting not to like Rich Man after my…thoughts on Dirty Work. But I actually did. It’s interesting to me to see how far Aespa’s gone from their original, heavily animated, electronic aesthetic and sound to a song like Rich Man—overall, I’d say the progression feels a lot more true to them than something like Spicy or Better Things, which were a bit more like a cop-out. Rich Man, while it abandons their space concept for some kind of dystopian sports anime (I’m honestly not sure what’s going on), still operates on a solid EDM base, works in dark and futuristic elements, and carries forward Aespa’s signature confidence. It became the first Aespa title I’ve added to my playlists since Supernova. I also think that, like Supernova, it’s the kind of song that grows on you, and the more I listen to it, the more I enjoy it.

Unfortunately, I didn’t like the EP nearly as much as its lead single. It’s a lot more like Dirty Work, opting for a hip-hop focused sound across its other five tracks that not only am I not a fan of, but just doesn’t feel true to Aespa. That being said, I did enjoy the vocal-focused Count On Me, the hyper pop Angel #48, and of course, the sugary, heartwarming To The Girls, a lovely quasi-ballad dedicated “to the girls”, which reminded me a lot of KATSEYE’s Mean Girls.

Verdict: TL;DR

I’m glad I did this. It was a little similar to my Blackpink review, like a trip down memory lane, taking a look at Aespa’s work through the years and seeing why I was originally interested in them. I watched them styling Lindsay over at Buzzfeed, and finally got around to watching their Coachella performance. I also gained a new appreciation for their voices.

My Top 5 songs are Black Mamba, Live My Life, Supernova, Don’t Blink, and ‘Til We Meet Again, with ICU as an honorable mention. Aespa gets a 7.75 out of 10 from me. There’s a lot of good, but the issue is that very few of their titles are solid all the way through, but rather in fits and starts, which doesn’t make for a very satisfying listen. Their work, at its best, has a great sense of build and drama, but at its worst, like Blackpink or NCT 127, it comes across as empty posturing. Aespa are strong performers with great voices, and in my opinion, they deserve better. And I know that they can do better, because they’ve done it.

Next time, we return to the SHINee deep dive! Tschüss!