QWER are truly fifth generation, having debuted in late 2023 under Tamago Production. They’re a band with four members: guitarist Siyeon, keyboardist Hina, bassist Magenta, and drummer Chodan; all of them sing, and all were somewhat in the public eye before this, two being Twitch streamers, one being a J-pop idol, and one being a TikToker. They’re the sixth band (as in, playing instruments), I’ve covered, after Day6, The Rose, ONEWE, Rolling Quartz, and Lucy.

Here are my credentials: kind of a mixed bag. I know of QWER, and I’ve been meaning to check them out for a while. I’m always excited when a new girl group debuted, and adding to that that they play their own instruments, that they’re all adults with somewhat established careers, and that I’ve liked what I’ve heard so far, I’m excited for this one! I actually decided to cover them when Soyeon of (G)I-DLE (who I’m a big fan of) wrote a song for them. So, let’s get into it!

Single #1: Harmony From Discord

I had the feeling Discord would be different from your usual kpop song right as that guitar kicked everything off. The whole song is about embracing imperfection and chaos in your life, and I really liked how fun the MV is too, mixing animation and live-action and backed up by video game sound effects. The choruses remind me a lot of early Gfriend in a very good way, down-to-earth with some excellent riffs and funky synth pop. Even though I expected how it would sound after the first rendition, it still knocked me off of my feet every time. Meanwhile, their voices have this sense of brightness and fun to them that’s really nice to listen to. It’s a great debut.

From the single, I enjoyed the light-footed, breezy sound of Harmony Of Stars, which reminded me a lot of the band Lucy.

EP #1: Manito

T.B.H. could be the soundtrack for a coming of age drama or something along those lines, and not just because the MV is set in your typical Korean high school and focuses on confessing your feelings to someone. (I especially loved the seamless transitions between live action and classic manga panels, by the way). The song is bright and warm, a bit more down to earth and guitar centric than Discord was, taking a sound that’s fairly well-tread and making it their own. I really liked the bridge, and the way the final chorus just bursts to life in its stead is great. Of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention how delightful the ending actually was; I’m a sucker for a dramatic love confession. Bonus points if it’s queer.

From the EP, I enjoyed the great build up in Make Your Highlight, but also the warm, fast paced guitar of G9JB and the synthy rush of Ferris Wheel. Choosing a hidden gem was actually a bit tough, but so far, my favorite is Free Dumb, which is fun loving and open-armed in the best way. This is a great first release, managing to show different sides of the group but still feel consistent and not like a bunch of tracks just stuck together.

Single #2: Fake Idol

I was intrigued from the title of Fake Idol, curious what the girls would have to say on the subject, or if they’d have a different perspective than others in the industry, for all the reasons I was talking about above. And they did; the song addresses some of the pushback they got after their debut and resolves to make changes to the way idols are perceived. I especially liked the line “one by one, let’s turn the world upside down”. The song itself is still bubbly and more on the pop-rock side than any of their singles have been so far, and while I’m not usually a catchphrase chorus person, I think that this one works quite well, turning it into a hook that’s neither cloying or irritating. I think I prefer it more in theory than in practice, but I still liked it.

EP #2: Algorithim’s Blossom

My Name Is Malgeum is the song I mentioned before, that was written by (G)I-DLE’s Jeon Soyeon. It takes the guitar intro I so liked in Fake Idol and stretches it out, pairing it with a twinkling keyboard and an almost cartoony instrumental that shouldn’t work but really does. The percussion is light but adds a lot too, and though the single was released in October, it has such spring energy. The song just feels fresh and bright; it never stops moving with the kind of frenetic energy that makes you a bit tired just listening to it. My one gripe is the short sing-talk section, which interrupts the flow a bit and seems unnecessary. Overall, it was another pretty solid track.

From the EP, I enjoyed both the building electro in the intro and the palpable emotion in Goodbye My Sadness, but my hidden gem was Let’s Love, with its somewhat harsher rock and showcase of the girls’ deeper vocals. This is a great mini too, but I think I preferred the first one.

EP #3: In A Million Noises, I’ll Be Your Harmony

Dear (눈물참기) starts in typical QWER fashion, by which I of course mean that it starts with a bombastic guitar right out of an anime and then moves to a gentler, stripped-back sound for its verses. The whole song feels like a warm hug, encouraging the viewer to keep going and to find the joy in life despite all of its struggles. I really liked the music video too (besides them playing instruments in the rain—that always drives me crazy), showing the girls all living separate lives with their own pain until they come together to offer each other comfort. The acapella start to the final chorus is so lovely (though all the vocals are), and the last few seconds showing footage from their concerts was so lovely too, really strengthening the message of togetherness the whole song advocates for. It definitely made me smile, that’s for sure.

From the EP, I enjoyed the peppy acoustic sound of Be Happy, the chugging beat of Overdrive, and the undaunted joy radiating from D-Day (a sentence I never thought I’d say but here we are). It was tough to choose a hidden gem.

Verdict: TL;DR

I’m glad I did this! I was guessing that I would like this review, but I wasn’t expecting to have so much fun! I ended up watching a lot of behind the scenes content and falling in love with the girls’ personalities. Some of my favorites were watching them record My Name Is Malgeum with Soyeon, guesting on Lee Chaeyeon’s show, and of course, appearing on Chuu Can Do It. Not to jinx it, but I think I may be becoming a fan. I guess we’ll have to see what the next release brings.

My Top 5 songs were Fake Idol, Discord, Free Dumb, Let’s Love, and Ferris Wheel, with Goodbye My Sadness as an honorable mention. QWER gets a 9 out of 10 from me. Look, are they completely reinventing the wheel? No. But they’re still doing a great job for having just debuted a year or so ago, and I can absolutely see them dominating the pop-rock front in a couple years. There wasn’t a single song I didn’t like, tbh (see what I did there? Sorry.). They have such a great sense of fun and nostalgia in their music, without making it feel childish or overdone, and meld electronic and instrumental sounds well too, in a way much more usual for J-pop than kpop. I can’t wait for their next comeback!

Next time, we’re onto another girl group for a retrospective. Tschüss!