Track Evaluate: Waker – Like That

Boy group Waker impressed me very early in 2024 with their debut Atlantis. Sadly, they haven’t had many extra possibilities to impress, with one follow-up in mid-2024 and never a single title monitor final yr. These of us who’ve been round Ok-pop for lengthy sufficient understand how this story of underfunded rookie teams usually seems. Hopefully a brand new 2026 comeback foretells optimistic developments for this promising group.

Arriving precisely two years after their debut, Like That repaints Waker as funk-poppers. The track wastes no time producing vitality, depositing us proper in the course of the groove. I recognize the directness of this method, nevertheless it has the odd impact of blitzing by the monitor’s greatest moments early on. Issues unfold fantastically by the pre-chorus as vitality continues to construct and it seems like we’re headed towards an exciting centerpiece. Sadly, Like That falls sufferer to the identical concern most funky Ok-pop tracks have nowadays. Relatively than construct and construct and explode, the refrain retreats to a sparse, percussive anti-drop. As soon as upon a time, this method felt considerably novel. Immediately, it’s so predictable you would virtually set your watch to it.

Verse two continues to change issues up. I like the added bits of rhythm right here, however I’m not as offered on the brand new melody. It’d simply take some getting used to. Fortunately, the bounding association barely provides the listener time to be important. We’ve heard this components lots of of occasions earlier than, however there’s a cause it often works. In our barren early-2026 Ok-pop panorama I’ll take what I can get, and this one’s upbeat sufficient to warrant a number of performs.

Grade: B