P1Harmony (P1)—a six-member K-Pop group who debuted in 2020—released their first full-English release, EX, on Sep. 26. My first introduction to the EP was through the title track, whose fun and peppy choreography has been dominating my Instagram feed these past few weeks. Despite my love for P1, I have to be honest: this EP was a bit of a letdown. Because it only features four unique tracks, there is little room for error. The concept chosen for this release was a throwback to the 2000s, full of blocky computers and bright, cartoonish visuals. While the concept is fun, it’s been done a lot in music, but also in fashion and film, and can therefore easily fall victim to being boring and predictable. I’m sad to say EX is another instance of this. That being said, there are some tracks that I really enjoyed listening to, and that stood out from the sea of Y2K-themed media that pervades much of current popular culture.

EX 

As I said earlier, this title track was my first introduction to this EP. This set the tone for the rest of EX, being nostalgic, retro, and heavily pop-influenced. The point of this song comes across clearly in the chorus, which the track opens with: “Every girl deserves to have her exploration / Have a little fun without an explanation / Exit on them when they hit the expiration / End of story, period, no exclamation.”

The song tells two perspectives of the same story: a girl’s partner, who is trying to convince her to move on from her ex, and this girl’s friend, encouraging her to do the same. The two people seemingly come together and agree on one fact: “Every girl deserves to have her exploration.” I love the theme of this song, as it validates a woman’s right to have fun, to do and say what she wants, and live for herself, not for an ex-boyfriend or girlfriend. Lots of women have treated this song as a sort of anthem, and EX, as an entire EP, has gained extreme popularity because of this title track. For the first time in P1Harmony’s career, they have charted in the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. 

This EP also features a Spanish version of this song, whose lyrics are mostly the same, but include a few minor differences in order to keep up with the rhyme scheme. My favorite part of the Spanish version is the lyric change in the pre-chorus, from “Xs and Os” to “ex, adios.” 

EX, and especially the Spanish version, shows off P1’s cheeky quality, which is always fun to listen to.

Dancing Queen 

The second track switches things up, introducing a pop-rock vibe. In a nutshell, it sounds like something that would play at a high school dance in 2012. I can just imagine scream-singing the chorus while jumping up and down with my friends at our next school dance. “Just keep on dancing, queen, you’re so sweet / You put a spell on me, drunk on you / And now I’m free falling, take me home / And show me what it means.” The bassline and melody are a little basic, but I think that’s a good thing. Sure, “Dancing Queen” is not revolutionary, but if it were too complex or unconventional, it wouldn’t fit its role as a fun song to mindlessly dance to. The pre-chorus emphasizes the romantic feelings the narrator has for this girl they see dancing: “Yeah every time you get close / The whole room spins, lose control / Forever young, a wild soul.” This second track isn’t marked by genius lyricism or mind-bending metaphors, even being quite predictable at times, but it tells a simple and sweet love story, making “Dancing Queen” my third favorite song from EX.

Stupid Brain 

An excellent vocal showcase for all six members, “Stupid Brain” stands out in the album for its lyrical style and vulnerable themes. It opens with a brief orchestral melody that quickly transitions into a catchy bass line that carries the melody throughout the rest of the song.

Themes of regret and desperation are woven into the words of this song, wishing one could just stop thinking so much. The struggle with negative self-talk, especially when it prevents you from enjoying life and being successful, is one that is relatable to many. This is demonstrated most clearly in the chorus: “Wish I could shut my stupid brain up sometimes / Oh, and just let go for once in my life.” In contrast to the first two tracks, this third song has a much chiller vibe, while retaining the poppy feel of the EP. After listening, “Stupid Brain” was immediately added to my playlist and is definitely my favorite off of EX.

Night of My Life

There’s no point in beating around the bush, so as much as I love P1Harmony, I hated this song. This track perfectly exemplifies what not to do when writing throwback music. There’s a fine line between drawing inspiration from an aesthetic and point-for-point replicating it. “Night of My Life,” for me, is decidedly on the side of the copy-and-paste 2000s-inspired music that has been popular lately. Everything—from the overdone theme to the basic chord structure to the predictable flow of the song—constituted an extremely boring, eye-roll-inducing track. In the chorus, the extent of how bland the throughline of this song is perfectly displayed. “I think tonight is the night of my life / Is the night of my life… / Stars in my eyes, tryna have a good time / Tryna have a good time, I’m not saying goodbye.” The rhyme scheme is, for the most part, very unremarkable. The only place that the song is remotely interesting is during the main rapper, Jongseob’s, verse: “Not stressing ’bout tomorrow / My fit is mint, Milano.” 

While there’s nothing blatantly wrong with it, this song, in theme and style, has just been done so many times before. “Night of My Life” had no competition when it came to being my least favorite track off of EX. 

When EX was announced, I was so excited to see what P1Harmony’s next comeback would be like. I thought the Y2K concept would fit the group’s broader aesthetic so well, and was hopeful that this fully English release would be yet another one of my favorites from P1. Sadly, I found myself unfocused and bored more than once during this five-track EP with only four unique songs. Specifically, the last track, “Night of My Life,” really brought this record down. 

While EX had so much potential to be my next obsession, it fell short, and I hope that P1Harmony’s next release can fulfill this expectation.