Review: Stray Kids - Thunderous

Stray Kids is one group that has arguably had one of the most confusing evolutions for 4th generation K-Pop bands. They debuted with anarchy as their concept with the incredible anti-authority Miroh, the rebellious District 9, and the masterful Side Effects.

However, in 2020, the group's single God's Menu received large-scale success. In many ways, that song was there just to poke fun of Stray Kids (produced once again by Stray Kids' Changbin, Han, and Bang Chan under the name 3Racha), but still commercially outdid everything Stray Kids did before. After that, their music received a change. Now, instead of world-conquering, it was fun. Since then, their success has only grown, with them eventually winning the Kingdom: Legendary War competition by a landslide simply due to their fandom.

Don't get me wrong, they pull off this new style incredibly. 3Racha can easily outdo most producers for K-Pop these days, and the members are incredible performers, elevating even underwhelming material with their sheer charisma, but I still wish to see them provide us with another masterpiece such as Miroh.

Enter Thunderous. From moment one, it was clear this song was not that return to legendary status I had hoped. In fact, the teasers let me know in advance to lower my expectations. However, these reduced expectations helped me better enjoy Thunderous's cheeky charms. For one thing, the MV is really well done.

Onto the song, the posturing and "I am so better than my competition" energy actually works at times in this song. The music allows the rappers to provide a charisma show. Without the incredibly difficult and speedy flows of Miroh, Stray Kids fill the gap with some heavy charisma. The 3Racha members seem to have made this song to their specialties, as each of them do incredible. Han, in particular, is a highlight whenever on.

The song's traditional arrangement allows it some excellent room. This is especially apparent during the bridge, where the speedy beat and the solid hook give a potential of what 3Racha provide when at their peak.

Unfortunately, the song ends up excessively repetitive, with the basic structure itself as underlying loose. Thus, the song comes off as a better version of the more recent Stray Kids singles. Thus, severe pointcuts are due for the lack of creativity. This also reduces the song's longevity.

Nonetheless, Stray Kids' performance makes this a little less unbearably. Despite wishing for so long and still being disappointed, I still hope for Stray Kids to provide a masterpiece for a single next comeback.

Rating: 7.25/10

Image Source: The Bias List