Landing a year after the first Korean-language installment of the series,
The World EP.2: Outlaw
brought K-pop group
Ateez
back to the top of the charts with their genre-blurring, dance-friendly collision of the hardest elements of hip-hop and electronic music. Kicking off with the Tron-esque "This World," they smash creeping synths, pounding beats, and a skittering drum'n'bass break together to get the blood pumping right out of the gate. The slinky "Dune" boasts a chest-thumping beat and some vaguely exotic effects that build to a dizzying chorus and a hungry mid-track cypher. In much the same way, "Wake Up" super-charges the aggression with a stomping beat and rains unexpected sample effects onto the track. "Bouncy (K-Hot Chilli Peppers)" is the big single -- handclaps, intentionally unbearable build, euphoric break, and all -- and it's not even the most monstrous moment on the EP.
have become experts at executing this futuristic hype music, which is designed to rattle the senses and energize the body. ~ Neil Z. Yeung