Exactly 6 months after their debut and after dropping a special holiday single, SM Entertainment's newest girl group aespa is back with their first proper comeback. Expanding more on the SM Culture Universe (SMCU), SM's attempt at creating a "shared universe" for their artists (which so far also includes seniors NCT U and SuperM), aespa's latest title track Next Level is really doing just that, bringing things to the next level by experimenting with a new concept. Experimental is right though because this song adopts one of the strangest arrangements I've ever come across, which completely threw me for a loop. Without further ado, let's dive in.
Meaning: To get a better understanding of what aespa (and SM) were going for with Next Level, we must first take a look at the lore behind their debut title track Black Mamba as well as the background behind the SMCU. As said in my Black Mamba review, their debut title was about aespa trying to get in touch with their æ- avatars in the virtual realm of KWANGYA, all while they confront a giant black mamba. Next Level expands on this story by introducing more elements, with a story teaser having been released before the song itself dropped, basically a cutscene building up to the MV's story.
Giving an abridged version of events, Next Level tells us that aespa's 4 æ- avatars live in a virtual realm known as the FLAT and an AI named Nævis opens a Port of Soul (or P.O.S) to allow the avatars to connect with their human counterparts, or SYNK. Of course, the titular black mamba is still on the hunt to destroy all æs and so aespa head to another virtual realm known as KWANGYA to challenge the mamba and reunite with their æs. Another thing introduced is KOSMO, which is presumably another virtual realm that spells the final showdown between aespa and the mamba. This is some really crazy worldbuilding stuff, the extent of which no other group has managed before and continues to highlight aespa as one of the most unique groups around.
MV: Much like with Black Mamba, Next Level's MV looks crazy expensive and I expected nothing less from an SM production. They've really invested a ton of money into this shared universe they're building and it really shows in the MV. Although most of the MV revolves around the usual group dance shots and the individual shots meant to accentuate the girls' visuals, there're some scenes which play into the SMCU's story, such as showing Giselle looking for the entrance to KWANGYA, where aespa will confront the mamba. More importantly, the set design is gorgeous, every single set is super eye-popping and really grabs your attention. The very inhuman sets that make up KWANGYA are stunning, whether it's Karina sitting in a crystalline forest or Ningning singing with a lava spurt in the background.
If you recall from Black Mamba's MV, we only got to see Karina and Winter's æs but with Next Level, we get the introduction of Giselle and Ningning's avatars. Apart from bringing in a very intriguing visual switch-up, it also plays into the story they're crafting as all the members have now met their æs and are now about to properly fight the mamba. That said, much like with their previous MV, I'm glad they didn't put too much emphasis on the avatars and allowed us to focus on the girls themselves rather than on the over-sexualised avatars. Anyway, Next Level's MV is probably the second installation in a trilogy that'll eventually culminate in a third MV that'll depict aespa and the mamba's final showdown but we'll have to wait and see for sure.
Styling: Continuing the trend from Black Mamba, aespa's outfits for Next Level are amazing and really accentuate the girls' visuals. The girls try out many different looks in their group dance shots, I counted at least four, a big surprise considering how most groups will limit themselves to maximum three outfits for dance shots and what I especially liked is that each outfit lets a different member shine. aespa's first dance outfit is extremely bright and shiny, predominantly white with lots of blue sparkly sequins attached. In contrast, their second outfit, while still very shiny, is very dark, focusing on primarily black and purple colours. I definitely think that both of these outfits fit the girls very well and match their concept, emphasising the inhuman nature of the virtual realms the girls travel through and the story they're trying to push.
Their third dance outfit consists of mostly blue denim, from jackets to ripped jeans, while their fourth outfit gives us a mismatch of dark and light, with each of the girls dressed in some form of bright colour (red, yellow or blue) and accessorised with dark accents. Like I mentioned earlier, each look fits one of the girls well, with the first outfit being Winter's by far and away. The show is stolen by Giselle in their third denim outfits, with her half-up half-down hair matching their dress style perfectly, and Karina takes top honours with the final outfit. Notice how I didn't mention Ningning? That's because she looks awesome in every single one of these outfits, even her solo shots. A big part of this comes down to her fire-red hair, which isn't ginger or anything, it's RED red. As I pray for her scalp, I really think the red hair suits her very well and accentuates her ethereal visual. While Winter is considered aespa's official visual, in truth all the girls fit the bill for group visual and I can't stress just how good they look this comeback.
Song: Most people will know that aespa's latest title is a remake of a Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw OST of the same name, sung by Australian singer A$ton Wyld. This is probably a big part of why the song gives off a Western pop vibe with hip-hop elements and before I knew it was a remake, I thought it sounded extremely similar to Gwen Stefani's Hollaback Girl because the song had a lot of shouty "cheerleader" moments. Another reason why the song sounded super Western to me is because with the exception of very few parts, Next Level heavily uses "talk-rapping". Rather than following a rap flow, the girls sound more like they're just saying out their lines without much emotion or rhythm, as if they were "talking". However, although I don't particularly like this rap style and shouty songs aren't usually my cup of tea, I can appreciate that this definitely gave Next Level a more youthful and fun atmosphere than Black Mamba, and makes it markedly a brighter song. I also really liked Ningning and Winter's bridge as it gave them a chance to show off their power vocals, as expected from the group's vocal line. In fact, the bridge might actually be my favourite part of the song.
That said, for all the good things about this title, there's one part of the song that immediately took me out and made it worse than Black Mamba for me. Can you guess what it is? Odds are, you're probably thinking of that weird rhythm switch slightly over halfway through the song. This is just another example of SM's experimental concept, something that we heard before with Girls' Generation's I Got a Boy, where both songs don't have a constant rhythm throughout but instead switch things up and changes the song's vibe completely. It would seem that many people are praising this idea and hailing Next Level as revolutionary because of it (although it's definitely not the first song to try something like this) but unfortunately, I really dislike the change. It's so distracting to me and really disappointing, especially because I was kind of digging the song, cheerleader vibe and all.
Notice how I didn't mention whether the rhythm switch happens after the second chorus or the bridge or something. Well it might be because of the experimental concept they're going with but I literally can't identify which part is what in Next Level, especially because the choruses don't have the same lyrics throughout, which is usually the mark of a chorus (although not all the time). Based off my research though, the rhythm switch is classified as the song's interlude, which apart from Ningning and Winter's vocal lines include a proper rap by Giselle and Karina. In short, while Next Level makes you hyped up with its strong dance beat throughout most of the song, the interlude pulls the rug out from under you, making the song feel very disjointed and super awkward, more like two songs mashed together instead of a well-flowing song. I rather the producers get rid of the interlude and go straight to the final pre-chorus and chorus, having a shorter song than such a strange mashup.
Line distribution: aespa continues to have a super fair line distribution, with each member getting around a quarter of the entire song. As face of the group, Karina getting the most lines at a little under 29.6% makes a lot of sense since she'll be pushed front and center, and because the song is mostly rap-focused, being lead rapper would inevitably get her more lines. Like I just said, the song is more rap-heavy so I'm not surprised that lead vocal Winter and main vocal Ningning come in 2nd and 3rd with slightly over 26.7% and a little over 21.9% respectively but it does surprise me that Ningning had fewer lines than Winter. That's alright though because both of them had really impressive vocal showings this comeback and really shone with their respective parts. Giselle coming in with the fewest lines once again at almost 21.8% is slightly more of a shocker for me because with as main rapper, you'd think she'd get more lines in a rap song but I guess not. I'm still fine with it because she really killed the rap lines she got and to me, she has the most charisma out of the 4 girls so no matter how few lines she gets, she'll still absolutely slay them.
Final thoughts: While Next Level dives headfirst into the experimental concept that SM is oh so famous for, I'd much rather they just stick with the shouty cheerleader feel that the good majority of the song had before it became a weird mix. That said, while I find the song less than stellar because of the rhythm switch, their unique concept and insane world-building efforts prove that aespa has a lot of potential to go far in the industry. On top of having amazing visuals, the girls also have a lot of star power and great stage presence, being able to capture viewers perfectly in their performances. Recently, SM has trademarked the name "PinkBlood", potentially indicating that they're moving forward with yet another group of some form, which of course is a danger to the stability of their previous groups, especially with a new one like aespa. With SM's tendency to drive their girl groups into the ground or seemingly ignore them after a while, here's to hoping that this doesn't happen to aespa, although it's still too early to tell. Thanks for reading.
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