air force one (version up); odd eye circle (artms)

may 19 2023

Following Loona's highly publicized lawsuit with Blockberry Creative, Orbits (and me!) waited with bated breath to see where the members would go- and what they would do- next. Chuu went to ATRP, a BY4M subsidiary set up specifically for her. Yves also decided to go solo, and hasn't signed with an agency yet. Vivi, Hyunjin, Yeojin, Gowon, and Hyeju (having dropped the stage name Olivia Hye as soon as she could) joined CTD E&M, a new company founded by former BBC planning director (and former SM employee) Yoon Doyeon. Heejin, Haseul, Kim Lip, Jinsoul, and Choerry all went to Modhaus, a company formed by former Loona creative director (and my worst enemy) Jaden Jeong.

Right now, Odd Eye Circle are the only pre-established Loona subunit that ended up in the same company, so perhaps it's a no-brainer that they would be the first subunit to have a comeback. The absolute speed at which they did have a comeback is a little surprising (especially when you realize they beat Chuu to releasing new music, and she's been out of the company and planning a solo debut since last November). Version Up, their new EP, was released on July 12, 2023. The release wasn't marketed very well (Jaden Jeong loves to be ~mysterious~) and album details weren't even released for preorder until after the album had already dropped digitally. The music video and styling don't fit the song at all, and the styling is ill fitting and looks very cheap. In the final scene of the music video, they literally look like they're wearing dresses from Shein.

Despite my issues with the rushed album rollout, I knew at least we would probably get some pretty good music out of it. I have lots of problems with Jaden Jeong and the way he runs Modhaus/TripleS, but the music has never been the issue. I thought the Assemble album was a little boring, but I really liked Access and Aesthetic. And he did ultimately pull through with the music on this album!

"Air Force One" isn't just a "Girl Front" remix, or a ripoff of another popular song right now. It does genuinely feel, at least to me, like a maturation and evolution of Odd Eye Circle's original sound. As always with songs like this that rely on a speaksingy, ontomontopeia chorus, the key to having a good song is hitting that sweet spot between catchy and repetitive. In my opinion, the "dara dara dadada dada" in the chorus of "Air Force One" hits this sweet spot for me. The packed instrumental makes up for the sparse vocals, as well as the interesting vocal timbres of the Odd Eye Circle members (Kim Lip, I missed you). The song is a little short, not even pulling over three minutes, but it feels like it doesn't overstay its welcome.

Version Up also serves up four bsides, a respectable amount for an EP. "Je Ne Sais Quoi" is my favorite song on the album. It's very dreamy, punctuated by a thrumming bass and beat. Listening to this song feels like going down a Lazy River— it's like being swept away. "Lucid" also has a dreamy soundscape, although perhaps a little less interesting. I still like it when Kim Lip whispers in my ear, "You don't know what is real~". "Love Me Like" takes things back up a notch, being more uptempo. "My Secret Playlist" ends the album with a fun little gimmick of actually being a secret playlist, chock full of hidden references to other songs. I give them props for referencing Doja Cat's "Say So" and Radiohead's "High and Dry" in the same song, but otherwise this song doesn't really hit for me, being the only song on the EP that I probably won't come back to.

Overall, my problems with this release mostly come down to the creative direction, like the styling and digital cover, not the music. That's a good thing! I think most of my problems stem from the fact that this album was incredibly rushed, as Jaden tried to captitalize on the hype (and confusion) stemming from Loona's messy break from BBC. I just worry that Orbits will let him get away with this, leading him to believe that it's okay for every ARTMS release to be this rushed and creatively confused.

I like this album, but I can't help but imagine how good it could have been if Jaden had actually taken the time to make the first Loona release outside of BBC and the redebut of Odd Eye Circle something special, something meaningful. It also worries me that he's packing them off right away for a European tour, so soon after the disastrous Loona world tour that basically wrecked every member's mental and physical health. It's with the same touring company, too!

Worries aside, this is a pretty solid release (at least musically). The Odd Eye Circle members remain competent and capable, and I really can't express how crazy and thrilling it is to hear them together again. I had honestly started to believe that we would never get new Loona music again, much less new Odd Eye Circle music! I'm glad to be proven wrong, and I hope to be proven wrong again in the future with the direction Jaden takes with this project. It's a bit of a rocky start, but I think he can manage to pull it together. Only time will tell.