Pop music review magazine IZM, South Korea’s representative music review platform with reviews posted regularly by prominent music critics, once again criticized LE SSERAFIM‘s comeback album ‘EASY‘ for “heavy referencing”.
This time, music critic Lee Seung Won shared a review of LE SSERAFIM’s ‘EASY’ soon after its release on February 19.
Lee Seung Won began, “LE SSERAFIM’s music thus far has left a strong impression. Artfully choosing the most successful sounds from the pop music scene and integrating them skillfully into their own sound and identity, LE SSERAFIM has earned a place for themselves as a leader of the 4th generation.”
The music critic continued, “However, the references used for this album, ‘EASY’, are painfully obvious. The song ‘Smart‘, which boasts a common Afrobeat sound, resembles Doja Cat‘s ‘Woman‘ both in style and in the melody line. The rock intro ‘Good bones‘ immediately reminds the listener of ‘Date with the night‘ by Yeah Yeah Yeahs.”
Also commenting on the resemblance between “Swan Song” and “Kill Bill” by SZA, Lee Seung Won wrote, “The lazy modification of familiar sounds without much creative effort evokes a sense of deja vu, inevitably losing any semblance of freshness.”
Previously, LE SSERAFIM received criticism for noticeably referencing Rosalía in the title track “ANTIFRAGILE” from their 2nd mini album of the same name.
The IZM review has spurred on an active discussion on various online communities, as other K-netizens weighed in on whether the songs mentioned above reminded them of songs like “Woman” by Doja Cat and “Kill Bill” by SZA.
