For the first time, we will feature another boy group called Stray Kids, with their new lead song Side Effects.
The storyline tells of the boys travelling on the bus. To reach their destination, they have to rent a car, until they reached the dead end. This started the fight among the members, who later left in despair during the night. They finally reached the bus, where they supposedly rode back to where they started. The travel theme is consistently featured throughout the video.
On the music, I find it exciting, but not enough for me to hear it till the end. Not because that was deafening or whatever reason, but in essence that was chaotic.
The moral lessons that can be seen here is on persistence. They don’t give up till they reach the desired destination. If the first destination turns to be a failure, they tried to look for another way. Second is on handling issues, as we see that some members managed to pacify two hot heads. Finally is at 3:39 – 4:00, where they helped a friend in need.
The only thing I find it funny was on their fighting scene. Just look at their reactions.
Review by other sites
KpopReviewed finds the song fitting for this season, where energy is being unleashed. Aside from their usual “boldness and bass,” it also added short stops serving as rest. Nevertheless, momentum was being carried on. If we wil talk about their voices, they showed their potentials.
On the instrumentals, it’s as if it slaps one’s face due to the strength of the track. It shares similarities with their previous song (Miroh), where both fighting scenes are featured, and at their debut (District 9), on various equipments.
The song’s message deals with insecurities and worries as a state of mind. How do we say this? Commenters pointed out the back-up dancers acting as “whisperers”, telling each member what to do. In this case, they are being told to worry.
TheBiasList thought of the song as baffling, frustrating, and thrilling at the same time. Furthermore, it also views the song as “album intro or dance showcase.” Positive points were on the rap verses, which reflects clearly the group’s passion, and on full use of pop melody, as the blogger describes the ingredients used.
Negative side points out to their growl in the video, and on their unpredictability. In essence, this genre Stray Kids is showcasing is hard to understand, but they liked this.
Review as whole
From what I see here, they really tried to explain the real meaning of the title – that is, the side effects of music. This is expressed from the start of the song till 1:08, where they will confuse us on line between verses and chorus. Same goes with last chorus.
I was about to dislike the MV for they are disorganized. But since they did it well, I eventually have to give full points to them. While the usual music we hear from K-Pop (and other songs) is orderly, this explains the other side/side effects of music, that is, chaos. In addition, they also expressed tension between themselves in the whole MV.
If we will try to compare it with their previous song (Miroh), the latter song fares well, especially if we will talk on the song being exciting.
In a little way, they shared the moon concept (at 0:40) from GOT7 in their first chorus of Eclipse.
TweetNewscaster’s Overall Rating: 88.00%
Scoreboard
| Aspect | Criterion | Points | |
| Storyline | 1 | Storyline | 5 |
| Storyline | 2 | Consistent theme | 5 |
| Appearance | 3 | Color conveys emotions presented | 5 |
| Appearance | 4 | Good taste | 5 |
| Appearance | 5 | No Halloween, Easter, etc. | 5 |
| Appearance | 6 | No astrology featured | 5 |
| Appearance | 7 | Less horror featured | 5 |
| Appearance | 8 | Not too revealing outfits | 5 |
| Music | 9 | Exciting | 4 |
| Music | 10 | Not too deafening | 5 |
| Dance | 11 | Learned easily even by beginners | 5 |
| Dance | 12 | Not too sensual | 5 |
| Lessons | 13 | Moral lesson clearly stated | 5 |
| Lessons | 14 | Impart something beneficial for viewers | 5 |
| Other Matters | 15 | Sense of humor | 4 |
| Other Matters | 16 | Make it to mainstream media | 1 |
| Other Matters | 17 | Review by other sites | 4 |
| Other Matters | 18 | Review of MV as a whole | 5 |
| Other Matters | 19 | Shares concepts from other groups | 5 |
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