One of the most surprising (and welcome) developments of the year has been the strong musical identities of a trio of survival series spawned boy groups. Close Your Eyes, AHOF and NouerA have all debuted with great material that feels unique to them. In Close Your Eyes’ case, the guys bucked expectations by emerging with a mid-00’s style mid-tempo that only grew more addictive with time. Now, it’s time to expand that sound with their first comeback Snowy Summer.
It probably won’t surprise you that a person (me) who writes about and rates songs every day loves to classify things. My brain loves putting things in their “rightful” place, so I can’t say I’ve ever been a fan of “Christmas in July.” Just the thought of listening to a carol this time of year feels deeply wrong, which makes Snowy Summer a tricky proposition. However, the song’s audio is malleable enough to work as a breezy summertime bop as well. It’s a bit more upbeat than All My Poetry but retains that track’s throwback groove.
For me, the element that stands out most about Close Your Eyes is the members’ vocal color. They have lovely, instantly identifiable voices that pull a relatively dull song like Snowy Summer over the line. On its face, this isn’t too dissimilar from the laidback coffeehouse fare I often dismiss outright, but the character of their performance elevates the material. At their best, I could see this group growing into a kind of new-gen B1A4, marrying quirky concepts with classic songwriting prowess. Snowy Summer is too tame to stand as a summer highlight, but just like its predecessor I see this having a long life on my playlist even if it’s never the track I seek out first.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 9 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8.25 |
