[#31] VIXX - "다칠 준비가 돼 있어"

From: "다칠 준비가 돼 있어"
Released: January
Territory: South Korea
Previous Best of Entries: 2012: [#32] "Starlight"
Other notable song(s) from 2013: "아이돌 하기 싫어", "대답은 너니까"

Last year I called VIXX the Infinite of 2012 rookies, and it's good to know that, one way or another, I've been proven right to a certain extent. A big part of what made Infinite, and before them BEAST, successful is the fact that they just kept releasing new music. While quality should be a top priority, it's also very important for a (formerly rookie) group as promising as VIXX to keep their foot in the door and stay relevant. And it looks like all their efforts this year have bore fruit, because they just won a music show award.

I didn't follow them this year as much as I would have liked, but when I did catch up, their earliest release still stood out for me. Both "다칠 준비가 돼 있어" and "아이돌 하기 싫어" were on repeat on my iTunes library for most of early 2013, and for good reason. Which is also why it was difficult choosing between the two!

"다칠 준비가 돼 있어" is the sound I think VIXX have a lot of potential to run with. We saw similar elements in them last year -- "Starlight" (which was on last year's countdown!) and "Super Hero" had a synth-laden groove to them, which you also see on "다칠 준비가 돼 있어." The song is definitely trendy, it's a song that will work for most performers -- but like most of the rookies I enjoy listening to, what sets VIXX apart is that they take the mould, and they do it better than (almost) everyone else. They do it with conviction.

This is another song that's very conscious of dynamics -- most of the time songs with this much auto tune and digital instruments/effects tend to just shove everything together. But this is a very "natural" (so to say) execution of very synthetic instruments -- transitions are very obvious, but very smooth, at times the melody (which has harmonies!) takes care of the transition like during the bridge. The chorus is the perfect example of how well the fluid melody works with the instrumental to give the song dynamics. It's an easy listen not because it's boring, but because it's so well-done.