Now she’s back, in outer space…
[Video]
[7.57]
Alfred Soto: The cresting synths and IU’s sustained vocal commitment are impressive in themselves, and when I scanned the lyrics — not something I do often — they reminded me of “Space Oddity,” “Lonely Planet Boy,” “New Moon on Monday,” and other classic cases of electronic poise and the singer’s romantic yearning.
[7]
Iain Mew: IU’s version of Seo Taiji’s “Sogyeokdong” is one of my favourite singles of the 2010s, its already remarkable bittersweet synthpop reaching extra levels of emotion and timelessness in her hands. Now with twelve years more experience of her own to draw on, “Unknown Planet” is the closest she’s come to repeating what made “Sogyeokdong” so great, applying a similar sense of the weight of time and memory, plus a heightened version of the same gorgeous crystalline sound. The stronger emphasis on the interstellar bursts of synths befits the song’s lighter topic of a breakup, but she makes the nostalgia in between sting too.
[9]
Jel Bugle: A bit more life compared to Drake/Don/Noah! IU sings nicely and conveys some emotion, but cor 96m views on YouTube, that’s a lot for a song that is just pleasant!
[7]
Callie Petch: The song which plays over the true ending credits of a 100 hour JRPG [compliment].
[7]
David Allun Jones: The cascading assault of stuttering synth fireworks scattered throughout “Unknown Planet” hit like an effervescent shock to the senses when heard through headphones, so it’s slightly disappointing that the song gluing them together shies away from that otherworldly wondrousness to spotlight something as maudlin as human emotions. Damn if IU doesn’t still give it her all. She never not sounds pretty here while unveiling a strikingly mature perspective on an old romance and acing that upward-scaling Mariah high note at song’s end with the same ease with which most of us mere mortals blink. But for all the appeal this will no doubt have for TV talent show contestants looking to show off their pipes, for me, the armageddon strains of those space-age keyboard stabs beg for a lyric and performance far more interesting than what’s ultimately served.
[7]
Nortey Dowuona: Love is so flimsy yet so enduring. To love, one has to concede, give ground, move out of the shadows into the harsh light. But it has become so difficult in this day and age to truly love, not without trying to brake the spirit, or break the spirit. And yet we still try, this feeling that drives us all. At least we have not completely collapsed into inept apathy, we still feel, we still fight. And we still love, even in the empty unending space that is the universe.
[8]
Lichelle: A sweet, twinkling, synth-laden song about the growing galaxy between people who once were entwined. Maybe I overdosed on Halloween candy which has me feeling extra saccharine, because this works.
[8]