Their next single will be called “Warrant.”
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[6.44]
Frank Kogan: I previously found Secret’s singing an annoying combination of chirpy and bland (put their “No. 1” in my Top 100 last year, but for the instrumental version). On “Poison” they add strain to the chirpiness, but happily the result is comic: now they’re amusingly desperate and impassioned. Reminds me of when Diana Ross first went solo.
[7]
Anthony Easton: Pop is recursive, finding the sample, contextualizing the sample, quoting, remixing, breaking it up. I had an academic yesterday describe her work as a kind of “methodological bricolage.” Secret’s “Poison” brings this methodological bricolaged tendency to the work of pop music at its most recursive — it almost becomes an act of plagiarism. (Or, with less theory, THIS SOUNDS LIKE IT IS BEYONCE’S “CRAZY IN LOVE” THROUGH A WOOD CHIPPER.)
[7]
Jonathan Bogart: The best parts of Salt-N-Pepa and Wreckx-N-Effect put together.
[8]
Patrick St. Michel: This is the second K-Pop song of the year featuring saxophone as its sonic calling card, but whereas 4Minute’s “Volume Up” let the sax meld with the chorus’ rave out, Secret’s “Poison” allows the instrument to stand out a bit more. The rest of the single takes cues from Beyoncé’s “Crazy In Love,” especially the group’s “oh oh oh”s, but the blurts lend “Poison” a lustier vibe and make it way more than a copy.
[8]
Katherine St Asaph: He’s poison? Then poison the guy handling the treble.
[3]
Edward Okulicz: This sounds modern, but that’s just because Amerie’s “1 Thing” was so far ahead of its time. It also sounds like a mess, because that sax belongs to a song a little slower than “Poison” but it’s been jammed in anyway.
[5]
Brad Shoup: The ersatz go-go suggests the Easy Karaoke Players knocking out “1 Thing”. Don’t let ’em fool you: you can totally fake the funk.
[7]
Iain Mew: A different and even better spin on the sax riff to Orange Caramel, not obnoxious but imposing, reinforcing the crazy (in) love. Zinger’s flow sells it better yet, and outside of her energy the song gets by fine on what feels like three different strong choruses.
[7]
Jonathan Bradley: The horns sizzle like grease on a grill, so it’s a shame the vocals don’t snap the way a summer jam’s should.
[6]