Sheena Easton and Garbage, eat your hearts out…
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[5.62]
Anthony Easton: I grinned like an idiot at the opening bugle call. The chorus is almost as catchy as that salvo, and between those two I can forgive the repetitive nature.
[7]
Patrick St. Michel: First the good: “Spy” does something a lot of K-Pop songs do, which is play around with the idea of masculinity and subvert traditional masculine ideals. Super Junior take the theme song from the James Bond film series…a character about as stereotypically manly as they get…and at times make it sound cutesy. Plus, the concept of working around the “James Bond Theme” for a whole song could be good. Unfortunately, the bad list is much longer: this idea goes from charming to “I’d rather be playing Goldeneye 64 right about now” quickly. The lyrics are full of weirdo stalking declarations and goofy Bond references (not sure what the Goldfinger bit is about). And worst of all, the Churchill-Downs-esque bugle opening the song just makes me think of PSY, which just makes me want to listen to “Gangnam Style” instead of this.
[3]
Brad Shoup: So much to love… the seethe of the verses, where the rumbling vocals are extracted with dental equipment. They’re even weirder contrasted with the hammy capering of the jazzy intro. The “go kick it in the butt!” exclamation, which is positively Beastie, and the doo-doo-doo vocal countermelody. Like SHINee before them, Super Junior claim their right to the stalk and the corn. I’m totally willing to grant it.
[8]
Jonathan Bogart: The John Barry flourishes are one thing; what really thrills is the kinship to new jack swing. Watching the video, though, I couldn’t help wishing that female idol groups were as open to a variety of body types.
[7]
Katherine St Asaph: Alternate titles: “From Korea, with Incoherence”; “The Synth Is Not Enough”; “A Spy in the House of will.i.am”; “Mission: Cross-Promotional”; “Back in Time.”
[3]
Iain Mew: The nonchalant slide of the “doo doo doo doo doo” bits is sublime, but too brief. The rest is a mess, and having the same brass burbling away through most of the song indifferent to its surrounds means that its frequent changes can’t even properly carry off appeal by force of newness.
[4]
Edward Okulicz: Brimming with so many good ideas, the only danger is overuse but “Spy” falls on the right side of the ledger through sheer playfulness. In fact, pretty much every idea in stock here is worthy of being a novelty hit in its own right — the bugle call could be a 2010s “Doop,” the James Bond theme pinches are an accepted and well-mined trope (here, mined pretty well) and some of the melodics on display are sublime. The overall effect is loveably cheeky; it is both sexy and silly.
[7]
Alfred Soto: No more devastating testament to the decay of the James Bond film series exists than the decline of theme songs. The usual suspect — culture is no longer mass — don’t apply. What act wouldn’t attempt a song as propulsive and histrionic as the best entries in this series? Super Junior gets the dynamics right, and actually transcends the genre with ooh-ooh-oohs lifted from any number of electronic tracks. But it still lacks oomph. Duran Duran and a-ha’s songs didn’t, not to mention Carly Simon’s.
[6]