USPEER Is off to the Races with Debut Single Album SPEED ZONE
Photo: USPEER Official X
The K-Pop scene has changed immensely since WM Entertainment’s last girl group, OH MY GIRL, debuted in 2015: USPEER, the company’s latest act, takes a direction that understands 2025 is a different beast. On June 4, Yeowon, Soee, Sian, Seoyu, Daon, Chaena, and Roa started their careers with the single album SPEED ZONE. With a name combining “us” with the Scottish term “peer” (meaning “to ask”), USPEER seeks answers to create a better world.
The Title Track: “ZOOM”
A newscast in the “ZOOM” music video predicts USPEER is “set to take over the game with groundbreaking sound.” Whether that refers to a fast pace or a musical identity, USPEER showcases their first song using an electro-pop sound. HARING, Kwon Aejin, and HwangHyun of production studio MonoTree were part of the seven-person composing team that gave “ZOOM” its bounce. The structure of “ZOOM” makes it one of the more creative girl group debut singles this year, though I wish it implemented more electric guitar. The addition of an electric guitar riff in the second half of the chorus creates an illusion that the song will ramp up, but that aspect leaves almost immediately.
Many groups start with a youthful concept for their debut; back in 2015, OH MY GIRL presented “youth” with the love song “CUPID,” which used a marching band instrumental and an angel concept. USPEER’s “ZOOM” interprets youth with an instrumental fusing EDM and hip-hop for a dance-centric song. Its music video’s sporty motif goes hand-in-hand with messages of facing the future confidently.*
The B-Side: “Telepathy”
The other included track on SPEED ZONE is “Telepathy.” This U.K. garage and R&B track fails to stand out compared to the title track. Groups like NewJeans re-popularized U.K. garage’s current prevalence in girl groups’ music, making it hard not to notice when the genre appears. With irregular beats emphasized by hi-hat cymbals, “Telepathy” sounds like many of its contemporaries. Even the specific rhythm USPEER uses to sing the word “telepathy” feels similar to the “I feel like 많이” line from WOOAH’s “BLUSH.”
Sharing the same genre does not automatically equate to songs sounding similar, but “Telepathy” does not feel as distinct as “ZOOM” does. The characteristics of “Telepathy” stick out more when there is only one other song to compare it to, for better or worse. Though it very much shows a different concept from “ZOOM,” it unfortunately doesn’t offer me a greater understanding of what USPEER’s future may look like. The group does say that “[the right answer has] never been there right from the start” in “ZOOM,” so only time will tell if that rings true.
*Note: lyrics taken from English captions in the official music video.
Edited by Clark Royandoyan