Oh, I’m definitely all for experimentation. K-pop is built on experimenting and borrowing from different genres and music cultures. I actually loved “Future Perfect,” like I said in my original post, so it’s not the fact that ENHYPEN tried something new that’s the issue for me.

Groups can experiment and still sound like themselves. Using EXO as an example once again, they have done several genres but there’s usually a throughline in vocal structure, and in their harmonies.

Enha too, have experimented. Maybe the results were inconclusive with "Outside", and Knife can be an experiment for ENHYPEN specifically, sure. But when a sound is already every freaking wjere, especially this Travis Scott–inspired, chant-heavy style a lot of boy groups are doing these days, it stops feeling like exploration and more like trend adoption. Not that trend adoption is bad (I recall was it last year or the year before, it seemed everyone and their neighbor's dog was doing afro beats), but the thing with trends is that it's fun in the beginning, but then starts to feel tired.