Review Summary: Not as forgettable as Pentakill
K/DA is a virtual K-Pop group created by Riot Games for their popular MOBA League of Legends. The group consists of four champions (characters) from League, which are Ahri, Akali, Evelynn and Kai'Sa, whose verses are primarily sung by Madison Beer, Jaira Burns, Miyeon and Soyeon respectively [the latter two artists are from the K-Pop group (G)I-dle]. The
ALL OUT EP also features quite a few other artists filling in on vocal duties, most notably Lexie Liu, Kim Petras, and Bekuh Boom. All of the music was written by the Riot Music Team, who also took care of production.
If you've heard one K-pop song then you've heard them all, but for those who play League, K/DA's music will likely resonate more than the average K-pop group's. Each of the five tracks, which feature a different champion from K/DA (and also Seraphine, a champion who's not in the group), contain lyrics that simultaneously make sense to those who know specific things about that champion's playstyle and lore, as well as lyrics that can be enjoyed by the general listener. For example, Evelynn, the evil seductress, leads the track
VILLAIN, which is about getting inside a man's head completely for her own benefit (Is it really a surprise if I'm playing with your mind / And I treat you like a prize, then I throw you to the side). The lyrics are ambiguous and fun, and I could imagine a K-pop fan who doesn't play League still being able to enjoy K/DA.
Due to the success of League of Legends over the past ten years, Riot has become a wealthy company; so it's no surprise that
ALL OUT features the most pristine, glossy, and expensive-sounding production imaginable for their musical project. All mixing of synths, bass, vocals and vocal effects was done meticulously for the most professional-sounding product they could possibly create. I also have to applaud Riot for the fact that they even made this EP, as a majority of the featured artists have exclusively released singles, which is the current trend in all of pop. Riot may be terrible at balancing their game, but they really know how to go
ALL OUT on their music.
