[Review] BASTARZ - Zero For Conduct

Block B's first subunit BASTARZ would consist of U-Kwon, B-Bomb, and P.O. First off I like the idea of showcasing the less "famous" members of the group in this subunit. Zico and Taeil have plenty of talent and exposure under the belts so getting the other boys a shot will probably be good for Block B overall.

"Zero For Conduct" (or "Conduct Zero," whichever you prefer) is a powerful song and you can tell right from the beginning with the alarms / sirens and deep instrumental kicking in immediately. P.O is a capable rapper who has essentially existed under Zico's shadow with Block B, but here he gets to be the center character (at least in my opinion) and while his hair has been questionable the last couple of videos, he does a really job with the rap with his voice and execution. I do have a little gripe about the "ready go" butchering in the prechorus: it sounds too much like "let it go" with terrible English but nothing can be done about that I suppose? The chorus is similar to "Catch Me If You Can" by Girls' Generation, in that it's mainly there for dance purposes and there isn't much going on otherwise. The instrumental does the bulk of the work and makes you just want to dance along, which means "Conduct Zero" has accomplished the goal of any dance track.

I won't comment too much on the MV. It's the generic video with dance scenes and solo shots with girls in lingerie and...? Not really sure about the outfits. It's not nearly as interesting as past Block B videos are, and as such I'm left wondering if this is a good thing or not. Oh and there's that creepy set of clips with their faces molded in something red or whatever. I don't know what's going on there but I didn't like it.

There's a few different ways to approach a subunit. Subunits like Orange Caramel take a completely different style of music their mother group usually performs, which shows how flexible the members of said group can be, while a subunit like Girls' Generation-TTS can reveal how filler other members can be in comparison to the main. BASTARZ might be in a category of its own. While the music doesn't stray too far from the standard Block B formula, the members each do an admirable job with their parts and the song as a whole is quite good. However, one could imagine what this song would be like as a Block B release, with Zico mixed in per usual and Taeil adding some extra vocal power. BASTARZ makes a loud splash for the debut but can't quite manage to bring it home.

[ Overall: 80 / 100 ]