On their fourth studio effort
Face the Sun
, K-pop group
Seventeen
craft an excellent mix of party-starting anthems that pulls from multiple genres, tempered only by a single slow moment to catch a breath. Standouts like the Wild West stomper "Hot" and the thumping "Don Quixote" are absolutely rousing doses of energy and catchy hooks, while "March" shifts into a surprisingly glam rock-meets-
Michael Jackson
direction, injecting some rock crunch into an otherwise hip-hop/dance-centric affair. Meanwhile, the shimmering, neon synths of "Domino" and "Shadow" keep the dancefloor packed with bodies. The thrills don't let up until the album is almost finished. The tender piano-backed ballad "If You Leave Me" showcases the group's vocal harmonies, but this is the one moment of peace before
kicks it back into gear on closer "Ash," a hard-hitting and hardened statement that is aggressively confrontational in its hip-hop-edged defiance. Even though
contains just nine tracks, that's enough to leave listeners breathless and rejuvenated. ~ Neil Z. Yeung