I didn’t love BamBam’s solo debut, but his recent duet with Red Velvet’s Seulgi offered a different avenue for his talent. It turns out moody sounds fit him quite well, and that approach continues on new single Slow Mo. The track retains plenty of hip-hop influences, but they’re in service to a gentle, atmospheric melody.

Slow Mo lacks a featuring artist, placing BamBam’s vocals front and center. The hooks have a sing-song quality, but not in an obnoxious way. Instead, the verses circle around a catchy synth loop that lends them plenty of movement. This element has the potential to overstay its welcome, but Slow Mo switches things up for its chorus. The refrain has a gentle appeal, underpinned by a bed of synth accents. The instrumental finds a satisfying sense of depth, with different sounds tugging in different areas. No single texture stands out among the rest, giving the track an ephemeral, dreamlike quality.

In this streaming age of short attention spans, many new pop songs lack bridges. Slow Mo joins the trend, feeling a little incomplete as a result. At just two and a half minutes, it misses the opportunity to further develop its ideas. Both verse and chorus are solid, but once you’ve heard them once you’ve pretty much experienced all there is to Slow Mo. Apart from a nice synth solo before the final chorus, the track becomes too predictable. It will make a great addition to the album, but I think last month’s Who Are You was a much stronger single.