[This review reflects the opinions of the author and not necessarily those of allkpop.]

Track List:

1. Black Mamba

aespa is one of the most- if not the most anticipated girl group comeback from SM Entertainment. After 6 years of girl group silence (post-Red Velvet), aespa, the highly intriguing "tech x K-Pop" group has debuted. The group released a series of interesting teasers that garnered a lot of attention, both negative and positive, but now fans can judge them from their music and not a short teaser video. 

The group released their debut single, "Black Mamba" - a strong and charismatic piece that's clearly meant to show off the member's strong suits. The song itself garnered neutral reactions from me. The song is very classic SM in nature with a vocally challenging bridge and chorus, but the members fail to really capture my attention in any extravagant way. That being said - I don't actually think the song is bad in any way; it's fairly formulaic and a safe bet as a girl group debut song. Given that most debut tracks don't resonate that well, "Black Mamba" is comfortably neutral in overall vibe and sound.

MV REVIEW

I felt the music video for "Black Mamba" to be a bit too overstimulating for my taste. The intensity of the outfit concepts, backgrounds, and choreography felt over-the-top and almost a bit gaudy for the neutral debut song that is "Black Mamba." I can tell they're going for colorful and strong as a concept, but it's a bit scattered with the constant switching of shots that don't really feel interconnected.

aespa themselves are clearly talented and eager to show what they can do, but my caveat with that is that I'm not really understanding the point of the avatars just yet, as the MV seemed to focus in on the members over their virtual selves. It seems counterintuitive to have people train so hard and then replace them with their avatars, but I'm curious to see what SM does next in that regard.

SCORE:

MV Relevance…..7

MV Production…..7

MV Concept……..6

MV Score: 6.67

Single Production…...8

Single Concept……...8

Tracklisting…………...n/a

Album Score: 8

Overall: 7.3