This review has gathered data from different sources and validated by the top critics in the field

and will

help to guide you through your first listen of one of the top boygroups in the current market.

True to JYP form, Stray Kids have proven to be real workhorses this year. Just over a month after their

last Korean comeback (which they’re still promoting), they’ve dropped the music video for their new

Japanese single. All In follows this spring’s standout TOP, and heralds the release of their first Japanese

mini album. Like so many tracks this year, All In is a combination of the “great” and the “okay,” all filtered

through the group’s undeniable energy.

I’m going to start with the music because it is the best part of the whole album.

Since this is a repackage, it does contain most of the songs from the original album

(GO LIVE), which is a great album with so many songs I now love. The repackage

also comes with eight new songs which are also great. Of the eight songs, five

feature all of the members and three are individual subunits of the group, which is a

first across their discography and something I really enjoy when other groups do so

it was a nice change for them and still fully fits all of their music.

If you follow me on Instagram, you have seen me sharing my favorite songs from

the album. These include Back Door, The Tortoise and the Hare, Any, and We Go.

But really all of the songs on the album, new and old, are awesome.

One thing you don’t hear from K-pop groups much any more is rap verses underlined by high-tempo

beats. It’s almost as if idol rap has become its own distinct moment within K-pop tracks. The bulk of a

song cruises along its designated groove, but as soon as the rapper comes in the entire energy and

tempo of the song changes. This discontinuity often blunts a track’s momentum, rather than building on it.

In some ways, All In feels like a macro view of this K-pop trend. Its verses and chorus are distinct in tempo

and delivery, making the song feel a bit lopsided.

All In’s chorus is a blast. I love its go-for-broke energy. The percussion pounds with a propulsive drive,

supporting a brief but effective hook. In contrast, the song’s verses are hard-hitting but move far more

leisurely in their pace. Neither approach is objectively better than the other, but having both in the same

song makes All In difficult to fully embrace. Personally, I long to hear Stray Kids’ fantastic rap-line tackle

the high-octane beat that frames All In’s chorus. I think it would result in a more dynamic flow, both for the

verses themselves and the song overall. We get a bit of this as the song’s diverging approaches come

together during its final moments, but too much of All In feels oddly disconnected.