I'VE MINE

K-pop girl group IVE follows up their studio album debut with *I’VE MINE*, a six-track EP that continues the group’s prioritization of self-acceptance as a theme beyond the singles-heavy strategy that made up a majority of their prior discography. In “Baddie,” the fourth-generation sextet communicates the message through a trap-infused swaggering K-pop song (“I’m a baddie, ba-ba-baddie, baddie, pretty little risky baddie/Catch me if you ca-an”), while “Either Way” uses a stripped-down synth ballad format to explore a more vulnerable side of the same subject. Though the latter track’s lyrics speak to the narrow tightrope K-pop idols must walk when it comes to public image (“The countless versions of me made from misunderstandings/All of them are ‘me’ in the end”), they are relatable to any listener who struggles to fit neatly into others’ expectations. Elsewhere on the mini album, An Yujin, Gaeul, Rei, Jang Wonyoung, Liz, and Leeseo switch their focus to the infinitely generative topic of love. Groovy pre-release track “Off the Record” gamely broaches the often off-limits-for-idols subject of late-night, um, talking (“Reveal your darkest desires/There\'s no way you don\'t have any/Now we\'re in private mode”), while the dreamy midtempo pop song “OTT” encourages listeners to “like what they like” when it comes to attraction. Funky B-sider “Holy Moly” incorporates similar sonic elements to IVE’s 2021 smash-hit debut track “ELEVEN,” but it\'s album-ender “Payback” that brings the group\'s signature verve. The breakup bop (“Winter’s coming/You better get going”) pulls IVE to new vocal heights in the song’s simple yet stirringly melodic chorus.