With Izone paving the way for 4th gen groups to shine with their disbandment, Next Level came out and literally sent some of the biggest acts in Korean music into early temporary retirement. It was the inflection point, the song that dealt a mortal blow to both 3rd and 2nd generation, with Ive and now New Jeans completing the 4th gen takeover.
But since then, i have grown more and more disillusioned with Aespa's music. Savage was partially saved by a brilliant beautiful bridge, Girls had a couple interesting parts, but overall, if you add up all their post Next Level releases including their rando singles and English songs, their songs would probably average at a tepid 5 or 6 out of 10 .
So is Aespa a one hit wonder? Does anyone actually like where SM has taken Aespa musically since Black Mamba/Next Level?