The Singles Jukebox

That’s a strong word…

[Video][Website]
[5.42]

Thomas Inskeep: Who better than to co-write and co-produce an angry anthem for those who’ve been hurt than Skrillex? The 4Minute comeback single alternates nicely between calmer (relatively speaking) “this is why I’m mad” verses and absolutely aggro raps, not to mention a chorus of “I hate you/I don’t need you.” The women of 4M deliver convincingly, as does Skrillex, which means this all comes together tightly.
[6]

Cassy Gress: Did Skrillex jack those horns in the chorus from this? I mean, probably not, but that was my first thought. I don’t think the chorus melds particularly well with the rest of the song; it sort of feels like two songs stitched together, and the chorus caught me completely by surprise after Gayoon’s leadup. I knew an explosion was coming, just not that kind. The verses are the kind of “I hate you” you finally admit to yourself at the end of a long relationship that is finally dying, and the chorus is the “I hate you” of throwing his stuff out into the street. They can go together, but going back and forth between the two just feels a little weird. Independently I’d score them both higher.
[6]

Iain Mew: The first verse looks backwards, some regret mixed in with the desire for it all to be over, pleading not to drag things out. Then just as it reaches an emotional crescendo, the song transforms abruptly into the coldest and hardest stomp. And what initially seemed like too disjointed a structure has quickly become my favourite aspect of “Hate.” It’s like all of the feelings were there to make things a bit easier for the person being told to leave, but they want to make it very clear that it can and will be dropped in an instant if required. As fuck you’s go, it’s a powerful one.
[8]

Jessica Doyle: “Hate” contains some of the strongest emotional beats 4Minute has ever hit — Gayoon’s startling cry of “Liar, liar,” Sohyun’s prechorus building up to a scream of rage, Jiyoon’s throaty silheo. So why, why, why structure the song so that they cancel each other out?
[4]

Alfred Soto: The Jekyll and Hyde structure — wistful verses versus demonic “I hate you” stomping — works, although I wouldn’t listen to either section as a discrete half.
[5]

Micha Cavaseno: Dated melodramatic dubstep ballad [3], into kind of poorly suited chorus atop a pretty brash attempt at Jack-U style brass [6], bridged by a build that sounds both hurried and bored [2]. And if you think I’m being too harsh, I didn’t average in the amount of times they attempt those really terrible ‘whips’, because that’s the video, but I’d be lying if I said that didn’t figure into my logic the teensiest bit.
[4]

Madeleine Lee: “Hate” spends over a minute winding up to something big and monumental, then changes the channel instead of sticking through to the climax like “Crazy” did. I didn’t like this trick when it was “Come Back Home,” and I don’t like it much here either. But as compensation, it has a better chorus than “Come Back Home,” and perhaps “Crazy,” too: the processed plucks recall Zico’s “Turtle Ship” beat and its recasting of the traditional as something modern, and they make a pointy contrast to Jiyoon’s perfect sneer. Maybe CL should try to make friends with Skrillex instead?
[6]

Dorian Sinclair: “Hate” feels like it has enough solid ideas for about four songs, and while I do like most of them, I can’t help but wish some had been further developed. In particular, while I appreciate the way the opening melody is woven into the instrumental later on in the song, I kept expecting it to return as a vocal theme — there were several moments that felt like they were building to that, but then flipped into something completely different. Again, I think all the components used were solid, but “Hate” never quite finds a coherent structure to fashion out of them.
[6]

Leonel Manzanares de la Rosa: A piano floats, and a heartfelt vocal melody enters the scene. Skrillex’s signature wub-wubs join in, but this is still a beautiful ballad. More sonic textures appear and the beat starts rising. Everything is coming to life in the pre-chorus, the double-time bass drum announces something incredible is coming. I’m so ready for this, here it comes… Ah, the same kind of lazy, annoying, blaring chorus we’ve heard from 4Minute too many times before. Oh man, every element building up to that moment was so tremendously executed, it’s quite disappointing to hear that cheap trap drop, and this is coming from a big fan of F# Phrygian dominant riffs. 
[5]

Cédric Le Merrer: It was a very smart plan to take 2NE1’s “I Love You” and invert it to play to the strengths of Hyuna (the other girls in 4 minutes could easily have done romantic longing as well as they pulled this as a kiss off). There really is a great multi part epic here, but by the song’s end you will probably only remember the full cast and crew of the peplum stomping all over the beat like it’s so much dust on the circus floor. And that’s perfectly fine.
[8]

Patrick St. Michel: On January 3, Fox aired an episode of Family Guy set almost entirely in South Korea. The “Sunday Funday” block of programming might not be the best bellwether, but this indicated two huge things: first, South Korea has replaced Japan as the destination for an animated series’ “let’s go to Asia!” episode, a triumph for Hallyu. Second, Korean pop culture has succeeded in putting enough hallmarks into the world at large that it can be reduced to a 20-minute reference-a-thon. The centerpiece of that Family Guy was a riff on “Bubble Pop!,” as good a representative for the global-minded era of K-pop as any from 4Minute’s Hyuna. It was filtered through Seth MacFarlane’s garbage-brain, but it did remind that K-pop found a way to stand out…and make some thrilling, unique music. “Hate” lacks anything defining, standing out more in a press blast than on listen. Skrillex produced it, which in theory should be a slam dunk — team the guy who helped usher in the BIG DROPS era with a group who have nailed the same tension before — but the final product is settling on both sides. The hook is leftover TNGHT horn while the verses are sloppy, bass wobble poking out like flesh. The best Korean pop of the last few years — and very recently! — has found new angles on familiar sounds, and blown those elements up into thrilling and new blockbusters. “Hate” just feels like a bunch of references stacked on top of one another, nothing novel emerging from the pile of “remember the times?” 
[1]

Brad Shoup: My lord, that yapping hook is incredible. But it doesn’t say “hate,” and neither does 4Minute. Hyuna gets the chorus, but Jiyoon delivers the bile.
[6]