The Singles Jukebox

Orange you glad I didn’t put a dumb joke in this caption?

[Video][Website]
[5.83]

Jessica Doyle: So my bona fides as a Twice-disliker are pretty well established. (What’s the opposite of a ONCE? A Multiple? A Never?) But then during the months in between Tzuyu inadvertently helping elect Tsai Ing-wen and Jungyeon and Momo going out to dinner in matching Atlanta Hawks sweatshirts, I listened to “TT” and said “That song is terrible,” and then listened to it again, repeat six hundred times. And “Knock Knock” is very much not terrible. It doesn’t have Lovelyz’s audaciousness of form, Red Velvet’s plasticity, or GFriend’s bravado, but it does have Twice’s strengths (group shouting, Mina sounding wistful, more group shouting) turned up to full color, and the weaknesses toned down (putting Jungyeon in as backup for both Nayeon/Jihyo on the chorus and Chaeyong/Dahyun on the rap is a nice touch). All that plus that irresistible “kung, kung!” and a melody so unabashedly sugar-pop-joy it defeats whatever grumping I planned to do about Uncle JYP and mixed messages: turning the rainbows up to 13 pushes the style beyond appealing to the guys in the army and the ajosshis in the audience and becomes its own reward. (To put it another way: you put on one eyeshadow color to impress and six because fuck it.) Tell Jungyeon to stop freaking out, ’cause I’m in. Protect Tzuyu, protect Mina, get Sana all the monies, save Jihyo’s knees, bless Twice.
[8]

Micha Cavaseno: A great deal of Twice’s material always feels like a series of sonic revolving nesting dolls about romantic communication. This ranges from a longing to hope someone picks up on signals, despondency at unexpressed feelings, and trying to find joy in the ridiculousness of people trying to claim other people. “Knock Knock” is no different and at the same time, it’s definitely a sign that they’re exhausting this lane, because this is essentially the same subject matter of “Like Ooh-Aah” and “Cheer Up,” another meme(y) hook as to resemble those two and “TT,” and frankly the verses sound like “Cotton Eyed Joe” and the production might make it the least interesting single yet. I know many people find Twice to be gratingly cheesy with their seemingly boundless optimism, often ignoring the sharp grins are hiding a frazzled quality found in key lyrics, and a song that briefly alludes to getting stalked with a laugh and a shrug really underlines that blindspot. Still, this is not the single I’d use to convince anyone about how fascinating this group can be and currently is.
[6]

Will Adams: Recalls the Sour Patch electro-pop-rock era of the late aughts pretty well (it’s more “Dollhouse” than “Hot N Cold”), and the “KNO-KNO-KNO-KNO-KNOCK” hook drilled into my skull right quick. One would think, however, that after the success of “Cheer Up” and “TT,” you wouldn’t want to start showing restraint all of a sudden.
[6]

Ryo Miyauchi: “Knock Knock” bets it all in the hook, bubbly and childish as Twice has been known to be, and the rest of the song builds around it. An earworm, surely, though after a fifth listen, I can’t recall much else: the guitar beat, the baton passes between members, the actual chorus — nothing really sticks. The group doubled down on both their bubbly image as well as a dumb-fun hook before, but I always took home more than the main sell for each.
[5]

Tim de Reuse: Cutesy four-chord teenage crush stories are all pretty standard for the genre, but this song lays its material over crisp electric guitar and twinkly bells and feathery synthesizers that are each too polite to bother punching out of the mix. It’s K-pop inexplicably sanitized with an indie rock coat of paint, and it leaves very little in the way of personality.
[3]

Katie Gill: The more I listen to this, the more I find myself charmed by this. The backing of the verses brings nothing to the table and the hilariously brief rap seems like an afterthought, but that chorus is just so much fun. “Knock knock knock knock knock on my door” is probably the best hook out of the Twice discography of really good hooks. With “Knock Knock,” the girls aren’t entirely grown up, per se — the song might be a bit more mature than “TT” but the video’s slumber party imagery is still super kiddie. But at least they’re making strides.
[7]