Recording Review: “Empathy” IVE

The iconic girl group IVE just released Empathy on February 3, 2025, following up on the promises of their previous work by delivering six songs full of classic K-Pop hallmarks—while also offering something new, both artistically and sonically. The girls expand their branding of self-love into self-love through empathy, hence the title, and do so through a subtle blending of their home genre with elements of other genres to enhance the production.

The opening track, “REBEL HEART”, displays these new directions in a march-like anthem, driven by a strong kick drum—a reliable throughline for the album. The lyrics follow on IVE’s already established precedents, choruses tending toward English and verses toward Korean, thereby making it accessible to both of their target audiences.

Following up the hit single is “FLU”, immediately standing out as a true K-Pop staple. It’s punchy, it’s fun, and it is built to be played over those car speakers at an obscenely high volume. The track is a satisfying example of recording production, employing vocal stacking and instrumental balance in a manner that compliments the song form while still offering a contrast to the girls’ soaring soprano voices. Despite not being one of the two singles on the album, it still earns its place as one of the signature pop pieces.

“You Wanna Cry” helps to provide pacing for the tracklist by calming “FLU”’s high energy into something evocative of an early 2000s pop-punk ballad. This aesthetic is cemented by the rapturous chorus, expanding the production to highlight the distorted electric guitar and bass. The interweaving of these conventional instruments into the synthesized landscape allows this track to stand out against its pop-heavy counterparts.

The chill vibe continues with Soul/R&B notes offered in “Thank U”. Here, the production utilizes borrowed elements like doowop beats over complex chord changes to create a soothing waltz sensation throughout the track. The resulting blend of sugar pop with R&B posits a similar flavor as Ariana Grande’s debut album, Yours Truly—although perhaps minus the vocal acrobatics.

Empathy rounds out in its home territory on final tracks “ATTITUDE” and “TKO”. The other lead single, “ATTITUDE”, goes back to basics, borrowing the iconic hook in Suzanne Vega’s “Tom’s Diner” with IVE’s confident lyrics and mix of punchy choruses and sassy breakdowns. The final song “TKO,” provides one last genre blend with a brassy intro followed by trap beats and funky synth leads to complement the girls’ long lyrical lines.

Overall, this EP is a strong contribution to IVE’s portfolio, offering a combination of what audiences are already looking for with hints of something they might not know they wanted. But truly, it doesn’t take much empathy to feel love and confidence when listening to IVE’s Empathy.