Since their debut in 2023, BOYNEXTDOOR has steadily built up a large fanbase and this year they’ve continued to branch out to festivals like Lollapalooza. All the while, their music has kept its own color, pulling as much from very old pop genres as it does modern trends. New single Hollywood Action continues this approach but flirts too heavily with novelty.
The group has developed a penchant for swing music and other sounds of that era. It’s certainly unique, but threatens to feel like a schtick without the right song. Their music is almost always personality-driven and that gets them far even on a track like this. It’s hard to imagine another band being able to pull off Hollywood Action at all. I don’t think even BOYNEXTDOOR make it work, but it’s a testament to their charm that the song is at least listenable.
I’ve never enjoyed music that sounds too much like a commercial jingle, and Hollywood Action veers hard into this territory. It’s built upon one goofy idea, repeated without much extra flesh on the bone. The track centers around a catchy brass loop, over which the guys cast off some forgettable sing-talk about “screaming like a thriller” or some nonsense. The production here is too threadbare to carry much excitement. It sounds like a drag-and-drop loop from a sample pack, unadorned and unexciting. One of BOYNEXTDOOR’s greatest assets is their energy, and that’s almost completely absent given the constraints of the song. Sadly, this is their worst single in an otherwise strong discography.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 7 |
| Longevity | 7 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 7.25 |
Grade: C
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