Getting an MV and a semi-promotion cycle for a b-side is always a treat, especially when that b-side is as groovy as Enhypen’s “Brought the Heat Back.” It’s an added bonus that the MV for “Brought the Heat Back” bucks a lot of b-side MV trends. This isn’t a glorified dance practice, or a paint-by-numbers effort. “Brought the Heat Back” is proper addition to Enhypen’s supernatural MV universe, and it features much of the visual ingenuity that makes their MVs consistent standouts. Unfortunately, despite containing tons of fantastic ingredients, “Brought the Heat Back” can’t quite bring them together into a convincing whole.
The primary friction in “Brought the Heat Back” is between quirky horror aesthetics and ice-cold menace. There’s great potential in this combination, but “Brought the Heat Back” bounces erratically between the two visions instead of interweaving them. On the one hand, the MV is a darkly comedic heist story, as the Enhypen members fight each other for possession of a shape-shifting cat. On the other hand, “Brought the Heat Back” leans into stylish ominousness in its individual members shots, and takes a surprisingly heavy touch to much of its violence. The eeriness is amplified by the song’s lyrics, which focus on out-of-control jealousy, often a somewhat queasy subject matter:
I brought the heat back like scorching hotter hotter
Wild madness getting stronger stronger
No it ain’t my fault, ain’t my fault
Ain’t my fault, it’s cause of you
So weird, I hate it, overwhelmed with jealousy
There are really strong aspects of each approach, like the hilarious shots of members driving around in a car emblazoned with the slogan “Real Men Love Cats,” or on the opposite end of the spectrum, the great punk-pop styling throughout. Enhypen are also strong performance-wise in each mode, with Jungwon and Sunoo in particular nailing the distinctions and shining as alternatively cheeky and stone-faced. However, the failure to build consistent bridges between the two moods makes the MV feel choppy, momentum cutting off at each conceptual flip-flop.
There is a path to cohesion that is hinted at. When Jake telepathically drops a coffin from the sky to crush Jungwon during Enhypen’s (literal) cat fight, the exaggerated nature of the violence sends it into comical territory, and it blends much better tonally with the MV’s heist aspects. If “Brought the Heat Back” had leaned more into horror-comedy aesthetics, instead of trying to be chilling yet hyper-cool in-between heist scenes, the MV might have come together into a convincing whole.
Alternatively, “Brought the Heat Back” could have fully embraced its edge, something it arguably does in the best sequence of the MV, its pre-final chorus bridge. The bridge features one of the best visuals of the MV, a creepy-cool silhouetted choreography sequence that sees the Enhypen members eyes turn glowing, red, and cat-like through the use of special effects. Cutting between additional individual member shots that also feature cat-adjacent visuals, the bridge has propulsive momentum that satisfyingly explodes into the final chorus.
Despite not living up to its high potential “Brought the Heat Back” deserves praise for refusing to play it safe. Not all of the MV’s risks pay off, but they ensure that even when “Brought the Heat Back” falls short, it remains a fun and compelling watch.
(YouTube. Lyrics via YouTube. Images via HYBE.)
0 Comments