[TF Focus] 'Hot Comeback' RESCENE, Two Reactions to New Album

The overall reaction was mostly 'so-so'.'Baek Hwa Yo Ran (Inside Out)' also garnered as much attention as the title track.The fourth mini-album 'PULSE' by group RESCENE is gaining immense popularity, immediately topping major music charts upon its release. The photo shows RESCENE's WONI Minami ZENA LIV MAY (from top left, clockwise) posing at the 'PULSE' showcase held on the 3rd at Our WON Banking Hall, Blue Square, Yongsan-gu, Seoul. /Reporter Kim Sung-ryeol[THE FACT|Choi Hyun-jung] The new album from RESCENE, one of the most anticipated comebacks of the second half of 2026, has been unveiled.RESCENE(WONI Minami ZENA LIV MAY) launched their comeback activities in earnest on the 3rd at 6 PM by releasing their fourth mini-album 'PULSE' on various music sites.The reason this album has garnered attention is undoubtedly due to RESCENE's resurgence. Debuting in March 2024 with the single 'Re:Scene', they steadily grew, achieving 100,000 first-week sales for their third mini-album 'lip bomb', released in November 2025.Considering that most small and medium-sized K-pop groups struggle to surpass 100,000 copies, RESCENE, which achieved 100,000 copies in about 1 year and 8 months, was already considered a very promising rookie in the K-pop scene at the time.The opportunity to take several steps up in such a situation was the member Won-i's appearance in a YouTube content. WONI, who gained attention by appearing in the YouTube content 'My Uncle Yeonsu' with comedians Lee Seon-min and Yoo Young-woo, subsequently launched her personal YouTube channel 'Hello Won-i, Please Take Care of Me'. The content showcased through this channel gained explosive popularity, and RESCENE emerged as a 'hot topic group'.This RESCENE's buzz led to a resurgence in music charts for past releases, and the remake single 'Pretty Girl' released in July also gained significant popularity.However, since "Pretty Girl" is a remake song and not an original, and the single has a strong "special event" character, fans' thirst for a new album from RESCENE has only grown.The new album released in such a situation is 'PULSE'. As fans of RESCENE were eagerly awaiting it, and anyone who knew even a little about RESCENE watched it with curiosity, the results were as expected.The title track 'With' from 'PULSE' is described as clean but lacking the impressive elements of its predecessor. The photo shows RESCENE performing the title track 'With' at the 'PULSE' showcase held on the 3rd at Our WON Banking Hall, Blue Square, Yongsan-gu, Seoul. / Reporter Kim Seong-ryeolThe title track "With" from 'PULSE' reached number one on Melon TOP100 within two hours of its release, and all of the included songs, "Finest Thing," "Baekhwaryeon (Inside Out)," "MEME," and "Dragon," entered the TOP10 of the TOP100 chart.Furthermore, 'PULSE' not only dominated Melon but also almost all major domestic and international music charts, clearly proving the significantly changed status of RESCENE.In fact, the good performance of 'PULSE' was an expected result for everyone. This was because it was a comeback that garnered significant interest. What's curious is the evaluation of the music included in 'PULSE'. This is because, separately from the chart performance, there are various opinions emerging about the music itself.To get straight to the point, the general consensus is that 'PULSE' is an unremarkable work that is neither particularly edgy nor outstanding. In particular, the title track 'With' is praised for maintaining the group's musical style while making a safe choice.Since the release of 'PULSE', a consensus has been forming on domestic social media that while all the songs on the album are well-made overall, they lack a definitive impact.The song that best embodies this evaluation is the title track 'With'. While the melody, vocal-centric progression, and the endings of the chorus and outro in 'With' are praised for being cleanly executed, some find the mood to be more restrained compared to the previous work, lacking parts that leave a strong impression.Overseas reactions are not much different. K-pop review blog The Bias List commented on the title track 'With', saying, "It's a musically well-arranged pop song, but the decisive charm of the melody is a little disappointing."Among them, the song that is getting the most interesting reactions is 'Baek Hwa Yo Ran (Inside Out)'.As is well known, 'Hyakkarōran' is a title with a narrative. It is a phrase that member Minami of RESCENE personally wrote in calligraphy as a New Year's resolution for 2026 in a YouTube content, and the meaning of the phrase, 'a scene where all kinds of flowers are in full bloom,' fits well with the situation of RESCENE, becoming a word that symbolizes them.So, from the moment its title was revealed, 'Baek Hwa Yo Ran (Inside Out)' garnered as much attention as the title track, and the song itself, upon its release, is drawing even more attention by presenting a sound that differs from expectations."Baek Hwa Yo Ran (Inside Out)" is a song that combines a danceable rhythm based on funk with pop R&B, and it has a different texture from the dreamy synth-pop that RESCENE has mainly showcased so far.The included song 'Baek Hwa Yo Ran (Inside Out)' is a pop R&B genre song that RESCENE has not attempted before. Among listeners, there are reactions that it is therefore more refreshing. The photo shows RESCENE performing the song 'Baek Hwa Yo Ran (Inside Out)' at the 'PULSE' showcase held at the Our WON Banking Hall in Blue Square, Yongsan-gu, Seoul on the 3rd. / Reporter Kim Seong-ryeolAs a result, listeners have embraced "Baek Hwa Yo Ran (Inside Out)" as fresh, with many citing it as the most impressive track on "PULSE."In fact, 'Inside Out' is a song composed by Moonshine, Ellen Berg, EJAE, and Emily Kim, not the usual songwriting team that RESCENE has worked with, and Moonshine was in charge of the arrangement. In particular, Moonshine and Ellen Berg have collaborated with SM Entertainment to create several representative songs for the group Red Velvet.The reason why there are reactions like "'Baek Hwa Yo Ran (Inside Out)' is like a song from SM Entertainment or Red Velvet."To summarize, 'PULSE' can be seen as an album that maintains the musical color of the existing RESCENE while also incorporating new attempts. The representative songs for this are 'With' and 'Baekhwaryoran (Inside Out)', respectively.RESCENE members also mentioned both 'living up to expectations' and 'a new side' at the 'PULSE' showcase held on the 3rd at the Our WON Banking Hall in Blue Square, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, and performed both 'With' and 'Baek Hwa Yo Ran (Inside Out)'.Attention is focused on whether the 'expansion' of RESCENE, which began in 'PULSE', can create another new miracle.[Entertainment Department | ssent@tf.co.kr]laugardagr@tf.co.kr