Song Review: Momoland x Chromance – Wrap Me In Plastic

After their breakout 2018 success, Momoland have pinballed from one novelty to another, trying to find something that might stick. This has been largely unsuccessful, though they remain a competitive force in today’s K-pop landscape. Their pursuit of viral sounds has led them toward a few different collaborations, the latest of which sees them paired with masked EDM DJ Chromance on a cover of his 2020 TikTok hit Wrap Me In Plastic.

While my eyes glazed over as soon as I read “TikTok hit,” I’m always hopeful that K-pop can do its thing and somehow bring something new to the endeavor. Unfortunately, Momoland’s version is pretty much a straight cover. And, having an upbeat girl group sing these lyrics comes across as even creepier than the original.

There’s a reason why I don’t review English-language pop music. Too often, I get stuck in the weeds when it comes to lyrics. And the lyrics here are… something else. I honestly can’t tell if the original was meant to be some sort of weird parody, but Momoland play it totally straight. And, that makes the end-result feel awkward and off-putting. The protagonist of this song seems to give up all her agency to a man, and the repeated dollhouse theming brings to mind the worst of K-pop fetishization. There appears to be no subversion present within the track itself, unless I’m missing something. It’s just a straight-up creepfest.

Taking the lyrics away from the track (which is hard to do), the synthesized reggae beat is nothing to write home about. My favorite moment is the vocaloid-esque break right after the chorus, but that may just be because it’s one of the few times I don’t feel like I need to take a cold shower.