RESCENE's 'PULSE' hits #1 on Melon in 2 hours, but 'With' draws mixed reviews
RESCENE's fourth mini album 'PULSE' hit hard on December 3, with 'With' topping Melon TOP100 in 2 hours. The response? Mixed.
'With' goes #1 in 2 hours; four B-sides crack the TOP10
RESCENE dropped their fourth mini album PULSE on December 3. Title track With hit #1 on Melon TOP100 within two hours. Four B-sides — Finest Thing, 백화요란 (Inside Out), MEME, and Dragon — all entered the TOP10 on release day.
The group debuted in March 2024 with the single Re:Scene. Their third mini album lip bomb, released in November 2025, posted first-week sales of 100,000 copies. A PULSE showcase happened the same evening at Blue Square Woori WON Banking Hall in Yongsan-gu, Seoul.
The album's reception: clean but restrained
PULSE landed somewhere in the middle. Not bad. Not exceptional. With itself is clean and well-executed — the melody works, the vocal-led structure works, the chorus finish works. But listeners picked up on something missing: the atmosphere feels more restrained than previous RESCENE releases, and nothing quite hits hard enough to stick.
The Bias List nailed it: With is "well-organized pop musically, but the decisive charm of the melody is somewhat disappointing."
'백화요란 (Inside Out)' is the one listeners keep coming back to
백화요란 (Inside Out) is the track that's actually moving people. It's funk-based, danceable, blended with pop R&B — a sharp left turn from the ethereal synth-pop RESCENE built their sound on. Listeners are calling it the album's best moment.
Moonshine, Ellen Berg, EJAE, and Emily Kim composed the track, with Moonshine arranging. (Moonshine and Ellen Berg have worked with SM Entertainment and penned several Red Velvet songs.) There's also a layer of personal meaning: member Minami had written "백화요란" in calligraphy on a YouTube video as her 2026 New Year's goal.
The numbers are there. Whether PULSE keeps climbing depends on whether 백화요란 (Inside Out) can pull casual listeners back in.
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