Deny : Wednesday's Child (수요일의 아이)

Deny has done a lot in a short time. A March 2025 single led to a July 2025 EP. Six months later, another single and in April, Deny released Wednesday’s Child.

As of this writing, the band is five members, but the EP was recorded with six members. The band definitely reminds me of Japanese rock, and that’s not just from their animation-forward presentation. The composition is a hybrid of Korean pop rock with popular Japanese rock. If you watch or listen to Japanese anime soundtrack songs from popular groups, you’ll hear elements peek through.

“수요일의 아이” sounds like the opening track for a show. It has that mellow introduction that’s working towards a bigger chorus presence and that happens here. It definitely attracts attention to the band’s sound.

Wednesday’s Child goes into funk pop on “아크릴릭 페인트.” I think this song is meant to show Deny’s musicianship and it’s pretty successful. One thing that sticks out is when the full band is playing, there’s almost too much going on. Lead and rhythm guitars sit over bass, keys, and drums. Add in extra instruments and “아크릴릭 페인트” is overwhelming.

“야행성” is a strong song that’s diluted for me when streaming on Spotify. Different instruments are raised and lowered in the mix, creating another strange balance. On YouTube Music, Deny’s sound was a lot clearer. CielA‘s vocals do sit at the top of the mix with the other instruments fighting for space. Mixing across the three songs could have been improved to present a unified experience rather than a piecemeal listener experience.

Deny is early in their career. Foundationally, the band knows the type of music they want to create and they’re successful overall. What they need to do is create more, know when to cut, and polish songs to present a consistent sound.