Mixtape : dominATE - EP

On the heels of 2024’s <i>HOP</i>, K-pop phenoms Stray Kids continue their tradition of more casual, self-produced “mixtape” releases with <i>Mixtape : dominATE</i>. The project shares a name with the group’s third world tour: dominATE. Like <i>HOP</i>, <i>Mixtape : dominATE</i> is predominantly composed of tracks that don’t feature all of the members, with Stray Kids’ eight members breaking up into subunits to write and perform four of the album’s five tracks. In restless, electric guitar-led “Burnin’ Tires,” Changbin and I.N. are “running until the end,” while HAN and Felix rap about riding Benzes and saluting fans in swagger song “Truman.” Bang Chan and Hyunjin beckon listeners to follow in head-banging pop-rock track “ESCAPE,” while Lee Know and Seungmin promise to keep singing in lyrical ballad “CINEMA.”

The octet is all together for a Korean-language version of “GIANT,” a stadium-stomper that was first released in its Japanese-language version as the title track of the group’s second full-length Japanese album in 2024. It’s fitting to have at least one group track on the mixtape, as the release of <i>Mixtape : dominATE</i> came days before Stray Kids’ seventh anniversary as a K-pop team.