There's a line in QQQ's debut single UNCOOL that keeps coming back: so ugly, so ugly. It's not exactly the rallying cry you'd expect from a group announcing themselves to the world. But then, KB, JISUNG and NINE have never been especially interested in doing what's expected.

The three – formerly of boy group OnlyOneOf – return this year under a new name and a new structure, just the three of them, operating largely on their own terms. Their first mini album [QtoresQ] arrived in February, and with it, a statement of intent: slower if necessary, but always on their own terms. "Even if we move a little slower," they say, "our direction as QQQ is to stay true to our own colour."

What comes through in conversation is how settled they seem in each other. The trust between KB, JISUNG and NINE isn't something they had to build for this project – it was already there. "Throughout all our activities, our bond has always been strong," they say, "even during the time JISUNG was on hiatus." When the QQQ project began, that foundation was simply where they started from.

[QtoresQ] is a four-track album framed as a signal – to fans who waited, and to anyone paying attention for the first time. It's modest in scale, deliberate in feeling. The group describe it as something they hope will bring comfort in difficult moments, a hand extended rather than a spectacle staged. A year from now, they want it remembered the way they talk about good wine: something that gets better the longer it sits.

For now, QQQ are just getting started. And by their own account, they still have a lot left to show.