Following MV teasers for their new single and a 2 minute Jimin solo as an intro to the new album, rising boy group Bangtan finally drop their new songs for the anticipating ARMY.
Intro: Serendipity When this video dropped out of the blue, Jimin's voice and soft visuals serenaded the eyes and ears of quite a few fans. Serendipity is a lovely intro to the mini album to give the listener preparation on the upcoming title track. A relationship blooming since the creation of the universe. All Jimin asks is to let him love you.
DNA The MV was not messing about with the colours. The visuals attacked many but others still cringed over that and the song itself. DNA is definitely a grower track. It took me a few listens to embrace its funkiness (but the stage performances are worth a watch). The whistling at the beginning is an earworm and repeats itself constantly. The song is a follow-up to Serendipity in terms of theme i.e. the universe connecting each other and destiny bringing lovers together, releasing many feelings etc.
Best Of Me Collaboration with American EDM duo The Chainsmokers - yes I'm aware of their scandalous incident from an interview but putting that aside I know very little about them since I have not followed the latest artists for a while. Bangtan took control over writing the lyrics over the Chainsmokers' tune that talks about having the best of your significant other. This is a very electronic song that you'd hear in a nightclub. Also, Yoongi is singing/rap-singing in this song which is rather nice.
Dimple/Illegal Vocal Line time and the line distribution is really good. The boys are talking about a girl who is so pretty with dimples that it is illegal (or as they put it 'illegirl' oh my with the word play here).
Piped Piper Somehow, the opening beat reminds me of TaeJin's duet from the Hwarang OST "If I Die, It's You". There is no denying that Bangtan is saying they know how ARMYs are with regards to the posters on their bedroom wall, needing to tune into V Live, how people close to us in real life don't like the group... it's very relatable. Yet like the Pied Piper playing the flute, we are still drawn to these guys. Its dangerous but they are sweet. It's a guilty pleasure and they know the effects they have on their fans. OK...definitely resonating with me as a music listener. Namjoon speaks the truth - start studying for your exams.
Skit: Billboard Music Awards Speech I am very surprised they actually included their speech from the Billboard Music Awards. Yes it's very cheesy but certainly a proud moment.
Mic Drop So we don't get a Cypher but instead a fiery Mic Drop and it delivers BIG TIME. The live performance is incredible too. The lyrics are a definite up yours to Bangtan's haters. There is mention about their growing popularity and how "haters gon' hate, players gon play". Even a "sorry your son is too successful" line and a bag of trophies. Wow they are biting hard here and I'm living for it.
Go Go / Gominboda Go Now we're moving onto a song about spending the money you've just earned. YOLO they say. Take what you will from your spending, folks. Just go go.
Outro: Her More rap-singing by Rapper Line...no complaints here. Even if it's for a few lines, I'm enjoying it for sure. Her is a nice track on the guys in love with a particular 'her' - whoever she may be. ARMYs speculate it's either referencing the fandom or going more personal perhaps a lucky girl Namjoon likes since he wrote the verse in 20 minutes. They put on a mask for the sake of their relationship. Not necessarily talking about clothes and a huge amount of make-up...just a facade.
There are two hidden tracks on the physical copy of the album Sea and another Skit called Hesitation and Fear. The latter starts off with PD-Nim watching the winning speech at Billboard Music Awards and he is caught by the guys before leaving the room for a meeting. Bangtan discuss winning the award, how they suddenly became more popular and worldwide (yes Jin you are worldwide handsome) and you see how much has evolved since their trainee days. How far do they have to go up, what happens if they fall down hard - especially after meeting someone for the first time excitedly? There is so much to absorb in these 8 minutes. It's a topic I empathise with.
Sea has a little alternative rock edge and is possibly the rawest song from the album. There is reference to their growing career, having to deal with conflict or cynicism because they came from a smaller music company and being edited out of broadcasts. The line where there is hope, there are trials is so true. Anyone can relate to this. Because let's face it, it'll never be a smooth path for those who dream of something big.
Overall
Inspecting this mini album, I feel the love yourself message is speaking aloud in some of these tracks. I was surprised with what I found. To begin with I felt a lot of the songs were not memorable but then I heard the hidden tracks and I changed my mind about the entire album's flow. Sea is tied as my favourite song next to Serendipity and Pied Piper when it comes to tracks which I can understand from a personal level. Mic Drop is such a diss track that is a perfect hype remedy because it's ferocious and gets me motivated. The line distribution in some of the songs is also getting better when it comes to vocals. Seokjin has more lines and even gets to be in the middle of dance line during performances.
Bangtan tell us to love ourselves...I hope they can learn to love themselves too with or without the masks they describe and that they are not alone. Thank you for sharing your deepest thoughts, guys.
Comments
Post a Comment