There is a reason Bangtan Sonyeontan, better known as BTS is the biggest pop group, dominating the world with every song they release. With songwriting so heartfelt that it resonates with millions of listeners worldwide, BTS proves time and time again, that the power of music transcends language and time.
Much to everyone’s delight, last year after the release of their smash hit ‘Dynamite’ — the song that took over the music world and the multiple charts with its vibrant music video and retro funky music, the South Korean pop group surprised their fans by announcing the making of their new album ‘BE’.
The name “BE” as suggested by RM, the group leader is a translinguistic word play between the Korean word bi meaning rain and the english word be, suggesting the album is like a downpour that lets some steam off the pressure that the pandemic has built up in everyone’s lives and acts as a solace that helps the listeners just “be” and exist as how they are, even if it is just for a couple of hours.
Released on 18th November 2020, to no one’s surprise, BTS’ album shines through and sets itself apart from the other albums released in 2020 by not falling into a similar cycle of producing tunes of broodiness and melancholy.
The album consists of 8 tracks, all of which are vastly different from each other. The title track, ‘Life Goes On’ filled with sentiments of hope. It is a vocally rich alternative hip hop track, with light and playful instruments backing up the poignant lyrics that sing of the time we are approaching. The bilingual chorus suggests “Time goes by, without any apology, and so should life”. The sombreirty of the song also comes through its music video that is directed by one of the vocalists Jeon Jungkook, himself.
While the A side sets the mood for the album, the rest of the B sides’ aura can be split in half, with ‘Blue and Gray’ an R&B inspired soulful song talking about the depressive episodes during isolation, ‘Fly to my Room’ talking about the artists’ resignation from touring the world to being confined within the four walls of their rooms being the mellow and wistful.
The second half of the B-side includes tracks like ‘Dis-ease’, a power packed 90’s inspired hip hop track that starts with J-Hope’s iconic trap style rapping and about the increase of burnout syndrome, ‘Telepathy’ a funky retro disco hit, is like a love song to their fans whom they are so excited to reunite with soon, as suggested by Suga, another rapper of the group, who is also the lead producer of the song. The next song on the album is ‘Stay’, a party style glitter pop, an EDM track produced by Jungkook, an energizer for the next song in line, the iconic ‘Dynamite’ — the song of the summer, that has been topping music charts worldwide, including Billboards, ever since it came out. There is an additional track on the album, ‘Skit’, which is just a simple voice recording of the members celebrating Dynamite’s first of many wins on Billboard Hot 100.
The album, like almost the entire of BTS’ discography, is versatile in each of its tracks that somehow come together, just like the members come together and fit each other so perfectly, despite having music styles that are so different from each other. It is BTS’ most collaborative and personal project yet, where the members were directly involved in processes beyond music making.
Check it out here : https://open.spotify.com/album/2qehskW9lYGWfYb0xPZkrS?si=TA7L32WJSLaPs643fVzTvQ
OpenAxis 