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The BTS are the super-heroes of K-pop, a group of seven young South Korean men – RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook – who carried the torch of the boys band into the World arena. Formed in 2013, BTS started playing rap-based songs at a time when hip-hop was just beginning to dominate the Korean music scene. Fans were quickly drawn to their musical self-sufficiency, socially responsible messages and artistic references to their visuals. Last year, their studio album Do you like T 'tear & # 39; became the first Korean album ever to surpass the American Billboard 200 chart, earning it a new level of praise, rarely seen by "international" artists; the superheroes won the day.
With the seven-song CARD OF THE AME: PERSONA, BTS are trying to make their way to the future, expanding into commercial pop while proving to the thirsty that they are still persistent outsiders who preface their videos with Herman Hesse and quote Carl Jung as one of the best. But the album suffers from a sequelae syndrome and suggests that Bangtan Boys are too willing to rely on their past achievements. Arrangements on CHARACTER are busy and complicated, and many lyrical moments are buried in a meta, self-referential schlock rock.
The album contains songs built around the kind of unassuming instrumentation that you would find in royalty-free music or corporate videos, with big guitars and drums sounding as if they had been transported from a pack of downloadable samplers. In the case of "Intro: Persona", the production revolves around a recycled rhythm from the inaugural track of the debut of BTS in 2014. But for a new listener devoid of context, the song seems sour and bland, which is a pity as RM, the band's leader, waxes poetically about his impostor syndrome and regains his motivation to get into the music. Meanwhile, "Dionysus" moves from the ready fuzz at the stadium to a shoehorn trap section with an artificial breakdown, members sounding as though dragging them rather than driving them with their voices. And yet, this last title contains the most fascinating lyrics of the whole project.
Like "Swimming Pools (Drank)" by Kendrick Lamar, a meditation on alcoholism taken up by hedonistic teenagers, "Dionysus" is a moment of existential introspection disguised as a supporter. The bridge, struck by Suga with a Travis Scott Travis Scott, comments on the banality of celebrity, applying the metaphor of the drink to his desire to create a sustainable art. "Breaking new records means a fight with myself, lifting the glass for a shot but I'm thirsty as I've always been," he proclaims. The unpleasant object of production may be the essential, but the otherwise convincing concept of the song is rendered largely inert by the grueling music that guides it.
Where the old BTS albums were anchored by powerful verses of the rappers (RM, J-Hope and Suga), CHARACTER feels more disparate. On the unforgettable "Mikrokosmos", members climb up and down an expensive but rundown treadmill in synth-pop, never reaching the desired emotional top. Jungkook, Jin, and J-Hope are trying to create a dramatic ballad on "Never Seen," but again, rapping does not feel aloof from everything that's going on.
However, "HOME", the highlight of the album, shows how the BTS can be captivating when all members are on the same page. The flows are dynamic, the interaction effortless. There are lyrics reminders found in the band's first single ("No More Dream"), but you do not need to browse through the BTS catalog to find captivating "HOME", a song about look for a real connection facing the outside. successes Elsewhere, the collaborations are pleasant, but far from spectacular: Halsey (minimal) guest on the first single "Boy With Luv" and Ed Sheeran (thankfully) stays behind the scenes of the song R & B "Make It Right.
CHARACTER is not a failure, but it's hard to call it a triumph. BTS understand better how to capture a global audience that most K-pop bands could never imagine. Together, the seven members form a fascinating unity. When they sound perfectly in control of their music and in harmony with each other, BTS transcends linguistic and cultural barriers. CHARACTER weakens because the group and its producers have lost sight of the creation of hermetic songs in order to promote the myth they have built within their vast audience.
The best superhero stories are written for the whole world: they address both hardcore and newcomers, attacking the human condition while offering nerdy references, offering an epic experience which unifies people who otherwise might not have anything in common. BTS have already proven themselves, but on CHARACTER, the band spends too much time looking back and not enough to be the K-pop superheroes that the world deserves.
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