B.A.P made a huge splash at the beginning of 2012 with their explosive song WARRIOR. And after a short break, they've returned with another hardcore and edgy track - POWER. But does it live up it's mighty predecessor? Let's find out!
Click the "read more" link to read my track-by-track review of B.A.P's new single POWER...
1. Fight For Freedom
Fight For Freedom serves as the intro for this single - and at 1minute 26seconds long, it's far too short to warrant an in depth evaluation. But for a short introduction, it's pretty good. It has a pretty interesting industrial sound - guitars, drums, sound effects and the gritty vocals of the members. So all in all, a reasonably good kick-off to their latest release.
2. POWER
Edgy, in-your-face, grimey, rocky, feautring whistles, claims of being powerful - doesn't this sound like a familiar description? Quite simply, POWER is just a re-hash of their previous single WARRIOR. I hate to say it, but POWER is a little bit dissapointing for me. B.A.P's debut was so explosive and a debut single with the force of WARRIOR had never been seen before in K-Pop - seeing their first ever music video was truly a WOW moment for me. I questioned: who are these guys? where have they come from? But with POWER, we've just been fed the same formula. I'm not claiming that POWER is a bad song - not by any means - but this song has really made me doubt the authenticity of this group. I thought that B.A.P would - somehow - be the band who would continue to break the mould and lash out against the 'standard' K-Pop formula. But, it seems not - their concept is arguably as 'forced' and 'contrived' as every other band. I do enjoy POWER alot - the song is indeed very powerful and it's music video is truly spectacular - but I'd be surprised if anyone disagreed that this song isn't just a simple re-hash of WARRIOR.
3. What The Hell
Now, after my somewhat scathing review of POWER, who'd expect me to be so in praise of one of their random album tracks? Well, I am definately giving all my praise to What The Hell which I claim to be B.A.P's best song to date. Although this song wouldn't have existed with it's obvious Linkin Park references, I still think it's a completely refreshing song and something that I haven't heard in K-Pop before. It's not just a pop song with some rock elements - it's actually a pretty convincing rock song and is completely authentic (which is a quality that I believe POWER completely lacks). Outside of K-Pop, I enjoy many styles of music and that includes Linkin Park-esque bands. Therefore, this song gets a massive thumbs up from me.
4. 전부 거짓말
With 전부 거짓말, I'm beginning to doubt B.A.P's identity even more. Sure, being versatile is a trait that I applaud, but this is just a dull R&B ballad tagged onto the end of this single. It completely contrasts with the other 3 preceding tracks and whilst it does show off the vocalists of B.A.P's talents, it doesn't evoke any passion in me at all. Heart-wrenching? Sure. Enjoyable? Somewhat. Random? Completely.
All in all, this single has split me completely. It may have their best song to date - What The Hell - but overall, the single shows no signs of progression or true artistry. I thought B.A.P were the freshest and edgiest band around during their debut - but now it just seems a little contrived.
Post a Comment