BTS - BE ALBUM REVIEW
It goes without saying that there’s a new rising force in the music industry. K-pop has been slowly rising in popularity in America since 2012, and without PSY’s “Gangnam Style,” we most likely wouldn’t be hearing about groups like BTS. The septet has been gaining up popularity since their 2014 EP Skool Luv Affair, and it really came to a peak six years later with “Dynamite,” the lead single from this new album BE that was the first track by a K-pop act to debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the chart’s history. BTS’s fan base, the ARMY, are some of the most dedicated fans in recent memory, sometimes to a fault, but I digress. BE acts as BTS’s ‘comeback’ album, which in the K-pop world, means that this is all new songs. This isn’t past material recorded in a new language, this is brand new content for their fans to dive into with a fine comb, but also a new way for new fans to enter. I really liked “Dynamite” when it released, and since there were no other singles to this to my knowledge, I’m kind of excited to see the direction of this album. Let’s get right into it!
BE is a K-pop album with alternative, hip-hop, and dance undertones. Now, there’s a divide in what type of songs are on this project. The first three tracks, which are definitely my favorites out of the bunch, touch on how the pandemic affected not only their lives, but on everyone’s lives. While “Fly To My Room” was my least favorite out of this trio, I found the concept of wanting to get back out and seeing their fans again to be pretty cute. Both “Life Goes On” and “Blue & Grey” vie for the best songs on the entire album, but I have to give that to “Blue & Grey” because of just how intimate and pretty relatable the track is. I was really hoping for more of the acoustic ballads here, but that’s sadly where it ends. After this, we have a skit titled, well, “Skit,” where it’s a recording of the group finding out that they had broken the Hot 100 record I mentioned earlier. It was pretty nice to hear all this positivity, but to me, it could’ve been edited down. As happy as I am for them, it got a little antsy for me waiting for the next song.
The second half of BE is a little more lackluster than the first, to me. “Telepathy” is this funky and retro track that feels redundant of “Dynamite,” although this song has been known to exist for a while, to my knowledge. Both “Dis-ease” and “Stay” just didn’t land with me, I guess. I don’t know, they’re fine songs and I get why people like them, but they just didn’t click with me. Then, the album closes out with the disco-infused “Dynamite,” which I’m sure you’ve heard already. These tracks, as fun as they are, they just don’t have that emotional impact that was in the first half of this project. I feel like if I was a truly devoted ARMY member, maybe “Stay” would’ve hit closer to home, but I guess it didn’t.
I think that BE is BTS’s best body of work since at least their Love Yourself series. While the Map of the Soul series was their breakout time in America, BE really solidifies that they’re a name that should be kept in mind. While there’s really only one song that doesn’t land with me, nearly every song here is at least good. Members RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook are all very talented members not just on their own, but as BTS. BE proves that when you light their dynamite, there sure as hell will be fireworks.
8/10
Stream BE here
Spotify
Apple Music
YouTube Music
BE is a K-pop album with alternative, hip-hop, and dance undertones. Now, there’s a divide in what type of songs are on this project. The first three tracks, which are definitely my favorites out of the bunch, touch on how the pandemic affected not only their lives, but on everyone’s lives. While “Fly To My Room” was my least favorite out of this trio, I found the concept of wanting to get back out and seeing their fans again to be pretty cute. Both “Life Goes On” and “Blue & Grey” vie for the best songs on the entire album, but I have to give that to “Blue & Grey” because of just how intimate and pretty relatable the track is. I was really hoping for more of the acoustic ballads here, but that’s sadly where it ends. After this, we have a skit titled, well, “Skit,” where it’s a recording of the group finding out that they had broken the Hot 100 record I mentioned earlier. It was pretty nice to hear all this positivity, but to me, it could’ve been edited down. As happy as I am for them, it got a little antsy for me waiting for the next song.
The second half of BE is a little more lackluster than the first, to me. “Telepathy” is this funky and retro track that feels redundant of “Dynamite,” although this song has been known to exist for a while, to my knowledge. Both “Dis-ease” and “Stay” just didn’t land with me, I guess. I don’t know, they’re fine songs and I get why people like them, but they just didn’t click with me. Then, the album closes out with the disco-infused “Dynamite,” which I’m sure you’ve heard already. These tracks, as fun as they are, they just don’t have that emotional impact that was in the first half of this project. I feel like if I was a truly devoted ARMY member, maybe “Stay” would’ve hit closer to home, but I guess it didn’t.
I think that BE is BTS’s best body of work since at least their Love Yourself series. While the Map of the Soul series was their breakout time in America, BE really solidifies that they’re a name that should be kept in mind. While there’s really only one song that doesn’t land with me, nearly every song here is at least good. Members RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook are all very talented members not just on their own, but as BTS. BE proves that when you light their dynamite, there sure as hell will be fireworks.
8/10
Stream BE here
Spotify
Apple Music
YouTube Music
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