Hello everyone!!
It's been about 2 weeks since BTS released their album ‘ARIRANG’!!
On Weverse, Big Hit Music's initial notice said:
We are excited to share some details about the release of BTS The 5th Album, and the start of their World Tour.
The new album holds special significance as it marks the first album released by the group in three years and nine months, while also indicating the direction the group will take going forward. The members were deeply involved in the creation of the songs, infusing their own thoughts and colors into them while musically expressing the emotions and struggles they have experienced along their journey.
Featuring 14 tracks, the album is packed with honest stories that BTS wants to share with ARMY, who have been waiting for their pm comeback as a whole group. Filled with the music that’s most true to BTS, the album is their heartfelt way of saying thank you to ARMY, who have been there this whole time.
Since the release, we have got 2 MVs, and several interviews and shows BTS members have gone to. ARIRANG has broken BTS' previous record album sales on Hanteo. ARIRANG has debuted at No. 1 on BB 200 and SWIM has debuted at No. 1 on BB Hot 100! Here is the compilation of 'ARIRANG' Achievements Megathread!
Let's share our thoughts with each other about:
- Two weeks later, how does this album make you feel?
- Which of the new songs have you had on repeat for the past two weeks?
- Did you feel meh about the new tracks but now it has unexpectedly grown on you?
- For people who may have not caught up on content, which promotional content did you like and would recommend to fellow ARMY?
This is album discussion thread from the day it was released and here is the compilation redirect gigathread if you want to catch up on the Achievements, SNS and Press Coverage of ARIRANG.
by chillypotahtoh
31 Comments
Didnt expect to love the album this much and I feel happy about that. At first I added the songs: aliens, merry go round, they dont know bout us and please to my liked songs and merry go round was top for me. I was happy with 5 but then I listened to the album again after letting the sounds marinate for 24 hours and my brain kept whispering swim… swim.
.throughout the day lol so I knew it was meant to be. After the 2nd time I added swim, fya and no.29 as I needed the break no. 29 gives me. After first week I had been hooked to all the songs. My top song still is merry go round as I resonate with that one the most. I have cried enough times and had so skip so many times because I didnt want to cry because of this one song so it goes deeper than others. Love this album so much that I listen to it first at the start of everytime I get some time to listen to music and it makes me work harder.
I really enjoyed this album. I’m going to do an 8hr road trip in about 3 weeks and I’m looking forward to listening to the whole album throughout the drive. This is how much I enjoy this album! I can’t wait to repeat my favorites. 😅
The members should be really proud of themselves. This album shows that they are developing musically. Can’t wait to hear more from them.
I have been listening and streaming the album nonstop. Loved loved it.. glad we got to see the Netflix performance and Jimmy Fallon performances. Also, glad to see the documentary and the struggle they went through to finalize the songs.
The album itself is a masterpiece – production wise and vocals. The solo journey have helped them immensely and we can see their growth and maturity mainly JHope, Jin and V. I think this album has members singing in harmony than before.
Swim music video has been a letdown, song itself has grown on me but not the music video. 2.0 mv is excellent!
My favorite tracks keep changing but Body to Body is always on top. Aliens, Normal, They don’t know about us, FYA and Into the Sun are my other favorites. As a Jin bias this album has been blessing – his voice shines so well in the album especially Like Animals.
My tiny bit gripes are – excess vocal processing mainly in the slower songs, repetitive lyrics and short songs. I understand lyrics and short songs but vocal processing is not needed at all as they sound awesome live!
BigHit did an amazing job with this rollout, they went all in. Boys are leading the promotions so well! Epikase with Namgi is my favorite and loved all of the YouTube shows they did.
Also, super proud of all the Chart achievements !!!!
Cannot wait for the concerts, am seeing them in exactly a month!
At first listen, I was really confused. I don’t know what to feel. I’m not disappointed, but nothing really hit me. Day by day, I grew to pick up the sound, production, and message. I like it already after a week, but I still think it was one of my least favorite albums of theirs (I love all their albums). But a few days ago, I grew to love them more. They are beautifully done, cohesive, and old but new Bangtan style. The arrangement of the track is perfect and they complement each other for an album. Easy to listen top to bottom. Definitely a perfect addition to their discography. I changed my mind; it is now among my favorite BTS albums.
When I start to like it, I like more the first half. But now I love the second half more. Most of the time it is top to bottom for me but sometimes I repeat the second half. Especially, Please, TDKBU and One More Night. But I really love all the song from this album.
(copy pasted mine from main kpop subreddit)
Despite everyone’s standards with the album being a “representation of South Korea”, I went into ARIRANG with exactly 0 expectations. I liked it on first listen. It was a lot to digest and I instantly hit replay lol cuz I felt a sudden sense of “what WAS that? I need to hear it again.” I admit I didn’t really enjoy the majority english lyrics at first, but that was before I delved into the lyrics and tried understanding the meaning and message behind the surface of the lyrics.
I really didn’t get the unfathomable hate this album got for the entirety of the first week. People saying this album doesn’t sound like the BTS they know. Mind you, it should be known especially by now that BTS never sounds the same everytime they make a comeback. Then there are people saying this album sounds incredibly forgettable, boring and dated. Unforgettable how? Everyday I wake up with a different song from Arirang playing in my head. And there are experimental sounds but it sounds both fresh and a little bit like their older works (Dark and Wild mostly). Sure I agree with the sentiment that there were maybe too many cooks in the kitchen for this one, but sometimes input from an outside perspective is needed. BTS could’ve made an album that sounded exactly like their old songs and the same people would’ve complained that BTS are lazy and not innovative. Some people complain no matter what, and the massive smear campaign that first week was kinda scary ngl, but you best believe BTS were prepared for it.
Anyways, i’m OBSSSEEEDDD with ARIRANG. There are so, so many layers to it and in my eyes they knew what they were doing with this one. This feels like their most cohesive work yet and there’s a song for everyone. I wake up with a different song playing in my head everyday. And I always feel like I need to listen to ARIRANG in order from top to bottom, just cuz it flows so nicely. Definitely interesting cuz this is the first album I personally encountered where it’s like this!
I’m seeing that Body to Body is an automatic fan favourite but Aliens is easily my #1 song. I even listened to Come Over and it’s my favourite of the day. Obviously because it’s produced by my man Suga. He just knows how to highlight the member’s voices well and something about it makes it sound somewhat nostalgic. Also Hobi did NOT have to go that hard at the end, wtf that was so smooth.
Well this was longer than I thought loll
My top 5 from ARIRANG are: Aliens, Normal, they don’t know ’bout us, into the sun, please
I’ve listened to at least one track everyday if not the whole album since the release. Most of the time it’s hard not to play the next song on the album because it’s a whole listening experience! And one thing that has stood out to me since the first listen is how cohesive this album feels in terms of vocals. It doesn’t feel like there’s rap line parts or vocal line parts because they’re all present here and there in background vocals, ad libs and such. Many parts are duets, some are harmonisations with all the members. In a lot of their songs before, the chorus very rarely used to go to rap line members. What I mean to say is that it feels more like 7 musicians coming together and making an album rather than 3 rappers and 4 singers making one, you know? And you can clearly hear their solo works throughout the album! It’s also been great to see the more nuanced discussions and discoveries on the lyrics.
I’m so proud of the fact that they chose to experiment and reinvent themselves for this hugely anticipated comeback just like how they’ve done for all of their albums. BTS’ drive to try new sounds, techniques and experiences is the reason they have such a distinct and diverse discography. And for that, they’ll always have my respect and love as artists even if I end up not liking something🩷
My favourite songs right now would be Merry Go Round, Into the Sun and Aliens. I also realised I like the Swim music video more than the song. It’s their most cinematic one yet.
I saw a lot of comments since the release regarding how their vocals seem processed/over produced? But I honestly did not find that a bother at all! I feel like it’s another way to experiment with their vocals for the music. Moreover, I’ve always been a fan of live music more than anything. For a lot of the artists I listen to, including BTS, the very first listen of a lot of their songs have been the live versions and that’s what has made me a fan of their music. And I know BTS is gonna slay it live, so I don’t mind at all about how they do vocal processing for certain tracks.
Sonically, this is an amazing album perhaps even one of their best. But lyrically this is an OT6 album and I will always see it as the album that compromised one of the most fundamental principles of what the OT7 brand meant. This album will no doubt get nominated, win awards and go diamond, platinum etc but will always feel a little hollow to me.
From the album I absolutely love Body to Body, FYA, Like Animals. Jin’s alternative rock remix of Swim is the superior version and adds what feels lacking to the title track.
The “vocoder” used in Into the Sun still feels terrible and grating to the ears and I hope I get to listen a version of the song minus it.
Hobi was the MVP on this album and loved all his verses as well as the energy he brought in each performance.
I love the album, honestly, I’m a bit surprised by how much I like it. The repetition in some of the sequences makes everything super memorable, and I can already tell this is going to go crazy in concert. It’s incredibly catchy, probably their catchiest project yet. I also get the feeling that a lot of it was made with touring in mind, it feels built for performance and audience interaction.
I didn’t fully get the potential of a song like 2.0 until I watched the MV. That said, RM sitting out the performances does take away some key moments in the choreography that really make it hit.
Production-wise, I think it’s outstanding overall. My main issue is the autotune. I don’t mind it as a stylistic choice, but it should blend with the voice, not stick out and sound overly robotic. There are definitely moments where it could’ve been toned down or reworked. At this point, I’m starting to wonder if their voices just aren’t meant for its stylistic use. Yoongi uses autotune a lot in general, I liked it sparingly on D-Day, but even then it sometimes muddies his pronunciation. And speaking of that, some of their concerns about English pronunciation (from the documentary) do show up here. There are moments where it’s a bit off, and I wish they’d had more time to refine those details, hopefully they get it by the time the tour starts.
As for the writing, I’ve gone back and forth in my mind. I respect and love the boldness, there are a lot of strong statements here, even ones some fans might not love, like in They Don’t Know ’Bout Us. The amount of English doesn’t bother me, but I do kind of miss the level of wordplay in at least one song where the rap line can flaunt it. This felt like the perfect opportunity to really showcase the rapline’s writing, but they leaned more into catchy, punchy lines with some bits of cleverness.
Song-wise, I like almost everything except Into the Sun, I just can’t get into it. I appreciate the attempt to try something new, but it didn’t land for me. FYA is probably the most interesting in terms of structure and build, and I’m not surprised RM pushed for it, it’s one of the risks that really paid off IMO.
After the military, I thought they might lean more into softer, less physically demanding songs for touring. Swim for example is exactly something I expected dancing-wise, but they still went for intense songs like 2.0 and Hooligan. The choreography feels smarter, with less jumping around, more controlled and efficient movements while still looking sharp. It works for them.
The album as a whole feels surprisingly very emotionally charged with pent-up anger/frustration and owning it, claiming it rather than fighting it. Some of the most impactful lines are in Normal, Aliens, and They Don’t Know ’Bout Us. On the topic of “Koreanness” and culture, I’ve been thinking a lot about how fans sometimes expect artists to perform their culture in very stereotypical ways. I won’t go too deep into it here since this is already long, but I actually liked how they approached it. They included Korean references here and there, some expressions, personal storytelling, sample, and visual nods (like the recent Oldboy reference).
I can see each member’s influence across the album. J-Hope is the standout for me, his verses are great, even vocally. Some of his parts genuinely had me thinking it was Jungkook at first. RM tends to get the peak moments in songs. Taehyung impressed me more than I expected, his tone really shined, especially in Normal. Jimin is also a highlight, though I still don’t love the heavier autotune on his voice, his tone works best when it stays light and airy.
Jungkook, Jin, and Yoongi had fewer “wow” moments for me. I don’t mind it as much for Yoongi since he usually owns his parts anyway, I can already see our old friend Agust D peeking through in 2.0. Jungkook fits well with the overall sound, especially given his R&B/hip-hop love. Jin is the one I felt the least presence from, which makes sense given the circumstances, but I still wish there was more moments where he really stood out. That said, his high note in Like Animals is incredible, in fact the way the four vocalists handle that climax one by one is almost masterful.
On a final note, this album feels like them stepping out of their comfort zone, even if it risks losing some of their pop listeners. They could’ve played it safe with straightforward pop, but they chose to experiment a bit more instead, and while not everything lands, I respect that. I hope they lean even further into that direction next time. The collaborations are great too, Mike Will Made It and Artemas were great choices, and I’d love to see them work together again.
So overall, it’s a solid project for me. Not their magnum opus yet, but that’s what makes it exciting, it feels like a stepping stone toward something even bigger if they keep refining and pushing their own boundaries.
I love this album so much. I listen to it, top to bottom, over and over. The first time I listened (the day it came out) I didn’t maie it all the way through. I just wasn’t sure about it, but knew i needed to give it a chance. I listened again. The next day, I had to drive 4 hours to another city, so I listened several more times. The first time Into The Sun came on I was stunned! Repeat ITS. Repeat again. I was truly transported. Then I listened to Hybe Boy’s translation and commentary of their Album Notes discussion. By then I was all in.
Order of the songs I love (although it changes daily, except for Into the Sun. But, really, all of the songs are amazing. And the more we listen, the more we hear.
1. Into The Sun
2. Body 2 Body
3. Swim
4. Normal
5. 2.0
6. Hooligan
7. Like Animals
8. Please
9. They Don’t Know
10. Merry Go Round
11. Fya
12. Aliens
13. One More Night
It’s an interesting dillemma: do we want something so simple that’s it’s immediately accessible? Or do we want something thst grows and grows on us? When the guys said that they listen to it over and over and don’t get tired, I think that means that there áre always new discoveries in the mix. The hooks stay with us. The lyrics stay with us. They are simple, yet very profound and relatable.
And I love the sampling. I love Arirang and ai love They Don’t know About Us intro and outro. There’s just so much to unpack,
I genuinely love 12 songs on this album and am kind of ambivalent about One More Night. No 29 isn’t a song so I’m not counting it, though I think it’s inclusion on the album is brilliant. Few artists release full-length albums that are best enjoyed in their entirety. I always say that the music that stays with me for a long time has to engage my ears, my heart, and my brain and ARIRANG ticks all the boxes. For me, this album is right up there with A Moon Shaped Pool by Radiohead and Nurture by Porter Robinson in how it demands that I listen to it start to finish, and is a cohesive and complete listening experience. I’ve been listening to it every day. When it first dropped, Body to Body, FYA, and SWIM were my early favourites. Please is my current number one and it’s not even close. I cannot *wait* to hear these songs live this summer. Borahae ARMYs!
I love this album so much! I listen to it over and over, top to bottom. I am always discovering something new on each listen.
On the first day, I didn’t make it all the way through. That happened twice. The next day I had to drive 4 hours so I listened in the car and when I heard Into The Sun for the first time I was stunned! Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. I was totally transported. Then I listened to Hybe Boy’s translation and comments of the members’ Song Notes. I think that was a 3 hour deal, so some of it I heard on my drive back home the next day.
I love everything about this album and think it will remain one of my favorite albums ever. I also love the sampling (Arirang in B2B with drums, the sample in They Don’t Know ‘bout us in the intro and outro, and all of the cool sound effects. When the members said they listen over and often and we will love it for a long time, I think they really understand the effects of these songs.
My favorites are Into The Sun (always on top), Normal, Body To Body, Swim, Hooligan, 2.0, Please, TDKAU, Please….
I love their new sound. I love their old sound. But every song of theirs breaks into a new genre. They are 7 creative artists and this time they had even people cooking up the stew. But they had their hands in it and ultimately came to consensus. I love their courage and hope they will continue to feed us!
Thank you! Thank you!
I’m not CRAZY in love with any of them tbh. I’ve really tried.
They’re all good songs. Catchy. Get stuck in my head. But there’s none that are giving me that “hnnngh I need this on repeat!!!” obsession I’ve had with a lot of their previous songs.
I’ve found after these 2 weeks I’m already rotating playlists, arirang is still in there, but it’s just…. There.
I recognise their efforts and respect their work, and it’s excellent!!… I’m just not obsessed. But obviously it’s charting well, so maybe this release just isn’t clicking for me
Been waiting for one of these!
So on my first listen, I was like, “this is good, but it won’t replace LY: Tear as my favorite. Not my favorite release.”
It took all of six hours to replace that opinion because imo it’s BTS’s most complete and most cohesive album both sonically and lyrically. Starting with Body to Body feels like a warm-up and ending with Into The Sun feels so cathartic. One full listen and I never really feel like it’s incomplete or too short or too long. It’s honestly such a well-rounded album for me.
To avoid recency bias, I went through a BTS discography listening trip, including chapter 2 solo releases, and the maturity of both the sound and the lyrics is so apparent.
The way I see it, with the context of the whole discography, and with my age (I’m 33 lol—pretty close to the BTS millennials), it feels like a growing up through stages.
(Tbh I actually typed out a little write-up for each album in this portion but I realize it might be out of topic to discuss it here. Suffice it to say that School Trilogy: introduction and the teenage self; D&W-HYYH: transition to young adulthood; Wings-LY: exploration of the self and self-determination; MOTS: similar to LY but a bit more of projecting the self outward.)
—and now we’re here in Arirang, which reads a lot like the self in society. I think this opinion of mine is confirmed even more when they released the Keep Swimming bit yesterday with Park Chan-Wook, and by that I mean: *how do I navigate my sense of self and still connect with the world around me?*.
In that sense, *Body to Body* is a good introduction: *so we can reach the moon over there, hand in hand,* and the on-the-nose *put your phone down* lyric, too. The concern of creating connections *as BTS*, and the further question of *who even IS BTS in this exact point in time?* appears throughout other songs, too. I have notes for every song but this might get too over-long (as though it isn’t already lol) but here’s a few:
* *What’s the future? Where’s the now?* -Hooligan
* Basically the whole song in Aliens lol
* *But what is even all of me?* -Normal
* *There’s beauty outside control* -Like Animals
And sonically, of course, we see how important it was for the members to explore their tastes in their solo projects because Arirang is definitely both a departure from their earlier sounds and yet still sounds so quintessentially *them.* I think it’s because we ultimately saw their identities and personalities (sound-wise) in the solo era.
Suffice it to say that Arirang is definitely my favorite album from them and I am most definitely satisfied with what they gave us.
And there’s a part of me that’s a bit proud, too, that “citizens” are starting to take their *music* (as opposed to just their *celebrity*) very seriously… judging by the people around me I would have never thought would listen to BTS, *ever*, actually seriously adding songs from Arirang to their playlists. The boys and the teams behind them should be proud, too.
their best album yet
When I first heard this album I was disappointed, not in BTS but for myself because I didn’t like it. The sounds were not what I was used to, lots of processed voices, nothing seemed beautiful or melodic, some of them lyrically didn’t seem to have much to say, it just wasn’t hitting.
And I was not having that, because they’d said they’d put so much love and thought into it, so I listened through the whole thing again and again and again, because sometimes my brain just needs some time to adjust. And I watched reactions from people who DO like that sound and from people breaking down the lyrics more deeply.
And lo and behold it WAS just my ear not being used to it, because once I had the lyrics in front of me and I’d gotten used to the sounds I gradually began to enjoy a few of the tracks, and then I made a playlist of favourites, and then I found I was listening to the whole album top to bottom and liking all of it.
Now I honestly _love_ it. I’ve listened to it countless times and it doesn’t get old. I genuinely am choosing to put it on multiple times a day. I think this will end up being one of my top BTS albums from them.
I still can’t stop listening! Into the Sun rolls right back over to Body to Body and I’m a happy person. Haven’t listened to one other thing since it came out. 💜
I love all the songs except Into the Sun, which feels…painfully shrill in the chorus. Normally their high notes are so beautiful, but not on this one. Is it the vocoder or whatever device they used for the distortion? Anyway, I think it will be better live.
I’m quite impressed with how well it seems they distributed the parts, even with having singers rap and rappers sing. It works out really well. (Also, Suga in Like Animals??? I died.)
I’m truthfully not much of a hip hop person so I always leaned more towards the vocal line or vocal-heavy songs, but I love this album a lot more than I expected to.
I listen to radio at night to fall asleep to, German radio station called N-Joy. It makes me so happy everytime they air Swim. In general, the album has been growing on a lot to me. Still can’t pick a favourite song, though
I’m new here! I had never listened to any of their full albums before. I had only listened to a few songs. It has been such a treat to listen to this album and get more familiar with the members and their music.
My favorite songs are Swim, 2.0, NORMAL, Please, and Merry Go Round right now! I like all the songs enough to not skip any while listening to the album.
Copied from another thread:
There were several songs I loved on first listen and some songs that weren’t necessarily my jam. But the more I listen to the album from top to bottom, the more addictive it gets. Some of the songs do get a little repetitive, but not enough to really bother me. As an album listening experience it just works. Especially No.29! Genius move dropping it in the middle before the tonal shift. I think Aliens is going to stay at #1 for me for quite a while. In general I like the front half more, but I also looooooove One More Night and Please. Swim is a certified earworm. I appreciate Merry Go Round a lot more now. Into the Sun has grown on me a lot too. When rap line and Jin come in, it’s so good!! I don’t mind the vocal effects as much as some people, but I still think they could have turned it down a little bit. It’s a perfect song to close the album. I’m so impressed how they managed to appeal to existing fans and reach out to a new audience, while infusing the individual members’ solo experiences and tastes. I can’t wait to see what they release next and I’m so excited for the tour!!
I loved it on first listen and I haven’t stopped playing it since it dropped. I can hardly believe it’s been two weeks, it feels like the album came out yesterday because I’m still discovering new things I love about it.
The anticipation for this chapter was sky high already so I had to keep tempering my expectations in order to give Arirang a fair chance with an open mind. It was a struggle because we had to balance the knowledge of them working hard on it for 9 months (at least), while giving us 0 hints but so much reassurance that they were putting a lot of care and intentionality into the making, with the fact that there is virtually no playbook for this point in their career, they were free to evolve as they needed, make whatever music they wanted, and I would have the ultimate decision to partake in it or not, if it came down to it. It was a challenge and I am so glad that part of our lives is over!
As a fan I have only cared about two things: the artistry and their bond. And alright I’ll admit that the ONE thing I was hoping for and just could not quash was that the album concept had some grown-up/mature/sexy/laid-back elements, because they were coming back as men in their thirties (and *man* did they deliver on that front!) but that’s pretty much it. At the risk of sounding very cheesy, the magic of BTS lies in the fact that they operate with so much LOVE with everything they do.
This album feels so complete to me. It’s wonderfully varied from start to finish, that by the time I reach the end I’m in a different headspace and the moment I loop it back, it feels refreshing. I don’t know how they hit so many requirements with this album and knocked it out of the park. Some elements of certain songs feel like certain members stylistically, but each song feels like a BTS song. Arirang managed to pay homage to their roots of growing up in a modern Korea, with nods to their origins in hiphop and performing, while also giving us waves of contemporary sounds that are unique and I can’t believe we are just seeing the beginning of BTS 2.0! The messages in their lyrics are reflective of their life state (as it always has been) so I’m very pleased with how we get to witness history in the making – we have an impressive almanac comprising of the teenage years, twenties, a bunch of experimental solo eras, and now a level of existential peace that one finds in their thirties. I feel so lucky to be in the same age bracket as them, too.
I still can’t pick a favorite track. I have literally listened to every single song an equal number of times including No. 29. I am just so happy we have them back I hope they know they did good. So excited that tour is kicking off in a matter of days – I am sure it will breathe new life into the album once again for me.
IMO, Arirang is one of their best albums. I loved it on first listen. There are a few songs I don’t necessarily love individually (Merry Go Round, Normal) but I don’t skip them because they fit in the album. It’s like sacrilege not to stream the album from top to bottom!
It’s been two weeks already?!
I’m still loving the album and even more after watching the documentary and comeback performance. It gave a better understanding of what they were trying to accomplish with this record—showing their evolution and presenting the themes of Arirang in their own way.
Having said that, the only song I still don’t like is Into the Sun because of the auto tune. But the rest of the album is great and I do repeat multiple songs like Please (might be my #1!) and they don’t know ‘bout us.
I’m just happy BTS are back 😭
Bringing my comment over from kpop:
Front half (more hip hop tracks)
Loved these from release day. Fave then was hooligan, then 2.0 and body to body, then fya and aliens.
Now that I’ve sat with them for a couple of weeks I appreciate something great from each one so they’re much more even with each other. Still, hooligan and 2.0 are my top picks.
Back half (alt pop/r&b)
At release i favored the “lighter” tracks: swim, one more night, please. I think merry go round, normal, and like animals felt a little bit samey and a little heavy to me. Into the sun I loved bc I would never have expected this kind of song from them, and it was so satisfying as a closer.
Now, like with the first half, I’ve come around on the tracks I liked less at first. Especially normal, that chorus is so catchy! I also like swim more, I think in the beginning I almost didn’t want to like the title track too much bc we heard it so much. But it’s true, I dont get tired of it. Merry go round is the only song that comes close to a skip for me, and only bc the song expresses a sad weariness that bums me out (so it’s a me thing).
Overall it’s a very easy album to listen to top to bottom, and there are so many layers that it gets more interesting the more you listen. One YT reactor, gameboyy 310, said you can tell an album was a good experience when the last song ends and you feel a sense of abandonment, lol. I totally got that feeling, and the urge to hit play again.
This might sound unusual, but I love this album because it’s not very K-pop. I’m not into any other K-pop groups apart from BTS, which maybe explains where I’m coming from! But Arirang is so fresh and mature and just stands out from everything else – it’s like they’ve broken out of the ‘K-pop boyband’ mould and are now just artists who are Korean – and I’ve definitely got a sense that the Western music industry is waking up and taking note a bit more.
The second half of the album has some great songs – I love Merry Go Round, Swim (Hobi’s verse is so good!!) and Normal. Into The Sun is going to be great performed live too. But the first half is more my taste and it slaps – it’s gone platinum in my house 😆 I think Body to Body is still my favourite – that Arirang sample at the end gives me chills and I have no Korean in me at all haha – but 2.0 was a surprise! Honestly I found it a bit boring at first but I was totally wrong – the live performance on Netflix, the dance routine, and the MV showed me I was totally wrong and now it’s a contender for my top track.
It’s funny how you can hear different influences across the album. For me this is definitely Namjoon’s album, there’s a lot of RPWP coming through, but I also hear FACE, Layover, Golden, JITB. I’m so glad they managed to bring all their influences together and create something special, because there was a real risk it wouldn’t work out! But they’re family so of course it did. I just wish Jin had some writing credits – I get that the timing just wasn’t right with the tour, so next time!
Bring on the tour, I’m ready now 😆
I almost feel like more time is needed for me to really get my thoughts down. The more I listen, the more I discover, both lyrically and within the production. I probably have listened to it at least twice a day and will still daily pick up a new sound in a the background or turn of phrase. (So, so happy Doolset is back with translations). Some of the songs which initially weren’t my favorite, like One More Night, I’ve changed my mind on completely due to a line or a thought here and there.
One thing I still can’t quite make up my mind about is what Like Animals is about. I know it’s very BTS to have multiple meanings on things, but my mind goes in two radically different directions with that one and I still can’t decide.
Overall, it’s both very different and very BTS, and while that feels almost impossible to achieve, they managed to do it somehow. And, well, it’s good. Like, really good.
Favorites still change every day, but the ones sticking with me the more are Body to body, Normal, Aliens, They don’t know bout us, and Swim
When it came out, I only listened to the entire album once. Liked the first half, other half, not as much. Decided to watch their Comeback on Netflix first before listening to it again, and watching them perform made me appreciate and love the album. They are just so good on stage! That Like Animals live performance was really something ✨👏🏻🔥
I run a lot and its been been my running playlist since (yes, even on 2hr long runs) 💜
I liked the album at first listen but it did take me some time to fully appreciate some of the songs. Now that I’m familiar with the album, the vocal processing doesn’t sound as heavy as before. .
There are still a couple of songs I’m not too keen on but that’s normal on a full length album.
Of course, the rap line shines but this album really shows how good and versatile the vocal line is even on the hip hop track.
Its my first play through of a full BTS album, I’d only listened to TTs before. I loved it from the first notes right until the end, on first listen. A great album should pass on first impression before being taken apart and analysed and this album has that classic work aura.
The cohesion, the parts fitting together, the changes of moods, the subtle cultural references. Everything sounds and feels weighted, mature. The album also benefits from not having a monster TT hit for me, it would have been a distraction. Swim is an different class in their discography and it works wonders on an album that wants to set itself apart from kpop.
I love the back half now, almost as much as the fire opening stretch. Into the Sun is perfect. The heavily vocoderised voices remind me of Nikes by Frank Ocean, and also one of my fave albums by Lambchop (FLOTUS) which has distorted vocals for an entire LP (and it works). This is what a final song should be, a soulful sendoff track that also dares to throw in some experimental touches to leave an eerie and lasting impression, which stays with you long after you finished listening. Radiohead were masters of those longing, offkey tracks.
This is feels like a real comeback, in the actual meaning of the word.
Was skeptical on first listen but I love the album now. SORRY but my initial thoughts was that there was too much English and it didn’t feel like it came straight from their pens (they also mentioned too much English in their docu so I don’t see why anyone should get hate for this opinion). But watching the docu gave me some perspective and I also think I’ve just gotten used to how the album sounds.
I also missed that it lacked some of that over-the-top conceptual campy kpop energy but I guess they didn’t want to go for that in this album. I still hope we can get another track like boy with love or Idol in the future!
Overall I love body to body, 2.0, merry go round and into the sun. Still not too sure about Swim, I think it’s my least favourite. I loved the MV though. And lastly, the 2.0 MV took away any final doubts I had about this comeback being AWESOME 😂
Two weeks into this album and… so much has changed. This is really a top to bottom album, no skips. Honestly, at first listen I had standout songs and some that really didn’t set well with me. Two of them still kind of don’t, but that is just my brain not liking the musical/vocal modulations and arrangements.
Body to Body is such a strange song at first listen and after the documentary I understood what the conversation and doubts were about but after a probably hundredth listen, this songs vibe so hard. The rap parts are so good, but the transition into Arirang elevates it ways I can’t explain. It evokes the feeling of being proud in me, I guess is the best way to articulate it.
At first I was obsessed with Like Animals and Merry Go Round, then SWIM hit and then NORMAL hit double as hard and so it went. Yesterday as I was walking in a very very very pretty ex-school garden, amongst the trees in full bloom with sun shining on my face after days of storms and harsh winds, Into the Sun impacted me so hard I almost cried. (I can see this being the closing song of the concert tbh, the last part just gives me images of them waving at us, till next time, all of us in the Sun). It is truly the perfect closer for this album.
I also had a thought how the album is divided with strong, dance impacted songs at the beginning: calling out haters, calling out the industry, the media, almost everyone who looked and still looks down on them – AND then we hear the bell and silence that almost feels like a breath, more of an exhale, and SWIM starts. No matter what happens we keep swimming.
We go into the slower songs, ruminating on fame and glory and how heavy it can feel with NORMAL, and then Jimin starting off “they don’t know about us” with “*They don’t know how your voice can calm the sea*”. Personally, to me it’s giving, there is no more desert for them, they are fully on the sea now, but the first half of the album and even songs before this one, tell us how turbulent and harsh the sea can be but… “They don’t know how your voice can calm the sea”, meaning our voices. ARMY voices drown out everything else and they listen to us to calm them down because ARMY is their biggest voice.
Like Animals is still my favorite song on this album. Was from the start and it will stay that way because the imagery and the musical arrangement and the vocal compositions are just… *chef’s kiss* That became even more evident in the live performance – seeing how much they all love that song and how they got emotional (I have thoughts but I would honestly just be presuming things about the members, so I’ll keep them to myself), there is so much more meaning in it that I guess we’ll never know. It’s almost heartbreaking but also a call to freedom in a way. Joon singing “There’s beauty outside control” raises something in me that I can’t even fully explain and Jins siren voice, coupled with other vocal members – top tier.
What I truly love about this album is actually how brave they were with it: the changes, the different vocals, the rap is back in such a hard and meaningful way, the cultural connotations… everything. Leading up to the album I learned so much new information about Arirang and South Korea that I never knew before. And I guess that will be a part of the legacy of this album: showcasing a part of the South Korean cultural heritage that the world would probably never know otherwise. They once again broke unwritten boundaries and I hope they are proud, because they should be.