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BTS – ARIRANG (Album Review: Critic’s Pick: BTS Is Too Big to Fail. But Not Too Big to Succeed.) @ The New York Times (260323)


BTS – ARIRANG (Album Review: Critic’s Pick: BTS Is Too Big to Fail. But Not Too Big to Succeed.) @ The New York Times (260323)

by mcfw31

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16 Comments

  2. Particular-Yoghurt81 on

    A NYTIMES Critics Pick?!

    I’m shook, not gonna lie. Jon Caramanica has never pulled his punches when it comes to BTS and has always been honest to a fault.

    Even here he doesn’t use glowing language and speaks candidly about how commercial and cultural expectations often flatten BTS into a brand that lacks blood. However, the members rose above all that…in a beautiful way. I think he’s shocked, pleasantly so. He totally got what the members meant by calling the album Arirang.

    This is def a critic you can’t accuse of being a panderer. My big disagreement is that he hates Merry Go Round and I fucking love it. Wow. Definitely worth a full read.

  3. anbsmxms on

    So what is it really? Too big to fail or not to big to succeed? So… they cannot fail but they can also not succeed? Headlines just to be edgy.

  4. Iwannastoprn on

    I feel like BTS are reaching a new level with this album. Once a few years go by, it could be seen as their magnum opus.

    Edit: I didn’t expect getting downvoted over this comment 😂

  6. blackr0se on

    I’m pleasantly surprised because he’s frank with his reviews. A critics pick is impressive

  7. yooneytoons on

    I really love how many swings they took with this album. Like the article says, they have so much pressure on them and so many people’s livelihoods on their backs and they were still brave enough to try something weird and wonderful.

  8. a_sliceoflife on

    I really don’t understand what the critics are seeing that I don’t. Is it just the subjective music taste that I don’t have?

    And no, I critique even my favs and am not a biased hater. Good for the people that enjoy this, wish I was one of them but yeah, it fell painfully flat.

  10. Chocolate_cornflakes on

    Now, that’s a proper review! They really did have a lot of pressure on them because of the highly anticipated comeback and yet they chose to experiment with new genres, sounds and techniques, as always, and embraced it. BTS’ discography is what it is today because they’ve never limited themselves and that’s why they’ll always remain special to me 💎

  12. Egglantinous on

    I think this is a really fair review, considering that it’s coming from someone who thought NewJeans revolutionized the sound of Kpop.

  13. midnight_in_jakarta on

    I’m such a big fan of Jon Caramanica but he has never really shown much interest in BTS so I’m really pleasantly surprised to see this review—and it’s a really good review too!!! He seems to really understand the album in a way that’s really satisfying to me as a BTS fan. (I respectfully disagree regarding merry go round, which is one of my faves, but I’m also not surprised that he doesn’t like it 😂)

  14. iCrono on

    Genuinely a great album imo, I haven’t been a fan of recent BTS albums and my favorite was the Danger album from way back so this is a nice return to form.

  15. stuckindewdrop on

    why is merry go around a dud? he didn’t explain why, lol

    i love how he puts the album in context of the business/industry side of things, doesn’t just talk about the music

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