Due to the Black Lives Matter movement and the protests it inspired, police departments all over the country have set up apps for people to submit videos of people protesting. Supposedly, the police would use the apps to find protestors to arrest. That's not what happened, though, as kpop stans downloaded the apps, spammed them with fancams (video closeups of their favorite idols during a performance), and temporarily shut down the apps. They also hijacked racist hashtags, like #WhiteLivesMatter and #BlueLivesMatter, spamming their fancams. Both of these instances are examples of grade-A trolling, made even better by the fact that they are trolling racist assholes who 100% deserve to be trolled. But for my money, the best thing kpop stans have done for the Black Lives Matter movement has to do with BTS. BTS are the bestselling Korean act of all time and their fanbase, known as the ARMY, is widespread. When BTS and their label, BigHit Entertainment, donated a million dollars to Black Lives Matter, their ARMY started trending the hashtag #MatchAMillion to encourage the fanbase to donate to an important cause. Collectively, BTS stans "matched the million" donated by their idols in less than 24 hours. I never thought I would be saying this, but I mean this without a shred of irony: kpop stans have done more for Black Lives Matter than the President of the United States. Yet another one of the countless bizarre twists 2020 has thrown at us, but it's certainly a pleasant surprise to see the ever-present, ever-vocal kpop stans use their ubiquity to support such an important issue.
Due to my newfound appreciation for kpop fans, as well as the fact that my favorite kpop group recently released an EP/mini-album, I thought it would be fitting to review said mini-album. I've already talked a lot about Twice on this blog, with the first thing I posted after a year-long break being a review of their last mini-album, Feel Special. (Link here!) I also took it upon myself to review 100 iconic kpop songs in my Kpop Crash Course series, and in that series, I mentioned Twice no less than 60 times. (I specifically talked about their songs in Part Three and Part Four.) Typically when I review an album, I go in-depth giving background information on the artist and my opinions on them, but I honestly feel like I have covered them so thoroughly that you can just look back at the linked posts for information about them. Long story short: Twice consists of nine girls (five are Korean, three are Japanese, one is Taiwanese) who started out making cutesy songs, but have been gradually shifting towards making more mature (and for my money, better) music. Now with all that stalling out of the way, let's look at their More & More mini-album/EP/I'm using these two terms interchangeably FYI.
I think this picture of the cover art seems blurry and it makes me sad but I couldn't find a higher-res picture. Anyways, I really love their different hair colors! I especially like Jihyo's rosy pink, Tzuyu's crimson-red, and Sana's bright orange-red.
1. "More & More"
The title track is the only one of these songs I've listened to prior to writing this, as I watched the video the day it premiered. It's fine enough, but if I were to rank every Twice single, it would probably go towards the bottom. Compared to their singles from last year, "Fancy" and "Feel Special," it seems a lot more generic. In fact, whenever I think of it, it ends up turning into "La Vie en Rose" by IZ*ONE, which I like more. The repetition of "more" in the chorus is also a little too reminiscent of Fifth Harmony's "Work From Home" for my tastes. However, "More & More" does have a nice, relaxed summer vibe, making it feel like an updated version of their 2018 single "Dance The Night Away." I really like the instrumental section (especially in the video, where Momo, my bias of the group, leads the girls in a dance break), followed by Dahyun and Chaeyoung's rap. I liked the video a lot more than the song, as I loved the bright, summery colors and jungle animals, like the jaguars during Tzuyu's section and the colorful tarantulas during Chaeyoung's section. I also really loved their boho dresses and rainbow hair! 7.5/10
2. "Oxygen"
My best friend who got me into Twice (I refer to her as Nike because she wrote this post with me and used that pseudonym) agrees with me that "More & More" isn't one of Twice's more impressive singles, but she's told me that the b-sides are all fantastic. "Oxygen" is the first b-side, and honestly, I think this was the song that most intrigued me just from looking at the tracklist. I wasn't sure what to expect, but listening to it, I really like this! The production is uptempo and danceable, but it's not aggressive. It has a lot of twists and turns to make it enjoyable. The synth-bassline in the chorus is very bouncy, and I especially liked the guitar that comes in during Chaeyoung's rap verse. I also thought the members sounded really good. In the second verse, Mina uses the same light, gentle singing style she did on the bridge of "Fancy," which I loved. I think my favorite part of the song is the way they sing "I really really really really want" so quickly in the chorus. I always love when songs feature rapidly sung, almost tongue-twister lyrics. This is a low-key bop. 9/10
3. "Firework"
This is not a Katy Perry cover, for better or for worse. Eh, I definitely think it's for the better, as this is easily my favorite of the three songs so far. The Latin guitars are new for Twice, and I definitely like this experimentation in their sound. The chorus on this song is pretty killer, with Nayeon, Jeongyeon, and Jihyo (the band's three lead vocalists) delivering knockout vocals. Jihyo in particular absolutely nails it on the bridge. Speaking of the bridge, I love the way the chords shifted during that section. I also love the way Sana says "so let me hear it" before the second chorus. I love when singers do weird vocal inflections like that. I really appreciate how, much like the Feel Special mini-album, this project has been very cohesive. All of the songs sound similar, but not the point where it's boring. Granted, I'm only three songs in, but it's still worth praising. 10/10
4. "Make Me Go"
Five of the seven tracks from Feel Special had writing credits from the members of the group, which was great, since all of those songs were amazing. Which is why I was disappointed that only two of the seven songs from More & More saw the girls writing. "Make Me Go" is the first of the two, as Nayeon wrote the lyrics for it. And what can I say, this song slaps. The production of this song reminds me a lot of Dua Lipa's recent output, specifically "Break My Heart." That bassline is simply incredible, unlike anything I've heard from Twice. I also love the sax and the cowbell. The chorus is weird, but also really addictive. It's not sung, I guess I would say it's rapped, and I can see why somebody would hate it, I personally think it's really quirky and catchy. This song's throwback energy is different from the other three songs, but it still manages to fit in nicely here. It also would fit in among the b-sides from Fancy You and Feel Special. This song is a delight, one that I'll have on repeat over and over again. 10/10
5. "Shadow"
After that quick 70s detour, we're back to the modern tropical stylings of the other three songs. I could definitely see this song fitting in with modern Western pop songs. It's another low-key banger. However, it doesn't really seem as special as the others to me. I think I'm just burnt out from how much I loved "Make Me Go" that everything after it just seems disappointing. Maybe it'll grow on me. The only thing that really stands out to me on this song is how effortlessly high Nayeon and Jihyo sing in the chorus. Their higher notes sound really good. 7/10
6. "Don't Call Me Again"
Brass, hell yeah...or so I thought. This song is just disappointing to me. The melody the horns are playing is really catchy, but the horns themselves sound really muffled and fake. It also feels like there's too much going on in the production, with the girls singing and the horns playing at the same volume. The marching band percussion is also really overbearing. In fact, my favorite parts of the song are the quieter sections without the horns. This song had so much potential to be a great, sassy kiss-off anthem, but the production is really bad. If the producers were to replace the fake horns with real, actual trumpets, raise the volume of the girls and lower the volume of the instrumentals, and get rid of that weird theremin-sounding synth in the chorus, the song would be much better. 4/10
7. "Sweet Summer Day"
The final track, "Sweet Summer Day," sees Jeongyeon and Chaeyoung writing lyrics. I was honestly expecting a more laid-back, tropical style, maybe something slower than the other songs. So imagine my sheer delight when, about ten seconds in, I realized Twice were doing a new jack swing song. New jack swing is a fusion genre of hip-hop, R&B, and dance-pop that was popular in the late 80s and early 90s, spearheaded by artists like Boyz II Men and Michael and Janet Jackson. For a more recent example, think of "Finesse" by Bruno Mars. Considering that one of my favorite kpop songs is "Call Me Baby" by EXO, another new jack swing-influenced kpop song, I was thrilled to hear Twice taking inspiration from the same source. "Sweet Summer Day" has such a fantastic, bouncy energy that put a giant smile on my face. And just when I thought the song couldn't get any better, Momo started rapping! Momo is my favorite member of the group mostly because I like her dancing and personality, but I also think her sort of wonky, nasally voice works really well for rapping. She doesn't usually get to rap in Twice songs, as they usually give the rap verses to Dahyun and Chaeyoung (who are also great, don't get me wrong), but I know I'm not the only Once who wishes Momo would rap more. I love her rapping here. The fact that Twice were basically doing their own version of "Call Me Baby" basically guaranteed that this song would get a 10/10, but it just kept getting more and more enjoyable as I got into it. I would love for Twice's next comeback to sound like this.
Well, after listening to Twice's More & More, I'm even firmer in my stance that JYP needs to let the girls write (excuse my pun) more & more. My two favorite songs on here are the only two with writing credits from the girls. Feel Special had five songs written by the girls, and all of them were fantastic. The members of Twice are much better writers than you might expect, and it would be a shame if JYP just ignored the potential they have as writers.
Favorite: I think "Make Me Go" is ultimately my favorite. I know I wrote a lot more for "Sweet Summer Day," but I've had Mina and Chaeyoung rapping "love me love me now, love me love me good" in my head nonstop since I first heard the song on Thursday.
Least Favorite: "Don't Call Me Again"
Next week, I think I'll do another "current favorite songs" thing. I might change my mind, but that's my plan for now. I'll see you then.
Stellar
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