BTS deliver K-pop perfection with their fifth studio album ‘ARIRANG’
The group's journey to global domination has been nothing short of extraordinary, so it’s fitting that they have delivered an album that is of similarly epic proportions.
It has been just shy of four years since K-pop giants BTS released music together. As the seven members reunite and prepare to embark on their 82-show world tour this spring, they have reflected on their unique journey to becoming global superstars, as well as their deep connection to their roots in South Korea with their fifth-studio album ‘ARIRANG.’
The group comprising of Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V and Jungkook has taken the time to craft a record with plenty of weight and resonance to it. They have collaborated with musical heavyweights such as Ryan Tedder, El Guincho, Mike WiLL Made-It, to create a crisp album that has sonic clarity and meaning behind it.
There are a myriad of details woven into the album that act as a love letter to BTS’ home country from the outset. The first half of the album is full of the explosive energy of youth, with a tough yet-playful industrial sound. Their opening track, ‘Body to Body’ includes motifs from ‘Arirang,’ a beloved Korean folk song, with traditional percussion and choral elements woven in with a modern sound. It’s an album that is detail orientated, and curated with the utmost care.
The sophomore track on the record, ‘Hooligan,’ cleverly incorporates the sound of clashing blades and deep low-lying bass with beautiful harmonies and string instrument arrangements, that really shows their musical range and creativty. It’s songs like these that really show what BTS do best, mixing floating vocals are mixed with grittier rapping. ‘FYA,’ playfully references Britney Spears in its lyrics: “Club go crazy like Britney baby, hit me with it one more time.” It’s a rush of a dance track, with heavy breathing and thumping bassline that would fit right into the track listing of the Princess of Pop’s Opus Magnum ‘Blackout.’
The center of the album is grounded with the interlude ‘No.29’ that features the sole, resonant tolling of the Divine Bell of Seongdeok. As the heart of the album, it serves as a stoic, symbolic moment for BTS and their connection to their homeland and each other.
What follows is the ushering into another chapter of the group’s journey, that manifests with a more sweeping, contemplative sound. One of the standouts is the melancholic synth-led ‘Merry Go Round,’ produced by Kevin Parker (of Tame Impala.) As you travel through the album with the group, there is a clear journey that explores raw emotions, milestones and growth. This retrospection is perhaps articulated best in their lead track ‘SWIM,’ that tackles themes of battling against the tide. The English language track, whose lyrics were led by RM is a nod to the group’s unwavering determination and hard work that led to them global domination. Sonically, there is a cinematic quality to the second half of the album. ‘Like Animals’ infuses epic, sweeping crescendos with grungy guitar strums and dreamily ethereal vocals that transport you to BTS astral plane. At the close, is the euphoric ‘Into the Sun’ with falsetto harmonizing and a slower, shimmering pace that feels like you’re with them watching a magnificent sunset of all the possibilities that wait before them.
BTS are a phenomenon and their journey to global domination has been nothing short of extraordinary, so it’s fitting that they have delivered an album that is of similarly epic proportions.