One factor you can not fault Crimson Velvet for is experimentation. Since their debut, the quintet have develop into the poster kids for ideas that may appear a tad too eccentric for normal tastes however have a method of rising on you. It hasn’t at all times labored for them – therefore, the collective amnesia round ‘Zimzalabim’ or the lull that they’ve been experiencing since ‘Queendom’ – however with ‘The ReVe Competition 2022 – Birthday’, it feels Crimson Velvet are one step nearer to nailing their subsequent period.
Conceptually, it isn’t their strongest or most outlandish album – as on ‘Queendom’ and ‘The ReVe Competition 2022 – Really feel My Rhythm,’ they appear to be toeing the road of their consolation zone – however ‘The ReVe Competition 2022 – Birthday’ celebrates their strengths whereas introducing parts of shock. The group keenly makes use of their numerous vocal palettes, making ‘Birthday’ higher than their different current work.
‘Bye Bye’ and ‘Zoom’ assist Crimson Velvet defend their crown of the act with one of the best B-sides. Like ‘Really feel My Rhythm’ and ‘Birthday,’ ‘Bye Bye’ samples a classical music, layering cool R&B-pop beats and groovy bass over Beethoven’s ‘Für Elise’. The perfect half, although, is how the group incorporates the recognisable melody into their very own vocal harmonies on the refrain, earlier than stripping all of it away for a minimal association.
The haughty and proud ‘Bye Bye’ is matched in depth by the equally dramatic ‘Zoom,’ the place the group first discovers a lover’s deception. Their vocals elevate the playful, bassy R&B dance-pop. Wendy extends her clear, crisp voice to ship satisfying excessive notes whereas the group treats catching their lover red-handed like a depraved sport, peppering the music with informal advert libs and laid-back confidence. Whereas subtler than earlier releases like ‘Dangerous Boy’ and ‘Peekaboo’, ‘Bye Bye’ and ‘Zoom’ carry traces of that playful however seductive streak that made them so alluring.
Finishing this trifecta of wins is ‘Rollercoaster (On A Experience)’. It feels a tad too structured to be labelled hyper-pop, nevertheless it’s not arduous to identify parts clearly impressed by the style. Daring instrumentation rests comfortably on a constant mild beat, with twinkling xylophonic sound results including texture. Cool, assured and conniving is a color we like to see on Crimson Velvet.
The album does fumble in locations. ‘Birthday’ opens with a pattern of George Gershwin’s ‘Rhapsody in Blue’, modernising it considerably with a carnivalesque association punctuated by dance-pop, lure beats and sound results straight out of a pinball sport. Uneven, heavy verses and choruses are balanced out with comparatively softer, dreamier pre-choruses. Regardless of offering that immediate rush of dopamine, the synth loops adapting ‘Rhapsody In Blue’ show overpowering, at instances clashing with the group’s rapping and vocals. Closing out the album on ‘Have a good time’ additionally feels counter-productive: The quasi-balladic R&B sound does present a extra susceptible facet to Crimson Velvet, nevertheless it additionally kills the momentum of an in any other case robust providing, as if bringing this social gathering to an abrupt shut.
Eight years into their profession, it’s clear that within the ‘The ReVe Competition 2022’ sequence Crimson Velvet have been reckoning with how they will evolve with the instances and nonetheless protect one of the best points of their artistry. The place their previous releases have vacillated between endearing youthfulness and alluring maturity, ‘The ReVe Competition’ albums, on the entire, search a center floor the place the 2 mix right into a brisker sound. On that entrance, ‘The ReVe Competition 2022 – Birthday’ actually is commendable progress – whether or not that distills right into a extra assured and cohesive sound on future releases is one thing we’re greater than prepared to attend for.
Particulars
- Launch date: November 28
- Report label: SM Leisure
