A lot has been mentioned about Okay-pop through the years and far has been misunderstood concerning the style too. Naysayers chalk up Okay-pop acts to pale imitations of Western artists, whereas the uninitiated disparage the grandiose manufacturing as spinoff or cliché.
However on their new EP, Able to Be, the lady group TWICE blows up the drained stereotypes and smashes by boundaries with a seven-song set that’s as brash and compelling as something within the pop music panorama in the present day. Able to Be is a assured comeback from one in every of Okay-pop’s most fun teams, chock filled with high-octane bangers and intelligent earworms that command your consideration from the very first notice.
The album opens with “Set Me Free,” a disco-fied anthem that finds the women mustering up the braveness to admit a crush. “I’ve been hiding how I really feel for you eternally,” they sing. “Now that it’s off my chest there’s room for you and me.”
Issues rapidly shift into excessive gear with first single, “Moonlight Dawn,” a critical contender for pop track of the 12 months. Now not the wide-eyed group that burst onto the scene as youngsters in 2015, TWICE get downright sultry and seductive on the Atlanta bass-inspired observe.
“I don’t actually imply to hurry, however imma actually need your contact if imma make it by the evening,” coo Nayeon and Mina.
“Loving undefeated, in your knees pleading, child you possibly can hit up my line once you want it,” raps Chaeyoung on the second verse.
In simply three minutes, “Moonlight” completely encapsulates the sheer pleasure of TWICE’s music, brimming with sing-along melodies and playful lyrics that get folks speaking (simply see the memes and TikTok movies created after the track’s “I would like you o’clock” line went viral).
The remainder of the album is equally exhilarating. The aptly-titled “Obtained the Thrills” is a shimmery dance observe with a hands-in-the-air chorus that might flip up the warmth in any membership in the present day. “Blame It On Me,” meantime, is a foot-stomping, kiss-off anthem that’s begging for an HBO sync. “You’re uncontrolled,” the women declare to an ex-lover. “Don’t you cry about me child – don’t blame it on me.” The choice-leaning “Loopy Silly Love,” opens with a bluesy, minor-key riff earlier than storming right into a head-nodding refrain that discover the women, “So completed with loopy silly love.”
Enjoyable and sassy, TWICE have by no means sounded extra in management than on this album, and it’s evident that with regards to their music — as with their relationships — these women, nay these ladies, imply enterprise. Eight years into their profession, TWICE are licensed veterans of the Okay-pop scene they usually’re solely getting higher and stronger. Now not content material to play coy, Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung, and Tzuyu are discovering their voices as daring and fearless artists who go after what they need.
“I would like you to know that I ain’t ever going to settle, even when all of that is only a fantasy,” they sing on the English model of “Set Me Free,” which closes out the EP. Take into account it the Okay-pop declaration of independence. At simply seven tracks lengthy and clocking in beneath 20 minutes, Able to Be is the best soundtrack to prep for an evening out. If solely it had been slightly longer so the euphoria might final past your first drink. “We are able to hold going in any respect hours,” the women sing on the tropical-tinged “Wallflower,” and also you type of need the album to maintain going too.
Nonetheless, in a crowded business that’s seemingly launching new acts each different week, Able to Be proves that TWICE will not be solely able to compete — they’re able to stake their declare to the highest.
