This is me forming my thoughts without reading any comments or outside opinions, so I might be completely in the minority here. I jotted down some notes while listening to the album twice from start to finish.
1. Body to Body:
Starting in the final chorus, you hear the 장구 (traditional Korean drum) subtly come in, and then we transition into the bridge where the original Arirang melody appears. Lyrically and thematically, it felt very random to me. I didn’t think it was a fitting choice, and the transition came off abrupt. Judging by the outro, where RM, Suga, and J-Hope are saying “I need the whole stadium to jump,” I’m assuming it’s meant to be a concert-type song, but the Arirang insertion felt out of place.
2. Hooligan:
Unique instrumental. The knife-clashing sounds are fun, and the beat definitely fits the “hooligan” vibe. Reminds me a bit of a J. Cole-type beat.
3. Aliens:
Very BTS-style hip-hop track. One of the best songs on the album, in my opinion. It also has the most Korean lyrics, and you can tell they’re in their element when they lean into Korean more. The rapline just flows more naturally.
4. FYA:
The club track of the album. A bit repetitive for my taste.
5. 2.0:
Full-on swag track. Starts with Suga going at the media and other fandoms talking about surpassing BTS. The message is pretty direct and kind of amusing.
6. No.29:
I don’t really get this one. Where’s the song? Or any sound for that matter? After a second listen to the entire album, I’m assuming it’s supposed to function as more like an interlude to reset the vibe between Part 1 (tracks 1–5) and Part 2 (7–14).
7. SWIM:
First off, the MV felt way too focused on the actress. It almost felt like she was the main character featuring BTS. The song itself is very subdued. Maybe my expectations were too high, but it felt underwhelming and short. I was also surprised they went with a full English title track. It’s very different from their previous “English trilogy” sound. I don’t think I’ll add this to my playlist.
8. Merry Go Round:
Probably the most lyrically meaningful song. I think a lot of people will relate to it.
9. NORMAL:
I like this one a lot, up there with Aliens. I just wish the outro had a bit more to it. It kind of just cuts off, and a few extra notes could’ve elevated it.
10. Like Animals:
The transition from NORMAL into this is really smooth. It feels like a continuation sonically. The guitar riff in the outro is probably the best outro on the album.
11. they don’t know ‘bout us:
Pretty straightforward message to the naysayers. It is what it is.
12. One More Night:
It was okay. Felt pretty generic both sonically and lyrically.
13. Please:
Chill love song.
14. Into the Sun:
The autotune and chipmunk-style vocals caught me off guard at first, but I actually kind of like the contrast between the minimal acoustic instrumental and the heavy vocal effects. This might actually be my favorite track. I can see this going crazy as a concert outro.
Favorites:
Into the Sun > Aliens > NORMAL
As for the title track, it just felt too safe and generic to me, both visually and sonically. It didn’t really feel like a BTS song. It sounds like something a lot of other pop artists have done in the past, and I didn’t feel like their unique color really came through. Just my opinion, but I found it to be underwhelming.
For the album as a whole, I’m still not sure how Arirang is supposed to tie everything together. Is the album cohesive? Sonically, yes. But does it strongly reflect that theme? Not really.
One thing this album did reinforce for me is that the members, especially the rapline, really shine when they’re rapping in Korean. The depth, creativity, and flow just hit differently compared to the English-heavy tracks. I was a bit disappointed that the album leaned so heavily into English overall.
So yeah, I think my expectations were just really high going in. Outside of a few standout tracks, I wasn’t fully sold on the project. It feels like they could’ve explored their sound more if they had more time. Again, just one person’s opinion. Curious to hear what everyone else thought.
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