Finally, I’ve gotten around to reviewing this comeback. I won’t waste time with anything so let’s jump into background for Stray Kids!
The new boy group is represented by JYP Entertainment, formed on a reality survival TV show in 2017. Prior to finalizing the lineup, two members were eliminated from the group and then brought back in (don’t ask why, I have no clue), leaving us with nine members by the names of Bang Chan, Woojin, Lee Know, Felix, I.N, Hyunjin, Changbin, Han, and Seungmin. They’ve released four EPs: Mixtape, I Am Not, I Am Who, and I Am YOU. Not entirely sure what the theme is with those last three EPs; it’ll require more research, but it’s an interesting concept.
As of yesterday (I’m pretty sure it was yesterday), they have won the Genie Music Award for Male Rookie, and to be honest, I can see why. From what I’ve seen, I have yet to be disappointed and I try to keep up with their material. They remind me of 2013-2014 BTS with their lyrical content, and the group has some really strong rappers. That’s one thing that stands out to me when it comes to Stray Kids, they have a rap line with overwhelming potential. The vocals are strong as well, but there’s something about the rappers that catch my attention every time. They’re amazing. Most of the songwriting and production is done by Han, Changbin, and Bang Chan; these three members make up a separate hip-hop group known as 3RACHA, also under JYP Entertainment. So clearly, even they realize their rap game is strong.
Anyway, onto the review.
Lyrics
The lyrics of this song are a bit different from their previous comebacks as it is a bit more romantically geared, but nevertheless, it sends a lovely message. The gist of the song is that this boy (or girl for that matter, but I’ll stick with boy coz it’s easier) has found strength in the person they love, he receives comfort and confidence from that loved one, ultimately seeing himself in them as well. Due to having that person by his side, the boy no longer feels empty and expresses that simply by holding their hand, he can shine brighter than he ever has. Having the support of their love brings out the best in him, and he says that living for them can push him to do anything.
I didn’t expect the lyrics of this track to move me as much as it did, but it’s just a really sweet song. While reading them, I found a few lines that stood out to me and I’ve deemed them as my favorites. These include “if you can shine brighter, I can be the darkness”, “you shined on me even when I didn’t know myself”, and “with you, who has taken my hand, I can shout of a bigger dream than before”.
Line distributions for the song seem to be okay, but I noticed that in this particular track, Lee Know didn’t seem to get a lot of lines. I’m not a big enough fan to recognize whether this is something that normally happens—I feel like there’s always one or two members that receive less lines compared to everyone else—but hopefully, that’s not the case and throughout the albums themselves, perhaps each member gets a chance to showcase their talents.
Aesthetics
I’ll start this off by saying that it really amused me that they used ‘My Pace’ (another Stray Kids song) in the background for the beginning of the video. It reminded me of BTS’ ‘Fire’ music video, because they did the exact same thing and had one of their older songs playing until the actual song started. It always makes me feel like this song is meant to be a continuation of that older song in some way, which almost sets up the messages of the songs as if they’re part of one big story in which we see our main character progress. I’m not sure if that’s the direction they were going for, but that’s one way I thought about interpreting it. But the music video didn’t just remind me of BTS; I was able to find similarities with other groups as well.
For starters, the whole ‘boys being happy and having a nice time on the roof’ gave me SEVENTEEN’s ‘VERY NICE” (and maybe a little bit of “Pretty U’) flashbacks, just dialed down way more. Those scenes are similar conceptually, but the Stray Kids version have more of a subdued feel. The scenes with the rappers are more serious and intense, which I appreciate since it seems to add another layer to the lyrics, and there are shots of the boys dancing on the back of a train or on the roof. For the train bit, I’m not sure what their angle was or what they were going for; I didn’t particularly care for it, but the rest of the music video was great. The choreography is powerful and sharp, so it goes along with the music well.
I genuinely like the fact that this music video didn’t go above and beyond with the colors, because it allowed me to focus on smaller details more and actually process what’s happening in the song itself, so that made it more enjoyable to watch.
Sound
I liked this song way more than I expected after giving it a few listens. I think the parts that caught my attention the most were the chorus and the bridge. It doesn’t remind me of any other K-Pop song, really, so that’s a good sign. The start of the track was nice and slow before jumping into some pretty intense rap (courtesy of Bang Chan), which then builds up to the gentler sounding pre-chorus and a brighter sounding chorus.
I can’t place this song in terms of emotions—there are places where I argue that the music can evoke happy feelings, but overall, I can’t categorize it as a cheerful song. There’s something about the music in the chorus that stops me from calling it happy; I’d even go as far as calling it kind of reflective. But I can safely say that the song does not make me feel upbeat or cheerful, rather, it gives me slight feelings of angst and I can’t tell if it’s because of the instrumentals they use or the way their voices sound when singing. The raps are definitely on the angsty side. For the rest of it, I’m currently confused…yet I still love the song.
Alrighty, that concludes my review of this comeback! Stray Kids is just one of those groups that I follow quietly, so I don’t discuss them much, but they really are a talented bunch. They aren’t redundant with their subject matter in songs, their vocalists and rappers are strong, and their choreography is undoubtedly powerful. It makes me a bit nostalgic, just because this is kind of how BTS started off (granted, they had more hip-hop influences) and I hope that Stray Kids is met with a lot of success in the future. They have plenty of potential and if JYP lets them nurture it properly, I think they can have a pretty big impact in the industry.
I’ll be back next time with a review of gugudan’s “Not That Type” so until then, thanks for reading!
— Zephyr
Musical Musings 