4th Mini Album by Big Bang!

If it feels like there’s an overwhelming amount of enthusiasm dispersing across the internet, you are not alone.  A certain Korean group just so happens to have returned from a two (count them, two) year hiatus and has instantly vaulted to the forefront of the Korean pop music industry once again.  A break of that length is considered an eternity, especially to those who live their lives according to the K-pop measurement of time, which basically travels at warp-speed.

Big Bang – Daesung, G-Dragon, Seungri, Taeyang, and T.O.P – have spent the last couple years promoting their Japanese material, as well as allowing each member the time to release their own solo music, but the band hadn’t rejoined forces for an exclusive Big Bang album until this week.

Rather than returning into the arms of their fans bearing the gift of a full-length album, Big Bang and YG Entertainment decided to promote their new material via the mini album format.  It’s not a lot, but for the fans who have been shaking in anticipation for Big Bang’s valiant return to the music scene, anything is better than nothing at this point.

So how did their return fare?  Was it a lot of hype but no results, or did they justify all the buzz they received?  Let’s find out.

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Track List:

01 Intro (Thank You & You)
02 Hands Up
03 Tonight
04 Somebody To Love
05 What Is Right
06 Cafe

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This release marks the 4th mini album for Big Bang, and it’s yet another notch on their belt.  From their humble beginnings, Big Bang have been pushing the boundaries in Korean pop culture.  Their sound has been strongly influenced by hip-hop, R&B, and the present day electronic style, all genres which they have, at one point or another, managed to perfect and bring to life in ways that other groups have not.  Basically, Big Bang’s cultural impact is a strong one, and there’s really no refuting them as one of the few ‘trend-setters’ of this generation in music.

So when Big Bang release new material, it’s not only a big deal because they’re back from oblivion, but also for the preconceived notion that they’re going to bring forth something spectacular and utterly mind-blowing.  History has proven it, and with a distinguished swag already stapled to their style, it’s pretty hard for Big Bang not to deliver something amazing through their music.

Or is it?

Branching out has served Big Bang in ways that working as a unit has not.  Each member has had the chance to experiment with different styles and explore their potential to showcase the best of who they are as individual artists.

That’s great, and coming back as a group should have been a piece of cake for Big Bang, but this album doesn’t express as much of their signature flow as before. The first hints of a ‘difference’ in Big Bang’s musicality is apparent in their “Intro (Thank You & You)“.  The glaring detail is that the members in Big Bang are no longer singing as one, but as individual singers; meaning there isn’t a significant point in the song where more than one member is singing in unison or harmonizing with another.  I would have brushed off this observation had it not reappeared in the rest of this mini album, but boy does it ever.

Even if Big Bang aren’t vocally the strongest singers in K-pop, they do usually have one of the strongest impacts on their listeners when they sing together (see the chorus from “Lies“, and especially the one from “Haru Haru“).  There’s a reason why Big Bang are as successful as they are, and part of that is thanks to the incredible chemistry in their music.

On this EP, however, all you hear is each Big Bang member trading off lines (some much longer than others) and nothing more.  It’s good music, but where has the spark gone?

A lack of dynamics is only half of the disappointment, as the other half lies in the songs themselves.

It’s hard to consider any cluster of songs on a mini album as filler, but it feels like most of the songs on this EP are exactly that.  It doesn’t help a single bit that two of these songs (“Hands Up“, “Somebody To Love“) have already been released; they are Japanese versions of these same songs.  Both are decent songs, but they were not the lead tracks on the other EPs for a reason.  They don’t possess the bite or anything particularly special for them to stand strong among the rest of  Big Bang’s diverse repertoire, so it isn’t quite clear why they decided to throw them in here.

And that leads to the next point.

It has been two years since Big Bang participated in any official Korean promotion for an album.  With or without a busy schedule, that long of a time span could have at least prompted them to churn out a completely brand new album, full-length or mini.  We all realize they have been busy, but the amount of time they had to plan this project was immense, and they ended up basically rehashing some old tracks, which was a disappointment in itself.

If there’s one saving grace in this EP, it’s the impeccable production.  Ever since G-Dragon went solo with “Heartbreaker“, the quality of Big Bang’s songs have significantly improved.  Their sound has become very digitized, and it’s the most club-friendly music in K-pop.  As far as treatment goes, each member sounds better than ever on this EP.  The pitch-manipulation will put some people off, but I can’t deny that it’s done really well.

“Tonight” is the perfect example of how brilliant auto-tune can sound when done right.  The treatment on each member’s vocals works really well against the fullness of the amazing instrumental.  It features the YG signature hand claps, as well as some pretty cool audience cheers, which is a clever way to create an epic atmosphere to any song.  Clearly, the production on “Tonight” is one of the highlights on this EP.

Another standout is the classic sounding “Cafe.”  The style is very laid-back and consists of the Big Bang edge that I like to hear in their music.  You can’t go wrong with a suave song like this one.

“Cafe” also happens to be the only song where we receive the largest dose of Daesung’s gorgeous singing, which is an absolute shame, because just from listening to him on this song, it’s obvious that his voice has grown and developed since the last time he made any kind of vocal appearance, and I think we would have all loved to hear so much more of it.

The spotlight just doesn’t favor him in this EP, which is simply confusing.

Again, production-wise, this EP sounds fantastic, and it’s complete candy to the ears.  However, it’s the usual Big Bang spark and flair that is MIA, and that’s what holds this material back from knocking down walls and rocketing it into the leagues of “Haru Haru” type releases.

Big Bang’s previous work, specifically before 2009, was woven not only to allow each member to shine individually, but also to explode as one well-rounded group.  In this mini album, it’s obvious that Big Bang are right there singing it ‘together’, but their newfound structures and methods of recording leaves these songs sounding relatively flat.  The member’s individual material was far more engaging than anything revealed here, which is a worrisome conclusion.

Big Bang have the tools at their disposal to craft the most amazing music imaginable, but if they can’t return as one to rekindle the group’s character and musical presence, let alone deliver an EP that surpasses expectations, than perhaps isolating themselves in their own styles wasn’t the best move for the future of the group after all.

 Resources: http://www.allkpop.com/2011/02/review-4th-mini-album-by-big-bang