BTS – Arirang (Bighit Music) (13th Floor Album Review)

K-pop royalty, BTS have made their rather-hyped return after a lengthy break with Arirang. Arguably one of the largest acts in the world, the comeback has seen their devout fanbase (The BTS Army – which is currently so popular, that its membership is capped!) push ticket sales to capacity around the world.

The release was even coupled with a live concert streamed around the world on Netflix over the weekend (and don’t worry, I watched that too). It all begs the question, does the triumphant return live up to the hype?

To briefly give an avowal to my loyal readers, unsurprisingly I am not a BTS fan. It’s just not music that I’ve ever needed to listen to. I am rather certain I don’t fit their target demographic, and the last boy band album I bought was in the late nineties (alright, it was Backstreet’s Back and I was nine – Go on, judge!). 

However, I currently live in Korea, and felt that I ought to give them a whirl. So, I’ll be trying my best to view Arirang as openly and honestly as I can. But please do consider that I’m normally fairly firmly parked in the alternative/indie/punk/alt-pop camp in regard to my musical interests. 

Anyway, BTS (방탄소년단 or the literal translation, and actually quite cool name, Bulletproof Boy Scouts) built up a monumental following in Korea since their inception in 2010. Whilst originally styled as hip-hop, the group soon adopted a more commercial sound and pushed their way into the international market. Thus, becoming the highest selling K-pop group of all time. Yet despite popularity, fame and a growing list of achievements, the band took a hiatus in 2022.

For those that don’t know, all Korean male citizens must perform mandatory military service. And it’s rare, when walking highly populated areas or taking public transport, not to see servicemen in combat fatigues throughout South Korea. It’s part of life, and equitable that even the very famous get drafted.

So, like Elvis Presley before them (many years prior and a different country), BTS have made their awaited return. Yet Elvis is often defined by two periods, pre-army and post-army. The latter being often condemned for the decline in the raw rock & roll sound, only to be replaced with cash-grab commercialism. It will be interesting to see if the same can be said for Arirang. 

Whilst the album is predominantly in English, BTS do still capture some of their original native identity. Samulnori (traditional Korean percussion) is present amongst the moody synth bass that kicks off the LP on Body to Body. And while there are moments are where you’d be mistaken for thinking this was the latest boy group out of LA, the vocal tones I usually associate with K-pop pull through rather regularly. They’ll tell you everything that ‘lit is fire’ in FYA (not exactly poetry, I know!), but then we’ll get a verse in Korean later on (not that the lyrics are much more poetic when run through Google Translate!).

Have a quick look through the linear notes, and each song seems to have at least eight or nine writers attached to it (alongside the three different producers for each track!). Is it overproduced? Personally, I don’t think so. But the handful of fans I know have made comments otherwise. A tune like Aliens doesn’t vary far in production from a track by the likes of Kanye West beat wise. Like Animals sounded like something Twenty-One Pilots might have thrown out eight or nine years ago – the guitar solo on this perked my attention, as you might expect. And, I enjoyed the false vaudeville introduction placed on they don’t know ‘bout us. 

On the topic of production, No.29, a simple recording of ringing percussion (yep, all one minute and thirty-eight seconds of it) was a nice touch. It grounded the album for me somewhat.

As you would expect, it’s catchy. I’m not ashamed to admit that I spent the day with SWIM stuck in my head. I found the more infectious melodies stuck at the front end of the album, but most of it is a sweet spoon of sugar that is inoffensive on the senses. Between the sweetness, there’s fairly unaggressive hip-hop vocal work over well-produced drum beats. It’s a pop album, what were you expecting?

I suppose my largest gripe with the album is that, while it’s built for the stage show where dance plays a large part, they have adopted the classic boy band motif of only-one-person-singing-one-line-at-a-time. When there are seven guys standing on the stage (that can clearly sing rather well), I’m a bit disappointed that they can’t utilize more vocal harmonies. And, often, the recorded harmonies seem intentionally artificially added like in the closer, Into the Sun. 

I’ll lay my cards on the table, I’m probably not the person to answer if Arirang lives up to the hype. Regardless of how triumphant their return is to their army, BTS are back. And overall? I didn’t mind it. Hell! I even enjoyed the concert. 

Daniel Edmonds

Arirang is out now via Bighit Music