REVIEW: AGUST D - D-DAY

4/5

DTS. 

Agust and everything after. What's better than a brand-new album from BTS after 'Proof' of their hiatus? How about solo sets from all their members, save Jin who is on mandatory military service for South Korea (the ARMY has your back, stay safe)? Giving us 'The Astronaut' before taking flight. Just a few weeks ago we saw the 'Face' of Jimin for one of the best looks yet, coupled with the stunning single 'Set Me Free Pt. 2'. And last year we even had billboard World Cup and Christmas numbers from Jungkook and V (the anthem 'Dreamers' and 'Christmas Tree' under yours respectively). In 2019 this solo stuff really took off with leader RM's moving '.mono' mixtape. The Rap Monster has since gone in with his inspired 'Indigo' album earlier this year. Suga also released a terrific tape a couple of calendars ago under his rap alias Agust D ('D-2'), spearheaded by the stellar single 'Daechwita' and its vivid video. But it was J-Hope's 'Jack In The Box' that really sprung these streams of solo leaks. Accompanied by its own Disney + documentary that showed just how much Suga is in Hope's corner. Agust D even has his own 'Road To' making of documentary set to drop on the Mickey Mouse streaming service this weekend. Let alone his own album to match. 'D-Day' is here.

Paved with album artwork reminiscent of when The L.O.X. told us 'We Are The Streets', D is ready to go to battle with 'D-Day' and it's outstanding opening title-track. This baller who has just inked a deal with the NBA as a Global Ambassador won't retreat. Jimin may have just given us the best non-BTS single, RM the deepest cut and Hope the most inspired left turn of an album, but Suga's goes the hardest. There is nothing sweet about this like the purple wrapped BTS Snickers bars ('Save Me' feels like a candy cry for help), save the seriously sick skills. He goes nuts. Get some! The single 'Haegeum' has a vibe and video that could rival the time he was taking heads at a temple, as he goes against himself again until the scar. "Interpretation is free for all/Out with the nonsense/Freedom of expression/Could be reason for somebody’s death/Could you still consider that freedom?/If your convictions are reflected in your judgment and speculations/And you believe that your freedom is on the same level as others," he translates, unlocking what's forbidden like the meaning of the songs title. Suga is smoking. Literally. A nod to V's Grammy cigarette "scandal" perhaps?! He's behind his other brother too. 

The back and forth brotherhood with J-Hope continues on the unquestionable highlight 'HUH?!' in all-caps. But it's 'AMYGDALA' that really makes it's exclaimed name. "1993/The month I was born/My mother's heart surgery/A lot of things happened/What's so eventful/I can't even remember/Let's take them all out one by one." '93 to infinity. Feel old yet? This real rapper is dropping knowledge like an O.G. taking the game to school. 'SDL' plugs in even more, rapping "참 말야 바람대로 되는 게 없지/인간관계란 정말 어려워 역시/애초부터 맞지 않는 거였어/우리 둘 사이 간극을/좁혀 보려는 것 자체가 억지/기억은 미화되기 마련이야 (Oh woah, woah yeah)/벌써 희미 한 것처럼/영원을 노래하던 우린 없어 마치 꿈처럼/내가 그리워하는 것은 말야 그대일까/아니면 후회와 미련이 남는 그때일까." Having fans ask, who's that girl like Eve. 

But like a Jimin sequel, it's 'People Pt. 2' featuring I.U. that really streams and hits you like an IV. In the same vein of those golden era early 2000 rap and R&B crossover hits for the charts. And this billboard king makes Hollywood highlights this weekend like the Canadian one on the Hollywood sign with singing starlet Lana Del Rey. "This thing called love/Maybe it's just a momentary list of emotions/It's conditional, what is it that I love?/Wasn't loved enough as a kid/That's why I'm the cautious type/I want, a sincere connection with others/Forever's something like a sand castle, you know/It comes crumbling down at the calmest of waves/What is it about loss that makes us so sad?/Really, it's the dread that makes us so sad." Powerful and profound if you liked the original, ordinary 'People' off 'D-2', then you haven't heard anything yet toDAY. 

On 'Polar Night' he goes in the opposite direction, questioning it all and even himself. "Between so many truths and so many lies/Are we seeing this world right?/It is all dirty (Am I also clean?)/It is all dirty (Are you clean?)/Between dark questions and indiscriminate accusations/What do we fight for/It is all dirty (Am I also clean?)/It is all dirty (Are you clean?)." All before the 'Dawn' of an inspired interlude feels cinematic. You won't hit the 'Snooze' button on a classic collaboration with the late, legendary Ryuichi Sakamoto and the great WOOSUNG collaboration. But it's the 'Life Goes On' head of this top ten half-hour of power that will really wake you up. Determined to hit you where it hurts...the heart. "As time goеs by/Someone will be forgottеn/Just do what you want/Time is like a wave/It will be washed away like the ebb/But don't forget to find me/This moment when everyone stopped/The porch that looks far away today/Life goes on, life goes on/Life goes on, life goes on/This moment when everyone fallen apart/Our relationship is getting farther than yesterday/Life goes on, life goes on/Life goes on, life goes on. And on and on 'till this day. 'D-Day' has an artillery of big hits in its arsenal, no armistice. And that's the truth like a truce. Now before BTS shake hands and make up another record, it's time to put yours in the air. TIM DAVID HARVEY. 

Playlist Picks: 'Haegeum', 'Huh?! (Feat. J-Hope), 'People Pt. 2 (Feat. IU).