REVIEW: BTS - ARIRANG

4/5

Back For Love

ARMY, rejoice and stand up, as the military service stands down and discharges. BTS are back in your area, about to cause mass hysteria. Almost a mere month after fellow K-Pop phenomenon BLACKPINK! returned to meet their 'Deadline' with an EP to make you 'GO!' All on the same weekend they will air 'The Comeback' of their 'Arirang' album live on Netflix. Much like the 'One Night In Manchester' Harry Styles and the streaming service gave us to mark his new perfect pop album, 'Kiss All The Time, Disco, Occasionally', a fortnight back. His One Direction were the Backstreet Boys biggest boy band of all-time. That was until BTS became the most fantastic since the fab four of The Beatles. Take that! And now after all members, RM, Jin, J-Hope, Suga, Jimin, Jung Kook and V, have finally completed their mandatory military service for the South Korean army, here's proof that they're back for good...and love. 'Arirang' in Korean being a traditional folk song passed down through generations of longing, separation and resilience. Found in translation to the devotion of a "beloved one." In-Yun, 8,000 past lives.

Let it ring out, as the bells of 'No. 29' toll. This album title's folk roots also serve as a symbol of peace between the north and south. These Bangtan Sonyeondan, "bulletproof boy scouts" already know how to bring the watching world they dominate together, from speaking at the United Nations to ones across the world knowing their big hits, word-for-word, like they were learning Korean. Add the sensational single 'SWIM', on a stunning ship, to the streams, as this sweet song is even sung in English. And guess what her name is, as 'Riverdale' and 'Hustlers' actress Lili Reinhart co-stars? "Swim, swim/Water falling off your skin/Swim, swim/I could spend a lifetime watching you", sung by 'Are You Sure?' Disney + travelogue cohorts Jimin and Jung Kook ("cham, cham, CHAM!"), probably written whilst they were taking in the scenes of Switzerland. Solo sets from all members, most notably RM, J-Hope and Suga, have tided us over during their four-year hiatus. But now they return to a crowded calendar that's already given us Labrinth, friend of Hope, J. Cole, Jill Scott, Willow, Mumford & Sons, U2, Bruno Mars and many more, like Red Hot Chili Pepper Flea going at it on his bass own for next week's trumpet solo.

Play the horns for this one though, because the moment the outstanding opening of 'Body To Body' goes skin-to-skin with your speakers, you know it's back on. Instant repeat. All for an American pop inspired left turn for these hardcore 'Hooligan's' calling themselves crazy with Britney Spears shout out respect, no toxicity. These idols brought us back up from a modern-day system of a down, teaching us to love ourselves. Now they return with a much grimier, gutter set, albeit still suited up in trademark garb to go with their new album logo that has already become ARMY member iconic. Sure, you'll miss the smooth sounds of 'Butter' and the hits that exploded on the charts like 'Dynamite'. Maybe the cute, pure pop days left the day they shaved their scalps for another army. The bubblegum has perhaps burst. But they already told us the best was yet to come. And this could be it! It might not be their biggest and best (a new, nuanced 'NORMAL' on their instant hit-making 'Merry Go Round'), but from version '2.0' dialling it up, to the sick sample of 'they don't know 'bout us'', this could be the most compelling and cohesive set that finally garners them the Grammy they should have been granted by now.

All the way grown up, 'Aririang', long-awaited and highly-anticipated, like nothing else, is something else. Something more. More mature. Whether out of this world 'Aliens' or acting 'Like Animals' with feral feeling, these boys who will always be like themselves have become your valentines again, akin to their rose installations in London, Los Angeles, and of course, Seoul. That's all they needed to promote an album that already surpassed four million pre-orders before it even hit shelves and streams. No song snippets of the saccharine 'One More Night', or sincere 'Please', 'FYA' (sublime). No single until 'SWIM' hit shores at the same time. But it barely mattered. The ARMY knew, and in turn we trust this. To follow 'Into The Sun', like Icarus, singing, "Twenty-four, 24/7 feel like twenty-four (Twenty-four)/태양을 향해 뛰어도 (뛰어도), 가까워지진 않아도 (않아도), oh, no/Don't be afraid, 기억해, 그저 잠시뿐인 걸 어두운/밤을 지나/아침이 오는 걸 맞으며 눈을 떠 into the sun" with sugar and hope. And if you miss the anthems, never fear. They're all here until the 'ARMYRANG' last call of dedication. The big hits are back with Hybe hype. The reunion is done. Here is the 30th Korean national treasure. It's time to enlist this. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Playlist Picks: 'Body To Body', 'SWIM', 'They Don't Know 'Bout Us'.

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