After the release of the Badman EP and an extensive period of promotion in Japan, B.A.P return with their first full-length album to mark their 2014 Korean comeback.
1. B.A.P Intro song commonly used in many albums. I think for a comeback and a debut album, this fierce track is very fitting for this group. They not only announce the “king is back”, they want you to chant B.A.P is back. I wouldn’t be surprised if B.A.P use this as an opening intro to their forthcoming concerts.
2. 1004 [Angel] The first single to be released from this album. I was fooled by the MV teaser, assuming it was nothing more than an acoustic song. I did not expect the guitar riffs to just jump right at me. B.A.P describe their lover as an angel who has left them and they talk about their heartache, how they cannot see this angel any more. If you missed our music breakdown for 1004 we posted about previously, you can find it here
3. Easy (쉽죠) If you follow Yongguk’s SNS you’ll notice he likes to share video or audio clips that contain jazz music and you can see his fondness for said music genre with this track. Easy talks about a man’s regret on letting a woman go and foolishly thinking he’ll be ok, he’ll forget her. But as the song says I’m OK, I’m not OK, I’m not not not OK.
4. Spy Mixing brass with vinyl scratching, the song talks about a “spy” checking out a mysterious woman, assuring her he’s not like the hyenas who drool and cluelessly follow her and that he knows she wants him bad. A 007-esque theme surely?!
5. Check On Oddly enough this song’s music style reminds me of 90s hip hop. Another potential track that could go well in a concert to get the crowd pumping. Let’s rock. Everyone pushes each other to see me, like domino
6. Shady Lady Slowing things down again with this smooth R’n'B track. I thought this song would talk about how a lady was being shady/conniving and what have you but in fact it turned out to be quite the opposite. B.A.P are telling a self-conscious girl she’s still pretty, even when she’s not wearing make-up and that she shouldn’t have to force herself into high heels just to impress them. A song about encouraging the girl to just be herself and not dress up too much.
7. Lovesick Taking love sick almost literally here with all kinds of symptoms. B.A.P are getting physically sick from falling in love with a girl and are determined to tell her their feelings. My heart beats for you. I want to hold onto you. Words I held in and couldn’t say. I want to shout them loudly. Like in Coffee Shop Zelo sings a little bit here as well.
8. Bang X 2 I’ve read comments on various communities where fans have said Bang x 2 does not suit B.A.P or does not fit into this album. To some extent I completely understand this as fans would be accustomed to the band hitting the likes of hip-hop, R’n'B and pop ballads. However as a metal music fan myself, I’m ashamed to say I liked this song. Whenever Daehyun said, “Scream and don’t stop” I complied. I won’t lie when I say I really did headbang A LOT but also did the sign of the horns constantly because wow the inner metalhead was clawing out. This song is simply about letting your worries go and just being a ‘rock star’ for the night. If a crazy mosh pit actually surfaced at B.A.P’s concert while this song is being performed, it wouldn’t surprise me.
9. S.N.S The bass is heavy and would work perfectly in a club. Sexy and special…Tweet me your mention well that is something every Baby has been doing constantly. Is this song comparing how addictive B.A.P find this girl to how addictive SNS are? It’s also almost like a shout-out to the bad girls that guys find really hot.
10. Body + Soul Way to get the listener even more sexual, guys. Honestly, this love-making song reminded me a teeny bit of Welcome by Jay Park. Yongguk whispering to the listener to turn the lights off and relax our mind…well sure thing. Daehyun’s high note near the end blew my mind.
11. Save Me Going back to the slight metal flavour with a slow guitar riff to set the scene, this song talks about being cheated and having trouble trusting anyone else, struggling to fall in love again after the previous heartache. The more I think about it, I’m so scared of love. Go away, because of you, my heart is broken.
12. B.A.B.Y Hearing screams and chants in the background, this is the ultimate tribute to the fans -the babyz- and how much B.A.P love them. This a song about falling in love. Whenever I see you, my heart. Feels like it’ll burst, feels like it’ll burst. Hold my hand in this moment I’ve been waiting for
13. With You A slow song where B.A.P reflect on the special person who made their lonely nights less painful, less lifeless and assuring the girl that if she was with them she wouldn’t suffer in the same way. If you’re lonely, I’m lonely too. No one can replace you. All day, I only think of you, how about you? You and me, if we’re together, everything is OK
UK Potential: 3.5/5
Overall:
With the B.A.P intro sounding confident and telling you to get ready for this comeback, you don’t know what to expect for the next 12 tracks that follow afterwards. Teasers alone may either surprise you or make you expect quite a lot. I found First Sensibility surprised me a great deal and didn’t want to get my hopes up too much when I listened to the short album samples.
This album didn’t have that “filler” EP feel and I felt it really showed what B.A.P were capable of with experimenting different music genres aside from their usual territories. In terms of vocal, I think Himchan and Jongup were given more opportunities to shine in their singing (I particularly felt this in track 2 – 1004). Daehyun and Youngjae were superb yet again with their range. Zelo and Yongguk were charismatic and suave with their rapping that sometimes went from simple whispering to encouraging you to shout/let your feelings out.
Would this album work if B.A.P wanted to debut here? It might do better than Badman because there are more tracks on offer that could easily appeal to different music fans. There’s feisty hip-hop, in your face metal, pop rock, jazz, sultry R’n'B and ballads that will touch your heart or tug your insides.
Babyz could find themselves switching between feeling sexy, reassured, determined and heartbroken when they listen to this album. First Sensibility was definitely an emotional rollercoaster ride.
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