Track Listing
Pink Venom, a punk rock band, shut down Typa Girl, a pop punk band. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, a rock band, was hard to love. The Happiest Girl, an indie pop band, was tally ready for love. ..
Blackpink’s comeback album, Born Pink, was met with high expectations from fans after their long hiatus. However, the group managed to exceed expectations with their new music. ..
Blackpink shut it down
Blackpink shut down their entire tour with Shut Down, a hip hop track with trap beats in all the right places, infused over a sample of Niccolò Paganini’s classical composition La Campanella. The track has the chic ambiance the group is known for and is sure to please fans who love their music.
Shut Down is a refreshing and incredibly reminiscent of Blackpink’s sound – it’s not derivative, but it doesn’t sway away from the group’s usual sleek nature in an unsettling manner.
The song is catchy and addictive, but it’s not over-the-top or gimmicky. It feels fresh and new, like Blackpink for the first time.
The sample used in this song is executed elegantly and exclusively, serving as more of a byline to strengthen the elegant and exclusive style of the song. It doesn’t overpower the track, but creates a conspicuous underpin that keeps the main body of the song moving in the right direction. ..
Shut Down is a well-crafted song with musical quality and catchy appeal. ..
Taste that pink venom
The first single from the album Pink Venom was released on October 5th, and quickly became a worldwide hit. ..
The song’s main hook is based on the phrase “taste that pink venom,” which is a reference to the poison ivy. The beat is catchy and makes the listener want to listen to it for more. The track is also interesting because of its production.
The song starts with an ominous chant of ‘Blackpink’ over a Korean traditional instrumentation that sticks around for the first verse, where they include an interpolation of Rihanna’s Pon De Replay, while in the second verse they tap into 90’s rap with hints of hyper-pop, and climaxes in a bombastic ‘RA TA TA TA’ finale which is cut off suddenly. It might have you scratching your head at times.
The ‘RA TA TA TA’ finale is not one of the head-scratchers of the song, since if anything it is more predictable than unexpected. The chanted dance break endings is something we have heard in basically every single Blackpink title track, which makes the song feel overly familiar, even though its sound is actually pretty novel for the group. ..
Pink Venom is a new style for Blackpink, but it uses the same old formula for the ending. This makes it feel like a Blackpink song, but it’s fun and catchy. It’s definitely not unique.
B-sides – a faltering low tally
Blackpink’s latest b-side, “Typa Girl,” is a trap/hip hop track with an organ motif that stands out from the rest of their discography. The song has strong lyrics and a strong beat, which fits perfectly into the soundscape of Blackpink’s discography. ..
Shut Down is a great song. Typa Girl is a great song.
The song starts out with a retro synth sound, before transitioning into a production that recalls the 1980s. Despite this, the song feels more like just another victim of the 80s obsession that has plagued Kpop over the past few years.
The food at this restaurant is lackluster and uninspired. The progression of the dishes feels like it’s just a way to get you to spend more money, rather than providing a full meal. ..
Born Pink is a pop album with a disco sound. The track Hard To Love is the standout song on the album. The guitar and bright vocals mix well to create a refined and interesting climax.
Next up is the inevitable ballad moment, marking the obligatory moment on the record. The song is dark and gloomy, but with great vocals by the members, it’s well- complemented by the music.
Nonetheless, the production runs the risk of falling a bit flat, not doing much more than the textbook melancholic piano progression. Only in the last chorus do we reach a more developed composition that makes the song feel like it is fully developed – it makes for a grand finale, sure, but it also makes the rest of the track seem like a chore you need to finish to get to the end. ..
Last for the new tracks is Tally, a pop song with hip hop elements and a crisp guitar tone that gives it a more rock feel. With the repetitive production and circular progression, this b-side makes for an easy listening experience, yet still memorable and unique in that simplicity – it’s easy to listen to and easy to love.
Ready for disappointment
We wanted to make a statement with this song. We wanted it to be the anthem of our fandom and our fight. And we knew that if we put it on the album, it would be seen as a sign that we’re not just a rookie group, but that we’re ready for anything.
The song is not necessarily bad – it’s terribly generic and dated, and feels like the producers were trying to recreate a 2018 song from memory. But even so, I wouldn’t completely write it off as it still has some redeemable qualities.
Ready For Love is a terrible album because it was included on the record and as the album’s closing track. Having Born Pink sign off with that out of all songs feels disappointing and anti-climactic, almost like receiving socks as a Christmas gift – it’s not bad per-se, but in your heart you expected something better.
Craving for more Blackpink
The main problem with Born Pink is that it feels like a copy of its predecessor.
Born Pink is an album that communicates a concrete message to the listeners. It is a compilation of good songs put together for the sake of releasing an album, but it is worth the name.
Blackpink’s identity is clear on their debut album, despite there being a variety of sounds and subgenres. They stick to their own style, showcasing both their pink and black sides with grace.
Both The Album and Born Pink share the same fatal flaw – they are too short. With each having merely eight songs, both records are over in the blink of an eye, and do not give listeners enough to go on. ..
The album is short, and its flaws are more apparent. The derivativeness is clear, the flatness is flat, and the datedness is dated. The tracks blend together, making it difficult to follow what’s happening.
Born Pink is more fully developed as a body of work than The Album, but it still leaves you hanging, craving for more Blackpink.
