Today we’re going to take a two-part look at BAP’s new comeback with Rain Sound and One Shot. First up to be reviewed – Rain Sound.
Concept
Rain Sound showed an entirely different concept from BAP than we’re used to; it is a sad love song, whereas BAP usually show a fierce, powerful concept or even the cute image they’ve had for Crash and Stop It. This was an interesting, and undoubtedly challenging, image change for them, and as a group that often shows an incredibly strong and masculine charm they still managed to transition into this new concept with little awkwardness.
The first half of the video has quite a monochrome and dark style, with the green rain (I assume to represent the colour of their fan club) being the only real colour in the MV. This section of the video really reminds me of DMTN’s video for Emergency, as there are gurneys and an ambulance, but this video includes a hell of a lot more mannequins. I could imagine that the outfits worn in this part of the video might seem a little odd to non-kpop fans despite being a lot tamer than most other idol groups; Youngjae’s furry coat and Yong Guk’s frilly-type top are a little unusual to someone outside of kpop.
The second half of the video moves into a visually lighter section, with the boys dressed entirely in and the set mostly being white. This second half has the feel of a classic boy band MV; they wear matching outfits, you see more of the dance routine and there are slowed down close-ups of each member, but it still has an undeniable BAP feel to it. The video ends with close-ups of each member appearing to get shot, clearly symbolic for getting their hearts broken, and along with it seeming to keep raining harder on them, their blood is also green. This video is beautifully shot, and is completely in fitting with the sound of the song.
Sad love songs always tend to remain as a popular style of music as they are of a genre that most people could probably relate to. This benefits Rain Sound as even without being able to understand the lyrics, I think potential listeners would be able to recognise that the song is about loss and pain and they will probably identify with the feel of the song.
The only thing that might seem a little odd to UK viewers would be some of the outfits and the general abundance of eyeliner. As K-pop fans, we’re used to seeing male idols wearing as much makeup as the females, but this isn’t something particularly present in mainstream music here in the UK and as such I can imagine some people being put off by it. Men wearing makeup would probably make some potential male viewers uncomfortable, and as such they may not give this song a chance.
UK Potential: 4/5
Choreography
It is a little hard to judge the dance moves for this song as you don’t see much of the choreography in the music video for Rain Sound itself, and seeing as this song hasn’t been actively promoted I had to wait until they performed it as an introduction to their latest single, One Shot. But the little amount of choreography you see mainly towards the end of the video, and also at a few points throughout the rest of the MV, is slow and almost sad, and completely in keeping with the melancholy feel of the song.
There isn’t really any other choreography in the live performances other than what you see in the MV, as most of it is performed while the members are sat down.
The dance moves that are used also have a very 90’s boy band feel to them, with slow turning with arms outstretched and just bobbing in one spot.The slightly nostalgic feeling of the moves combined with them being mood-appropriate should be something that appeals to quite a lot of people, as these kinds of moves are pretty standard for a slow song and as such shouldn’t be objected to by many people.
UK Potential: 4/5
Song
The introduction into Rain Sound starts off with the sound of falling rain and acoustic guitar which creates an entirely apt feeling of melancholy from the get-go. A variety of instruments, such as piano and synths, kick in fairly quickly into the song which produces a slightly more powerful sound, but still keeps a downhearted tone to the song. It’s not a song about begging someone to come back to them, it’s laced with the acceptance of the end of the relationship and about how the rain reminds them of the person they lost, which I would imagine to be something very easy to relate to for most people. I’m sure a lot of us have had relationships end in the past, and there will always be things that remind us of that person, and as such I think the subject of the song should appeal to a lot of people.
This song really showcases the versatile vocal abilities of the members, with the rapping that is usually hard and fierce in their other songs sounding soft and melodious in this track, and performed alongside beautiful and evocative vocals.
There was not much English used in the song, apart from the line ‘I can’t live without you, girl’, which was only repeated twice, and the occasional English/Konglish word found in Yong Guk’s rap. This in itself was a good and bad thing; good in the sense that BAP’s English isn’t exactly the best, often a little nonsensical and as such can be a little off-putting to non-Korean speaking potential fans. But in a similar vein, it could be bad that with such little English in the song, the same potential fans might be put off by there being nothing that they can sing along to confidently. It must be said though, I think Rain Sound is a sterling example of the kind of song that you don’t have to be able to understand the lyrics of to follow what the song is about; the message of the song is absolutely clear in the tone of each members voice and it’s obvious even without understanding the lyrics that this song is about lost love and painful memories.
On a slightly different note, I was very happy to see Him Chan and Jong Up getting more lines this time around; with most bands there tends to be a fairly uneven distribution of parts between members, especially when there are more than four in a group, but this time the distribution was a little fairer then it has been in the past.
UK Potential: 4/5
Highlight: Some of the dance moves are epically like 90’s-boy band choreography, and it’s amazing how these moves should be corny and outdated, but BAP rock them.
Overall: 12/15 – I really think this song would fare quite well if it were to be released into the UK market, because as I said before, it’s a wonderfully melancholy song with a masculine feel that doesn’t need to be in your language to understand what it’s about. The lack of English shouldn’t be too much of a hindrance, as I think this is a song that can be appreciated whether you understand the lyrics or not.
Tomorrow I will be posting the second half of this review post with One Shot.
Thanks for reading! Post your thoughts and votes for next time below!
