Today we’ll be taking a look at the new, chill track from B.A.P., Coffee Shop.
Concept
This comeback sees a very laidback concept compared to anything BAP has done before, or even the kinds of concepts that usually come from kpop.
Basically the entire concept of the MV is BAP being in different locations of San Francisco as they take in the sights and just relax. I think San Francisco is a place that many people want to visit, so the fact that the MV is set there might be appealing to potential UK listeners.
We see a mixture of scenes of the boys walking around the city alone, and even some classic boy band shots of them standing together in disused warehouses and singing.
Outside of the group shots, we see the members sat at tables by themselves, walking the streets by themselves, and just generally being alone, but they seem at peace with this and we get the sense that despite everything, they aren’t lonely. The colours of the MV seem slightly muted, giving it an artistic flair which matches well with the sound of the song, and even matches up with the slightly hipster-ish vibe coming from the song being titled Coffee Shop.
There’s not really much more to the MV than that, and it’s unexpectedly immersing and holds your attention as we see perhaps lesser-known areas of San Francisco, rather than really touristy attractions. BAP really seem at home in this MV, and you can’t help but feel relaxed and comfortable with them and despite little actually happening in the video, you want to keep watching. This concept could seem a little bare or plain compared to the massive productions we normally see from kpop bands, but it matches so well with the overall sound of the song, that the simple MV is very enjoyable.
This is one of the few times that I can say that the outfits worn during a kpop MV are very simple and toned down and are unlikely to be viewed as strange by anyone unused to kpop. The outfits and styles worn in this video are everyday street fashion that is very trendy, but unlikely to turn heads. They look comfortable in what they’re wearing and they blend in well with their surroundings; we see them don sweaters, shirts, jean, beanies or caps, American sports t-shirts and just other kinds of simple, understated clothing. This fits in very well with the relaxed concept and a slow sound of the song, and despite Youngjae’s pretty feminine hat, I don’t think anyone could object to the fashion in this video. I mean, this is San Francisco, right? I would imagine pretty much anything goes there!
UK Potential: 4/5
Choreography
There is no choreography or dancing of any sort in the MV, but the lack of dance suits the slow, almost gentle sound of the song.
It doesn’t seem that this song is going to be promoted in Korea, so until they perform this song at a concert or the like, we probably won’t know how this song will actually be performed live. I imagine it will probably be along the lines of how they performed Rain Sound, which had very few dance moves, and mostly consisted of the members being sat down. But, I suppose, only time will tell.
UK Potential: 3.5/5
Song
Coffee Shop is a slowed down track with a kind of lounge music quality, with a piano background providing soulful, jazzy overtones. It almost sounds pretentious when trying to describe it, but it combines wonderfully into a chill, soothing sounding track that, funnily enough, makes you want to sit in a coffee shop and watch the world go by.
The sound of the song matches up perfectly with the relaxed concept of the MV, and despite this being a very different style of song than we’ve previously heard from BAP, they show us once again that they can own pretty much any genre they turn their hands to. There is a great combination of vocals and rapping throughout the song, with each member getting a slightly more fair proportion of lines than we’ve seen in previous songs.
The English used in this song is actually quite an improvement on the English in other BAP songs before now. There isn’t a huge amount of English in the lyrics, but it’s all well pronounced and immediately obvious when you hear it. ‘Monday, Tuesday, everyday’ and ‘summer, winter, spring and fall’ are the most obvious English phrases in the song, but during the rap sections you also hear, ‘t-shirts and sneakers’ and ‘how about you?’. It’s refreshing not to have an abundance of English words and phrases thrown into the lyrics, and the English used here sounds good and effective.
If you take a look at the lyrics, Coffee Shop is about coming to terms with the end of a relationship and realising that you’re getting to the point where you can move on; the things that remind you of the person you were with don’t upset you anymore, but you’ll always have good memories of them. I love the fact that it’s not quite a love song, and that it’s a little bittersweet as it’s about the end of love instead, but despite that, the lyrics contain no bad feelings about the person that’s gone.
I think the sound and style of this song is pretty much inoffensive to most people, and as such should hold a pretty widespread potential appeal to people here in the UK. It’s the kind of song that has such a lovely sound that you don’t even need to understand what’s being said to enjoy it; it’s the kind of song you could be content to just hum along to.
UK Potential: 4.5/5
Highlight: – Hearing Zelo singing – it sounds so sweet!
Overall UK Potential: 12/15 – This song has scored a pretty high potential of doing well if it were released here in the UK, and considering the chill sound visually awesome MV, I honestly think that it could do well. It’s wonderful to see another diverse side to BAP as their image still tends to be pretty fierce, but seeing them broach different genres makes me really excited to see what they’ll show us in the future.
Haven’t see the video yet? Check it out below!
