cat :
i’d say this is more about their identity as korean artists, they can still be considered korean without the need to always play into people’s expectations of what makes them korean to be korean, if i’m interpreting it correctly. this album is more of a homage of their Musical roots, which were heavily inspired and influenced by hiphop and rap, from black culture and music, hence why it sounds so “western” than expected. they had way more black producers than any other album this comeback, and recorded it in LA, which is where they started predebut as well in the production of this album. they’ve also said this comeback is going to be very different, and no.29 being in the middle of the album is supposed to signify the “new beginning”. for me personally, as someone who has followed their work closely for their part 2 aka solo work, i don’t think they’ve lost much of their sound. each track to me has a resemblance to each of their solo work during the past 4 years, so it wasn’t as jarring to me as someone who hasn’t caught up with them since the last group album. (side note but bts themselves have already said they’ve transcended the kpop sound many many years ago, so personally i dont think it’s equal to compare them to kpop standards of music). to me this album is like a collaboration between their bts sound and each solo’s sound, if that makes sense. i think it’s impressive how they went about and managed to combine their intention of their korean identity, hiphop influences, their group bts’s style and also their own personal styles in this album, this is why i still enjoy this album a lot imo.
2026-03-23 10:56:43