Red Velvet (레드벨벳) - RBB (5th Mini Album) [COMEBACK REVIEW]
By amycampbell00 - February 02, 2019
I KNOW I'M LATE TO THIS, OKAY. COLLEGE IS VERY BUSY. 😭
At this point, it's hard not to see Red Velvet as SM's replacement for f(x). That's not to compare the two groups in terms of talent - it's just how SM seems to be managing Red Velvet's concept. And y'know what, so long as we get an f(x) comeback in the future, I'm very alright with that. Red Velvet are one of the most versatile groups out there right now, and they've really managed to set the standard for great music in the current generation of K-Pop groups. Their albums are always considered top-class amongst fans, and they get so much praise and acclaim that I figured I should take a look at "RBB".
And yes, considering I'm so late to this, I've had a fair bit of time to digest this album and really figure out my opinions on it. So, since I finally have the time to sit down and type those opinions out, let's go through the album itself and see what it has to offer!
1. RBB (REALLY BAD BOY) [TITLE]
The hype surrounding this song leading up to this comeback was unreal. After how good "Bad Boy" and "Power Up" were earlier in 2018, literally everyone and their mother was on the edge of their seat waiting to hear this. Irene and Joy's little preview on Running Man only made that anticipation worse! So what do I think of the full song?
Welp, there's certainly a lot to unpack here. But if you ask me, it's well worth unpacking!
If you're in any way familiar with Red Velvet, "RBB (Really Bad Boy" is basically a Red song with a Velvet concept. That's the best way I can describe it. It's energetic, it's bombastic, and it's got a LOT going on in its instrumental. It's very high-energy, and while that can seem very daunting at first, the more you listen to it, the better it gets! The layered vocals, the brass lines, the changing rhythms (and sometimes even keys) - this song is busy as all hell. And yet, it manages to work in its favour! It keeps your attention without feeling messy or jarring, and I really (really really really) like what the composers managed to do here.
My favourite part would honestly have to be those pre-choruses, though. The "oh my god"s mixed with the AMAZING vocal layering and whispers gave me legitimate chills the first time I listened to it. And hey, the lyrics aren't half bad either! They're quite repetitive, sure, but that doesn't bother me. They're simplistic, yet extremely catchy and effective!
I did find that "RBB (Really Bad Boy)" does rely heavily on the video to have everything make sense, though. Not on the level of something like "This Is America", but there's a few things in the song itself that just... feel out of place when you listen to it on its own. I say this because of Irene's whistle notes. Yes, they're well done, and yes, they make sense when you watch the music video (thanks to the horror concept), but... I still don't like them all that much. They give me a headache, if I'm being honest.
My friends say he’s not right, he’s too bad, I’ll get hurt
But who can stop me? If I like him, I’m going in
Aside from that, this is a solid title track! That's just the song though - one of my favourite things to see with each Red Velvet comeback is their choreography. These girls are known for having hard routines, so how does "RBB (Really Bad Boy)" stack up?
I think it's actually pretty good! I wasn't sure what to think of it after seeing it for the first time, but it's actually like the song itself - very busy, with a lot to unpack and digest.
That mirrored theme of business lends itself really well here, though; yes, the routine can seem a bit messy at first, but it's actually anything but! It's incredibly well put together, and some of these positions look like they'd be really hard to pull off without the members bumping into each other. There's a lot of interesting focus points throughout, too, where the member who's singing gets the spotlight whilst the other members do more complicated moves to keep things interesting. Moments like that manage to elevate routines for me most of the time, and this choreo has them in spades.
While it's not as complex as some of Red Velvet's other dances (like Rookie... good god that was a hard routine), it's still a difficult routine in a multitude of ways. There are some very fast moves and complex positions here, and I've got to give the girls major kudos for pulling it off whilst looking this good.
All in all, it's a pretty solid title track all round! Which, that's not a surprise coming from these girls. But what about the rest of the album? Is it as good as this?
All in all, it's a pretty solid title track all round! Which, that's not a surprise coming from these girls. But what about the rest of the album? Is it as good as this?
2. BUTTERFLIES
One of the main reasons I wanted to review this album was because of all the buzz surrounding it. I frequent the K-Pop subreddit quite a lot, since I like to see how everyone reacts to big new stories and comebacks (for better or worse). And THIS was a song everybody was hyping up to the moon and back, as well as another track that we'll get to in a bit. This was the song that apparently showed how good Red Velvet's albums and sidetracks are, and this is what proves they're going to take over K-Pop! Right?
...ehhhh, not really. Let me explain.
Don't get me wrong, this song's instrumental and melody are gorgeous. I love the synthy sound it's got, and this really does sound like something that needs to be played on a runway. It's very airy and light, which fits the song name perfectly! The choruses pack one hell of a punch, too - I'm of the opinion that this album is one of Red Velvet's best vocally, and this song really illustrates what I mean. The power they've got behind their vocals is something to behold. It really does make up for the fact that the lyrics aren't anything special; they're your stereotypical lovey-dovey, puppy love-fuelled lyrics.
Everyday after meeting you is like a glass bottle filled with sweets
My heart gets sweet just looking at you
But... on the topic of the vocals, I want to talk about the one thing that ruins this song for me. While the choruses are powerful and soaring, the verses... they annoy me in a huge way. It's obvious that the girls' vocal director wanted them to sing in an overly cutesy tone, and it reeeeally drags the song down for me. It's grating, and got old for me extremely fast. This song has so much potential behind it, what with the gorgeous instrumental and melody, and that aegyo-ish vocal delivery just drops the ball in my opinion. It really sucks. 😞
If you're willing to look past that, though, there is a fantastic song to be found here! It's just marred a bit by some overly cutesy vocals. Oh well. You can't win 'em all. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
If you're willing to look past that, though, there is a fantastic song to be found here! It's just marred a bit by some overly cutesy vocals. Oh well. You can't win 'em all. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
3. SO GOOD
Remember how I said there was another track I saw everyone hyping up? Yeah. This was it. Even before we all got to hear it, the anticipation for this one was high. LDN Noise have been known to produce some fantastic songs, and I've loved a lot of what they did in the past. And the minute "So Good" came out, this song had its praises sung throughout the K-Pop community. Everybody loved it almost instantly.
So why do I feel like it's an absolute mess?
I've never been a huge fan of drum and bass - it's just a personal preference of mine. So to hear this song's choruses... that disappointed me, to put it lightly. The initial opening with the adlibs and low vocals really worked well, and got me super excited to hear the chorus! But... ugh, that drumline. It's the definition of sloppy. "So Good" doesn't know whether it wants to be a high-octane drum and bass track or a regular pop song. It just feels so stilted and awkward, and it's a huge letdown. Especially considering the talent behind it... come on, LDN Noise. You guys are better than this. Yes, the melody is strong, but that instrumental just doesn't stack up for me.
I do feel like the lyrics shed some light on why the song is the way it is, though. It's completely centered around the rush of emotions felt when you fall in love; it's not easy to explain and very hard to control. And yes, this does help the scattered drum line feel like more of a feature and less of an oversight. But it still doesn't fix it in my eyes.
My shaky head is filled with you
It’s hectic
I can’t hide it, I want you
So this was unfortunate, to say the least. I really wanted to like this, I really did - trust me, I tried! But... its flaws are too glaring for me to ignore.
But now that that's over with, let me just say: that's where my negative opinions on this album end. BECAUSE GOOD LORD THE REST OF IT IS FANTASTIC.
"Taste" was, by far, an amazing surprise that I got quite a lot of mileage out of as a song. If "Sassy Me" wasn't on this album, it'd be my favourite song here! It's got so much charm and flair to it that makes it instantly likeable, and I honestly hope the girls choose a vibe like this for one of their future title tracks - I'd love to see them pull it off!
But now that that's over with, let me just say: that's where my negative opinions on this album end. BECAUSE GOOD LORD THE REST OF IT IS FANTASTIC.
4. SASSY ME (멋있게)
If you've read my Top Side Tracks of 2018 list, you knew this was coming. But I'm still going to talk about it anyway.
Think back to early 2017, when NCT 127 released "Limitless". It's a good song, but there was one element that kinda spoiled it for me - Taeyong's vocal fry in the verses. It annoys the shit out of me to no end, and it still kinda puts me off the song (even though the choruses are admittedly phenomenal).
AND YET WHEN RED VELVET USE THE SAME VOCAL FRY, I FALL HEAD OVER HEELS FOR IT.
The big reason it works so well here is the context - this song is pure confidence distilled into a 3-minute song. It's got one hell of a saxophone line, and it's honestly really dirty and grungy. THAT'S why the vocal fry works here - it adds to that filthy mood and just makes this so much more enjoyable. There's also the fact that the vocals are stunning here as well - the girls really aren't holding back on this album!
Another huge thing I love about "Sassy Me" is its momentum. The song starts off with an explosive saxophone line and some really addictive adlibs from Joy, and that grabs your attention straight away. Then, as the song continues on, it adds more elements - another little line of brass, another element of percussion, another harmony line - until it all just explodes in that final chorus with the catchy "do do do do do do do do do"'s. Seriously, if that didn't cause you to burst out smiling the first time you heard it, I don't know what will. Because I was grinning from ear to ear when I first listened to it.
The lyrics here are just the cherry on top, honestly. They're coy and playful, yet VERY bossy and sassy (for lack of a better word). They round out what has honestly become one of my absolute favourite Red Velvet songs, title track or not!
[JOY] I touch my sky, I look straight aheadBasically, if you haven't listened to this by now, you're committing a sin in my eyes. DON'T SLEEP ON THIS DAMMIT.
Don’t meddle with your meaningless words
[IRENE] Can you move? I’m busy
5. TASTE (NARRATED BY WENDY)
Two words: THAT LAUGH.
Never did I expect a song to make me burst out laughing like this one did. But that's not because it's bad - it's because this is one of the most fun and refreshing things I've heard in a while! This is just pure, light-hearted fun. And it LEGITIMATELY sounds like something fresh off of an early 2000s mixtape. Which, it's phenomenal how well it's pulled off here - by the same people behind Taeyeon's "Something New", no less! It's not a sound I ever expected Red Velvet to pursue, but by god, they sound amazing doing it. It's weird in the kinda way only these girls can pull off, and it ends up being an incredibly inviting song at the end of it all.
The real highlight here, though, is frickin Wendy.
WENDY. OH MY GOD WHAT.
As soon as I saw the teasers leading up to this album's release, I had a feeling this was going to be her era. Sure, she did great in the other comebacks Red Velvet had in 2018, but she's really shone this time around. And "Taste" is just her piéce de resistance. She wrote the narration herself, which is pretty awesome if you ask me. There's also the fact that she sounds like she's having the goddamn time of her life in that recording booth - all the girls do, to be honest! But Wendy just stands out that bit more here. She also CLEARLY needs to rap more, because she's got legitimate talent in that area. The girl's got flow!
The lyrics just add to all of this fun - they've got a pretty damn good message behind them! "Taste"'s lyrics use the metaphors of choosing a snack or drink to talk about how we all choose different things in life. We can all be indecisive, but sometimes it's the things you've never tried that bring you the most happiness. It's a really interesting piece of variety on the album itself. It's almost like the iconic Forrest Gump quote, but interpolated in a new way. It works surprisingly well!
I hesitate in front of the vending machine
The same worry for ten minutes
There’s so much I want to taste (question mark)
I won’t know them until I drink them
"Taste" was, by far, an amazing surprise that I got quite a lot of mileage out of as a song. If "Sassy Me" wasn't on this album, it'd be my favourite song here! It's got so much charm and flair to it that makes it instantly likeable, and I honestly hope the girls choose a vibe like this for one of their future title tracks - I'd love to see them pull it off!
6. RBB (REALLY BAD BOY) [ENGLISH VER.]
The album here is rounded out with another lovely surprise - an English version of "RBB (Really Bad Boy)"! Considering how positively everyone reacted to "Bad Boy"'s English version, this makes far too much sense. And hey, it's actually pretty good!
There's not too much else I can say here that I haven't said already - I kinda summed up my thoughts on this song when I talked about its Korean version. The only difference here is the lyrics, which are pretty alright! They actually add even more repetitiveness to the song, but considering how energetic it is, I still don't see that as a bad thing. They're very fun and playful, that's for sure. The girls' pronunciation is phenomenal, too - Joy and Seulgi in particular have me convinced that Wendy's not the only native speaker!
Bang bang pow, he's a really bad boy
How he plays with hearts instead of playing with his toys
But I don't really care 'cause I'm really in love
Also, "good ass time"? I SCREAMED.
"Long ass ride" has left the chat.
And that's that! Overall, this was a pretty good comeback for the girls. They had a stellar 2018, and I really do hope they carry it forward into 2019! Maybe some solo projects or something? That'd be nice... we'll just have to wait and see. 😉
ALL SOURCES FOR THE ENGLISH LYRICS I USED IN THIS REVIEW:
RBB (Really Bad Boy)
Butterflies
So Good
Sassy Me (멋있게)
Taste
COVER IMAGE SOURCES
RED VELVET PNG PACK: KoreanGallery on DeviantArt
RBB (REALLY BAD BOY) LOGO PNG: tsukinofleur on DeviantArt
•••••
And that's that! Overall, this was a pretty good comeback for the girls. They had a stellar 2018, and I really do hope they carry it forward into 2019! Maybe some solo projects or something? That'd be nice... we'll just have to wait and see. 😉
ALL SOURCES FOR THE ENGLISH LYRICS I USED IN THIS REVIEW:
RBB (Really Bad Boy)
Butterflies
So Good
Sassy Me (멋있게)
Taste
COVER IMAGE SOURCES
RED VELVET PNG PACK: KoreanGallery on DeviantArt
RBB (REALLY BAD BOY) LOGO PNG: tsukinofleur on DeviantArt
