Review: Stray Kids - Back Door

The eight members of Stray Kids, all in black, look forward
By JYP Entertainment, CC BY 3.0, Link

 Review: Stray Kids - Back Door

 Whenever I here Stray Kids are having a comeback, I get cautiously hyped. Don't get me wrong, they have some of my favorite songs in the 4th generation such as 'Miroh', 'Haven', 'District 9', 'Top' and 'Side Effects', But they also have their fair share of duds ('Gone Days' anyone?). I loved June's 'Go Live' album, and thus I was instantly hyped for the repackage (I plan on listening to the repackage today or tomorrow, if it is good, you guys may get some more reviews coming up) with eight new tracks, but more optimistic than before. When I first heard 'God's Menu', I personally gave it a '5' in my mind, but it slowly grew to be the guilty pleasure of the year for me. Yet, for 'Back Door', rather than cheese, I was looking for the art that Stray Kids have proven endless providers of. In the end, Back Door is too trendy for this, but I can see it in my party playlist.

Bass is becoming the defining factor of September, and the verses of Back Door are run almost entirely by some funky bass guitar. Unlike in certain songs though, the bass does not define it, the rap does. I am truly impressed by Stray Kids' rappers. Though this is definitely one of the weaker single raps that 3racha wrote, it is still well performed, I just wish they had better lines to show their rap skills, only Changbin and Felix get to show their potential to new viewers at the tail-end of the song. The pre-chorus is just a weak re-write of the few previous ones of Stray Kids (God's Menu).

The chorus is basically shouting by the rappers while electronic production gives rhythm (though if I could shout that charismatic-ly, I would record my interview and shout it as a song and release it on spotify, and maybe- what is that you say, you wanna here what I think of Stray Kids, not me? You know, me too). The "Authorized Personnel Only Here at the Back Door" is the only time through the entire song minus the climax that the hooks and production seamlessly merge. The second chorus is followed by the singers trying to match the rappers in charisma, but unfortunately, the autotune was a little too heavy on Bang Chan and the instrumental too thin to enjoy.

This is followed by the song truly coming into its own. After a line by Felix, the second half of the chorus comes back, this time it seems that the boys themselves are hyped, as it is performed real convincingly. And then from 2:50-3:05, Bang Chan and the other vocalists redeem themselves with a fun little hook performed well, before the song finishes out with a nice bass section.

Stray Kids have a knack for redeeming songs with their charisma, and Back Door is a great example, like other songs of theirs, I expect it to grow, so I am rating it 0.25 higher than I initially planned to.

Rating: 7.75/10

Comments

  1. Replies
    1. First, I would like to thank you for commenting on my blog.

      Second, I really cannot tell why you think my review is bad, is the rating I gave too high or too low?

      If it is too high, it is due to the excellent climax of the song, the fun instrumental, and the sheer charisma with which this song is performed.

      If it is too low, it is due to Stray Kids' and 3Racha's track record. If this was a debut of an unknown boy group, it would be a quarter to half point higher. But the reputation that Stray Kids brings to the table influences the score. I mean, they were responsible for 'Miroh', 'Haven', 'District 9', 'Side Effects', and 'Stop', the expectations would obviously be higher.

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