Review: Seventeen - Rock With You
Seventeen have garnered a significant fandom over the years, and this likely was a reason why their agency Pledis was purchased by HYBE. Since then, their sound has been slightly commercialized. Nonetheless, their previous EP Your Choice has aged fantastic, particularly b-side Anyone. Rock With You feels like a spiritual to that track.
First things first, there is an unspoken rule among artists to not name their songs after classic, as to avoid unwinnable comparisons. Any song titled Billie Jean, Bohemian Rhapsody, Endless Rain, Mere Sapno Ki Rani, or Nan Arayo is going to face a steep challenge, much greater than most tracks are capable of facing. Rock With You as a title instantly reminds one of the early Michael Jackson classics. It certainly is a strange choice, but Rock With You (the Seventeen song) cleverly avoids disco entirely, as to sidestep the expectations.
While the song is technically rock, rock fans will debate this title. The song has a commercialized, pop melody, along with some autotune for a smoother appeal. This is certainly not Nightwish, Nirvana, Queen, Guns N' Roses, or Rolling Stones. However, that is not always necessarily a bad thing. Pop Rock, if done right, can be great, and Seventeen, more than any other boy band, have been willing to dip into this style.
Largely produced and written by member Woozi and longtime collaborator Bumzu, Rock With You has a distinctly Seventeen sound while continuing their development. The production is lush, with flipping synths, banging drums, diverse percussion, and a rhythmic guitar calling the shots. This one instrument is easily the track's most important, acting as both the anchor and the flourish throughout. It is not hard or edgy, but it provides just enough energy to compensate for the lack of grit.
The melody is in no way complex, but it repeats in several infectious ways. The amount of hooks here is numerous, with each one catchy in just the right way. While it is somewhat normal for the current climate, fully sung choruses have had a magnificent return in the K-Pop scene since last year's noise drop trend.
Vocally, each line is drenched in vocal processing here. It works well with blending the track, even if it smoothens things out a little too much. Nothing bad is really here in this song, even if it does end up sounding a little too neat and safe, it is a strong lead single from a strong EP for Seventeen.
It feels a bit commercialized to me and sounds more in line with the current pop hit Stay by The Kid Laroi feat. Justin Bieber instead of the expected pop rock/punk pop sound. It's still really good tho and the rating is about right. As for pop rock in kpop, my current favorite would be Woodz great b-side Chaser (if you haven't checked it out I suggest you would because it ticks all the boxes on what I think is a good pop rock song!)
ReplyDeleteIt does feel like Stay, some of the turns in the melody are similar, even if the instrumentals are polar opposites. It works pretty well as a commercial track, even if I wish it experimented more.
DeleteI love WOODZ's Chaser! It has been my jam of choice from Only Lovers Left since release. I am glad you also enjoy it very much. I initially planned on reviewing it, but I fell completely behind schedule due to a busy schedule. I might review the album or something in December if I get the time. I'd give the song something like 8.75 or so.
That's how I feel with this song too. There's nothing wrong with it but it's more on our expectations maybe because they also named it 'Rock With You' which we our minds initially perceived as "ohhh probably a real hardhitting song!"
DeleteI'm glad to hear you have been listening to Chaser as well!! I love how single minded the song is into wanting to be fully guitar-driven and the swagger Woodz has put into the performance. It's up to you whether you wanna review it and just take your time :)
Funny, when I heard their song would be called 'Rock with You', I thought disco, due to the early 80s MJ classic lol. I guess it is just what I grew up with lol. If you want the song to rock a bit harder, I'd suggest the '007' remix, which removes some of the flourishes, for some more straightforward rock and mixing. It too is pretty good.
DeleteChaser is such a good track!
I miss old school Nightwish. I'd also love for a k-pop/rock group to do something similar to the og HIM sound.
ReplyDeleteI didn't expect this to be rock so I think I had no disappointments in that area, I really like the parts done by the rappers and that bridge. Seokmin always brings a special flavour. *-*
I too miss old-school Nightwish, Once is a jam, even if I only heard it last year. Any Nightwish is great, really.
DeleteSeokmin is strong here!