Review: Twice - Scientist
When I first heard the name of Twice's new comeback, I re-read the name and smiled at the fact no one confusingly called it Scentist, and stuck with Scientist (Oh gosh! Tears of joy!). Either way, Twice have been in the awkward phase of maturing their sound while still retaining their cutesy youth. It was a smooth development throughout 2019 and most of 2020, but with their American debut in The Feels and Alcohol-Free, Twice proved that they were willing to go back to their old sound if needed.
Most of the musical talk dedicated to Scientist online is about the chorus. Some have called it the best moment in the track, while others have criticized it as the worst, lacking the punch required to head a track such as this. I for one, love the chorus. The off-kilter chorus follows a love-dub-esque percussion, driven by synths. The members are also at their vocal peak here, with the melody twisting in fun enough ways to make it work.
At the same time, the chorus suffers from the greatest issue plaguing the song. The lyrical rhymes are quite off and lack the intended impact. Science, License, Minus, Genius, and Serious, which I call the 'us' couplet, might be the worst part of the song.
The verses are fun, digging into the production's wacky cutesiness. Call-and-responses, hooks, and production samples dot the verse landscape. Despite all this, the verses end up sounding a little... empty. Maybe it is the pacing, but the verse hooks fail to work too well. K-Pop boy band Boyfriend had tried something similar with the Sweetune-produced Love Style, but each hook was given the intended impact. Over here, the music lacks that impact.
That said, the bridge is a neat little highlight. The rap does not try to be anything except pure cotton candy pop, while the following vocal build remains another highlight. Rather than going for vocal fireworks in the climax, the song digs its heels into the off-kilter production, doubling down on the synths. This is a clever trick. Scientist is not aiming for heavy impact, and is cute K-Pop done right, even if suffers from certain issues.
The melody of the chorus is not really my thing but the English rhymes are actually my favorite element of that part haha. It gives that cheeky feeling. I agree with you on almost everything else though. I think the verses utilize Twice's lower range well, especially Mina's voice. This song is nice but lacks something to really make it hit.
ReplyDeleteI seem to be the only one who loves that clunky chorus melody lol and hates the rhymes lol. That said, the verses do really use Twice's lower range, and the song needs that something to hit harder.
DeleteProbably one of my least favourite TWICE titles, don't know why. It's all okay? but also it's just doing nothing for me.
ReplyDeleteHopefully it grows for you!
DeleteI actually like this more than i should! Song-wise it's simple and straightforward that doesn't have the need to try to prove anything. I like the melody of the song and the heavy use of bass which is the trend i couldn't get enough right now. I too just wish the chorus used less English lyrics. I would probably rate it an 8.5
ReplyDeleteYeah, this is the simple and fun song that does not seek to prove anything.
DeleteYeah, the English rhymes just suck.