[-REVIEW-] IVE: I've IVE
Album cover taken from YoutubeMusic
Background pictures taken from reddit [1] [2] [3]
āItās our time, weāre different, we like special things | Oh what a good time | Iām good, worrying about me is a waste of time | No reply after reading the DM you sent | Thatās my answer (Thatās my style)ā
(english translation taken from colorcodedlyrics.com)
Ok, so first things firstā¦ this is my first album review in a looong long time, how exciting (and intimidatingā¦ kinda) ! If iām not just de-rusting, I guess I am sort of debuting too, albeit todayās feature already debuted and this is another kind of debut for them but yeah you get the point.
Anyways, enough about me, and more about the feature in question, because itās quite a heavy hitter ! If youāve paid any attention to kpop lately, you might have heard of IVE ā PAKs flying everywhere, broken records all across the board, enough albums sold to build a bridge across the sea and a handful of very strong songs to their name. What a year. Which made Iāve IVE (yeah), their first full-length project (and a full album at that !!!) all the more exciting; I mean, I really donāt consider myself an IVE stan (...yet?), even though I either really liked or LOVED everything they had released so far, but I canāt deny that I was impatiently waiting for April 10th to come ā if only because, donāt lie, the thought of one of the leading girl groups of our times releasing their first album after an unbroken until now string of singles would at least slightly pique the interest of anyone. Well, itās finally here, so what now ?
One of my main questions when this was announced was; just what sound exactly would they go for ? If ELEVEN, LOVE DIVE and After LIKE were all united in being excellent upbeat goodness, I wouldnāt really say they were cohesive sonically. And the answer isā¦ honestly, a little bit of each ! But more precisely, Iāve IVE seems to follow in the girlboss crush (?) footsteps of After LIKE b-side My Satisfaction ā somewhat of a surprise, but ultimately quite a pleasant one for sure. I maintain that My Satisfaction far outclassed After LIKE and was very close to being their best song and look at us now
I was actually a bit afraid of what the final result would be at first, especially after hearing the highlight medley. What I had heard was undeniably good, but not necessarily up my alley ā to give you an example that stays within the kpop sphere, my heart is usually with the likes of T-ARAās (immortal banger) Bo Beep Bo Beep. But I thought, well, itās just a highlight medleyā¦ they have not missed so farā¦ people said the songs they performed at the fanmeet were great (someone called NOT YOUR GIRL a Sistar song which DEFINITELY had me listening)ā¦ itās IVEā¦ surely an album tied to these insane concept photos won't missā¦ letās wait and see. And I was right !! Because ultimately, Iāve IVE stands as an extremely enjoyable record !
The sound they went for here is very in-line with (what I perceive to be) their chic, elegant, cool girl concept; Iād say for the most part (mostly the b-sides) itās very soft and never really in-your-face, quite easy to listen to with a nice flow, but at the same time itās still really cool and commands your attention just by existing and doing it pretty much flawlessly. Iād compare it to silk. It straddles the line between cool and vibey & catchy and engaging perfectly; which I have to give it credit for, because like I said itās usually really not the type of sound I'm fully into. I also think a lot of songs that go for it can easily fall in the trap of trying to be a āsoft bopā so hard that they end up feeling bland / boring / sanitized and turn into the musical equivalent of watching white paint dry. But here, itās executed perfectly, from the subtle groove of Lips to the spacey synth touches of Cherish and many more. Itās also one more thing that works in the albumās favor, because as itās located perfectly at those crossroads ā for exemple, itās both music to get ready to for a night out and music to actually live that night out to ā, itās a very versatile album that youāll be more likely to run back to in different situations, and as such itās always a strong player no matter where or what.
Part of why it works so well is that even though pretty much every song exists in that sonic universe, with super smooth modern beats and arrangements that feel minimal without ever becoming too sparse, they all have a different enough energy and goal that they try to achieve. You have the funk and playfulness of Lips & Kitsch, the calm and stillness of Cherish & Heroine, the subtle emotions of Mine & Shine With Me, the edgier sounds of Blue Blood, the super boppy joy and sass of NOT YOUR GIRL & I AM, and not only does it differentiates every track while also keeping the experience fresh without ever having to uproot the listener, it also helps the whole package come together into a strong album that at least touches every mark of what a typical album should be. Chill bops, boppier bops, more emotional bops, you have it all with no stark tonal shift; so as a self-contained work, Iāve IVE covers every ground it needs to in order to confidently stand tall while also keeping enough strengths redistributed in certain areas to add just that bit of charm that makes it shine.Ā
There is sort of an outlier here however, and that is track 7, Hypnosis; one hell of an outlier too, and one that I'm gonna have to give the spotlight to for a bit because whew. From the very beginning with those disorienting and rattling electric synths, you know youāre in for a treat, and the song is quick to confirm that. Itās almost the antithesis of the album, in a way; whereas Iāve IVE is elegant and subtle, Hypnosis is twisted and almost crooked in a way, with dissonants and irregular instruments crawling around the floor of a beat that ultimately proves itself to be SO addictive, contrasting with the soft and dreamy voices of the girls like a solar eclipse. Hypnosis takes the formula of the album and twists it inside out, resulting in this sort of shadow twin that feels like an occult experiment gone wrong in the best possible way. On 1st listen, it reminded me a lot of something Iād hear in the gym of Ecruteak City in Pokemon Gold, mostly because of those electric synths that have a very GameBoy Color quality to them, and god knows that hit me straight in the heart. If you feel bored by Iāve IVE "playing it too safe", then at least try this one, because itās certainly experimental and genuinely such a great song like oh my godā¦ no subtlety here, just a fever nightmare that wonāt let you escape.
ā¦Back to the album now. If this sound palette works so well here, it has to be said, itās because the production is EXCELLENT. Itās clean, tight, professional and straight to the point, like a shiny, deep-cleaned high end kitchen. Good tools make for great work if used correctly, and the group was armed with nothing but quality here. But what I really like about it, and what lifts Iāve IVE higher, is that itās littered with a bunch of sparkly flourishes that add the finishing touch to already strong songs. The kazoo in Kitsch, the violin-like strings in the Blue Blood post-chorus, the smooth piano and strings in the background of Cherish, the guitar slowly emerging in Mine for exemple; all are insanely neat little details that add so much to their respective song and truly take them there. In fact, Iād say that they make the softer songs like Lips & Cherish win over their more energetic peers such as I AM & NOT YOUR GIRL because thatās where theyāre easier to pick up on and also where they work excellently, making use of the minimal landscapes to place themselves just where they need to and give the songs very pleasant depth ā once again, thatās one of the ways in which Iāve IVE avoids the pitfalls of boringness, and thatās by knowing exactly how to mix its ingredients with the perfect amount of pop-up-y flavor to leave a mark. Itās not just āyeah make it as unoffensive as possibleā minimalism, itās minimalism where every little piece is perfectly arranged with the others and completed by that one touch which seals the deal. Their producers did amazing work, for sure, and it gave us such a treat to Listenā¢ to.
I do wish the songs themselves were a bit longer though ā theyāre already all pretty much great, but some would still hugely benefit from something like a longer bridge, an actual bridge, a post chorus, another verseā¦ Iām thinking of Blue Blood in particular, itās a good bop and serves as a great intro but it would blossom so beautifully if it was extended just a bit. Hypnosis also kind of suffers from this, but that one is so impressive that I kind of forget itās very short lol, yet imagine if it was longer??? The 11-tracks length is perfect because the album doesnāt ever overstay its welcome while also having enough room to expand and do everything it needs to ā you canāt take away from Iāve IVE that itās an extremely concise experience, and thatās sort of a good thing. But I really think that effect would have been kept had the songs been given more time, so itās a shame that a lot of them are pretty short, usually stopping at around 3 minutes. For all the things I love about it, I guess thatās the big drawback of the streaming era. In that way, it clearly works, because while writing this I went through the album like twice and I didnāt intend to do so at all but I just didnāt notice that it was looped lol, so here are the extra streams in question ā but part of that does lie in the fact that like I said, Iāve IVE is an easy listen.
For a first full-length album, Iāve IVE was definitely a great start. Itās very approachable and appeals to a wide audience, but itās not satisfied by just doing the bare minimum and sacrificing all individuality to reach as many people as possible. Instead, the album pulls out the tricks it has up its sleeve at perfect times to climb up to the next levels on this flawless model walk itās taking ā all without ever breaking a sweat. You can tell there was effort put into this and that they werenāt just like āoh yeah who cares this will sell anywaysā. Iāve IVE invites the audience to get into its groove very smoothly, but it never babies them or insults their intelligence by giving them pleasing mind-numbness, instead opting to serve precisely-crafted offerings with that āconnoisseurā feel that they know will be genuinely appreciated. The end result is without a doubt a high quality product. Even if IVEās concept is a match-made in heaven with the sound of the album ā i honestly think this was the perfect road to take for them ā, itās still one that any group would be honored to have to its name. They landed on the ground strutting, and wherever it goes from there, this stop has not shown a single sign of wavering flames; if anything, theyāre only getting higher thanks to a perpetually-refined craft.
Ranking:
Hypnosis 9.5
Next Page 9.5
Shine With Me 9.4
Cherish 9.3
Lips 9.2
Blue Blood 9.2
Kitsch 9.2
NOT YOUR GIRL 9.2
I AM 9.2
Mine 9.1
Heroine 8.8
Note: 9.3
Average: 9.2
ā¦Now about me and this blogā¦ as you know, this is my very first review, so this feels relevant to say here, but Iāll admit ā allow me to be a bit dramatic ā this is kind of a scary experience ?? I really donāt know what Iām doing and Iām still trying to tune this into something with a nice structure and good commentary and a strong footing that I donāt think I have found yet and I donāt even know if Iām just gonna lose interest after a week or keep it running for a month or two or a year who knows??? Certainly not me. So yeah itās a bit shaky for now. But I guess I'll just keep walking until I get the hang of things ? (I havenāt even figured out Tumblr yetš) Soā¦ until then, look forward to it !! (and I promise i wonāt be pesky like that every single time lol, keep watching and youāll see!)