Stray Kids' first full-length album, #GOLIVE, is the definition of versatility. Featuring powerful hip-hop tracks and fun, catchy B-sides, the boy group are on the sure path to success.
Stray Kids: Go Live - Album Cover & Physical Version. © JYP Entertainment
#StrayKids have released their first full-length studio album, named GO LIVE, which is filled to the brim with versatile tracks. Many have noticed this album is less angsty than previous tracks, I think this is a good change - Music is often used as an escapism from the turmoils of everyday life, so it's great to see Stray Kids maturing and expanding out of the teenage angst box. The majority of tracks mention pace/speed of life and rebellion, suggesting Stray Kids are going to do things their own way and the 'boomers' of this world should follow along for a change.
Kicking off the album is title track 'GO LIVE' - It sets the pace (lyrical pun intended) and also features a cute inside joke Easter egg of 'I Know, You Know, We Know, Lee Know'. Meanwhile, an attempt at the World Cup anthem song is made with 'TA'; this track is bouncy and energetic - I can imagine 'TA' would work perfectly live, it does exactly what it says in the lyrics, it makes you forget all your worries and enjoy living in the moment.
'Easy' is by far my favourite track on GO LIVE - A triple kill of strong vocals, strong rap, and strong instrumentals. It gives off a rebellious 'do what you want' attitude with melodic rap flows tied to a slow beat. It's incredibly easy to miss the minute details which make the track special - The lyrics 'Just wipe off everything and go' work alongside a sampled sound of someone dusting off a jacket and zipping it up. These elements prove Stray Kids have a strong eye for production and know how to methodically assemble a track.
Another personal favourite of mine is the nostalgic 'Mixtape: On Track', which was produced by 3RACHA and pre-released in late March. This romantic track allows you to reminisce lost friendships or relationships, which you desperately want to regain - It's one of those songs you'd listen to while staring out a car window when it's pouring down with rain. I.e. Very aesthetically pleasing to the ear, and also to the eye in the music video.
The lyrics of 'Another Day' interestingly express the struggles of Generation Z, but the chorus reminds me of a slowed down version of ZICO's 'Any Song', totally wrecking the emotional and nostalgic vibes. Another song comparison cropped up again while listening to the beginning of 'Haven' - It literally sounds like 'What Did The Fox Say?' by Ylvis; this isn't a good look for a song trying to express freedom! The hype chorus does make the track worthwhile though.
To listen to the full album on your favourite music provider, click the following links:
Stray Kids THE 1ST ALBUM "GO生"
iTunes & Apple Music: https://apple.co/3ebMDYj
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3ddIDVT
“Stray Kids' self-producing USP allows them to serve up tracks they know their fans will love.”
Stray Kids have cooked up pure fire with their lead single #GodsMenu; a punchy hip-hop track with strong raps and an impactful trap chorus. The cooking themed lyrics, such as "Anything on the menu will satisfy your all five senses", hints at their self-producing ability - Stray Kids are metaphorically and literally serving up tracks they know their fans and K-Pop listeners in general will enjoy. No other boy group will be able to perfectly replicate their unique style and sound, their creative control giving them advantage in a saturated industry.
The strong presence of trombones expresses a military style, the addition of gun shot sounds timed rhythmically with the snappy 'DU DU DU' line is aggressive in all the right ways. It's quite interesting how many K-Pop groups are incorporating these marching-band like instrumentals into their music, such as ATEEZ's 'Wonderland' and NCT 127's 'Punch', highlighting the trend of using striking orchestral elements. The siren noise layered throughout the track indicates pressure and tension, producing adrenaline which makes your heart race.
Changbin, Felix and HAN are definitely the stars of the show in this track; they drive the excitement and leave you on the edge of your seat wondering what will happen next. The main rappers, Changbin & HAN, start the song with fast paced raps which contrast in flow, creating good shock value. Felix pulls through with his usual deep toned vocals, which suit the track so perfectly and are quite a chilling presence. I thought the pre-chorus vocals were a bit of let down, they didn't sound strong and diminished all the hype previously built with the strong raps. The auto-tune like vocal effect kind of felt like an underproduced 2009 SoundCloud project, chucked in at the last minute just because they needed to slow the pace to let the chorus have more impact. I think it would have been more interesting if the lyrics, flow or even instrumentals were different here.
The track's music video is incredibly well produced; littered with crazy transitions and impressive camera movement, it captures the fast paced nature of the track perfectly. I thought nothing could beat MIROH's energetic choreography, but God's Menu is slick & clean, with multiple killing points which leave an impact. The dance break during and after Felix's bridge has proven I've completely underestimated Stray Kids skills up until this point; the members are full of energy, while also being insanely in-sync. The movements are simple and precise, demonstrating the chef personas they've taken on with perfectly executed powerful chopping & smooth stirring motions.
Watch the Music Video for #GodsMenu below (i.e. prepare to get hyped):
The styling for this album was a mixture of brilliant and absolutely horrendous (I'm looking at you, Chan's emo boy hairstyle pictured below). The outfits don't exactly stand out, or look any different to previous strong sounding comebacks like 'Double Knot. However, the accessories and feature points like Chan's face jewellery, Felix's hair/face glitter and Changbin's one red eye, surprisingly worked well and looked quite futuristic. The group's styling always suits their concept, i.e. angsty but trendy teens, so it'd be great to see something different in the future to break the norm.
Leading up to this album release, Stray Kids pumped out a range of content which left fans feeling satisfied and also slightly confused. Videos and concept image teasers drove up album pre-orders to an all time personal high, surpassing 200,000 stock pre-orders by 12th June. The track videos were a great glimpse at the album's versatility, with different concepts for each video. This also meant the album felt quite disjointed, the b-sides looking more like experiential projects for Stray Kids to work out their best suited sound. The cooking video, released 4 days before the album drop, came as quite a weird surprise to fans - It seemed like Stray Kids had just finished watching Itaewon Class, and got really hyped about setting up their own restaurant, or they just got a fantastic sponsorship from the famous JYP Cafeteria. However, this all clicked into place after 'God's Menu' released, showing Strays Kids are great at adding humour into their commercial messaging.
Post release content has also been especially great: Starting with Bang Chan's album launch live stream event involving many high profile JYP idols (Sana (TWICE) and Young K (DAY6)), to multiple music show appearances and launches of new video series. STAYS are sure being fed well this comeback; I'm looking forward to more exciting content to come.
Stray Kids(스트레이 키즈) <GO生> TEASER IMAGES © JYP Entertainment
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