AOA kicked off 2017 as the first girl group release of the year with double title tracks Bing Bing an
Excuse Me: results may vary. I already covered Bing Bing (poorly, I'll admit - but shitty music gets shitty coverage), saving the obvious best for last.
First things first, Excuse Me is just a great,
straightforward track, which is honestly the exact thing that k-pop forgets to do the majority of the time.
People will probably whine about the repetitive chorus,
but I think the instrumentation is actually at its best there, the bouncing
beat and echo-y, vibrating synths creating a dreamy-yet-danceable atmosphere
(in true Bravesound style). The hook melody itself isn’t too shabby either,
contributing rather than detracting from the atmosphere the instrumental
creates. It’s nothing overly complicated – but that’s a good thing.
The first verse is a bit of a different story, relying primarily on bass with a few (greatly appreciated) added touches of piano to carry it through. Although it feels less full, it's also a nice step back, smartly considering the pacing of the song. The second verse is definitely less melodic than first, but it’s interesting to hear Jimin and Chanmi’s rapping(?) over the kind of instrumental presented, as it’s slightly dissonant (in a good way).
The rapped bridge does dissonance the wrong way, however, trading the driving beat that was already there for what sounds like a trap breakdown – annoying hi-hats and all. Gee, when will songwriters understand that good rap ≠ trap beat? At least it contains Jimin's voice and it’s over pretty quickly, returning in proper form to the nice harmony from before.
The first verse is a bit of a different story, relying primarily on bass with a few (greatly appreciated) added touches of piano to carry it through. Although it feels less full, it's also a nice step back, smartly considering the pacing of the song. The second verse is definitely less melodic than first, but it’s interesting to hear Jimin and Chanmi’s rapping(?) over the kind of instrumental presented, as it’s slightly dissonant (in a good way).
The rapped bridge does dissonance the wrong way, however, trading the driving beat that was already there for what sounds like a trap breakdown – annoying hi-hats and all. Gee, when will songwriters understand that good rap ≠ trap beat? At least it contains Jimin's voice and it’s over pretty quickly, returning in proper form to the nice harmony from before.
All in all, this song undeniably works (and it works pretty
fucking well) despite that one odd/jarring choice. I'll take it.
TL;DR: The angels aced.
TL;DR: The angels aced.
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