yestoday

KINGDOM have one the strongest B-side games going out of all 4th gen. groups, so far.
These clearly do not form the complete list of KINGDOM songs I firmly enjoy, but I selected some that I would like to talk a bit about! I love them. I won't do a The Bias List rating for these, since I already handpicked them as the ones I know as a fact and have stated that I love. It's a given that the numbers would be pretty high then, so quantizing them would be pointless. Just know the 'production' and 'bias' categories would all be a 9 or higher, and the other two no lower than an 8.5.

Picasso. An instantly intriguing beat and atmosphere is laid out at the start; I like the instruments used there and in the verses between. It's the prechorus and the chorus that are the most striking, though, as I'm sure we can all agree. Dongsik pulls us into the prechorus—a clearing amidst the dreamy haze that is the ambience throughout the intro—and Yoosung's sweet voice shine brightly afterwards. His voice is always so pristine and pleasant to my ears... my baby. (#Number1IvanStan.) Then, the drop to the chorus. This genius chorus! It's rounded and reverberant, and I think it's a brilliant combination of layers of chords and arpeggios. I think this chorus is what the feeling of having sex while high on ecstasy would sound like—if that feeling was a sound. Its aura is also overlayed with a mysterious and alluring touch. It slightly gives dark academia. Perhaps fantasy dark academia. Maybe, instead of ecstasy, it's a contraband potion I'm high on. Sorry; was this a weird start?

Magical. The title is unbelievably fitting. I can't think of a better word to describe this song other than 'magical.' Though I haven't settled on a definitive list, this may as well have a sure place among my top 3 KINGDOM songs. This sound is everything I love: the waves of synthesizer that my mind converts to coruscating, passionate hope. This is the kind of effervescent hardcore EDM subgenre that has the highest possibility of making me cry at any time. Other examples of this very specific feeling—that I hope will aid your understanding to pinpoint what exactly I'm referring to—include Always You by ASTRO, New Heroes by TEN, A Song Written Easily by ONEUS, So What by BTS, and Fireflies by NCT DREAM. (I cried to Fireflies for weeks when it first dropped... but that's a story for another day.)

MAKE US. There may be an emotional element to my admiration, due to the fact that it's a fan song and cleverly titled to allude to the fandom name, Kingmakers. Something very touching to me about the title. But, either way, the chorus is catchy as hell. I get chills every time, and knowing the lyrics make it hit that much harder. The power from Ivan and Seungbo's falsettos pierce through clean and vivid, even behind the glimmering backing track. After listening to it, I can't get "내 전부니까" to stop looping in my head for at least the next two hours.

We Are. This just makes me feel like I'm on the top of the world, and nothing negative can touch me. Once again, I'm attracted to the instrumental immensely. It's so colorful and carefree. Its bounciness at the chorus reminds me of another song I love that I cannot recall the name of for the life of me right now... (It's at the tip of my tongue. Oh my god. I'll let you know when I remember.) Anyway, it's an evident hype song, but not super wild or anything to the point its obtrusive. It's a three minute road trip of fun to the beach— a lively concoction of eccentric timbres.

Blinder. Oh, I know everyone loves Blinder, so do I even have to say what's probably already been happily declared many times? It begins with some nice acoustic guitar strums overlayed by... a sort of synthesized woodwind? Is that what it is? Either way, it feels fresh and inviting. This is already a compelling fusion! You can recognize instantaneously that it will be a feel-good song. For some reason, the buildup reminded me of Bloom by ENOi, so my mind instantly braced for a loopy, electric, heavily-digitalized chorus. However, after an enlivening, splashy snare, this song took a pleasant twist to something broad and gorgeous. I saw stars, and I felt warmth. While the form of this song is pretty simple and typical—this uniform structure did not preclude a light change in energy to make space for a tranquil interval of a bridge, then leading into some beguiling vocal harmonizations and eventually Yoosung's stellar high note. The lyrics themselves characterize the message of the music wondrously: "We'll get free, no worries now // We'll make it through together." I think it's a lovely tune.

Illusion. When I was going through this album for the first time, I thought nothing would be able to beat Blinder. Illusion proved me wrong as soon as Blinder concluded. (This made me quite satisfied, as I saw that the guy from The Bias List chose Blinder as his token 'Buried Treasure' B-side, and me, perpetually hoping to be different than the other girls, was praying that I would have a different favorite. Illusion saved me, indeed.) As we all know by now, I'm a slut for anything that reminds me of the cosmos. This song is about as starry as it can get. See, I have a love-hate relationship with synth-pop; they're pretty when done right, but an overabundance gets annoying. Oh, and I typically only love them when they have a darker or deeper undertone. They're fine when they're bubbly, too, but sometimes that just makes me tired and doesn't bounce off the walls of my soul as resonantly. Illusion is one of those done right. It's a slower, more atmospheric take on those twinkling synth-pop riffs that were oh-so common during that massive K-Pop retro storm. (Example: Ring Ring by Rocket Punch—which I did love.) A soft start gradually builds up to an interstellar voyage at the chorus. The tone of this song is swayingly doting and enshrouds me with this sensation of silky serenity. I love it. It's a song to space out to.

Appetite. Finally, the last one for today. This took me unexpectedly long. Anyway, having three songs (eventually four—because I loved The Song of Dann (Promise), as well) stand out to me like this in a row did wonders for my perception of this album. In fact, I'm fairly secure on calling Part IV. Dann the best KINGDOM album yet. What sealed the deal for me with Appetite was the confident wave of carefree bliss that hit me at the chorus. This kind of upbeat rhythmic guitar-integrated song is also something that has been heard quite frequently in K-Pop these days, with one of the most prominent examples being Tamed-Dashed by ENHYPEN. Usually, I don't feel any extreme draw to these songs first listen, but I do like them. It was the same for Appetite: I enjoyed it well enough first listen, and then it continued to grow on me. It's energizing and dynamic; what is there not to love about it, right? A special component that I thought was snazzy was the accidentals towards the end that made particular lines sound minor key. This seemingly optimistic song with an inconspicuous turn... it's a change subtle enough that it raises a 'what are you hiding?' type question. Something to craft a story out of, if look into and overanalyzed hard enough. Which is definitely something I would do.

Four hours on this. Still no Kingme friends who talk to me. Nick from The Bias List will not notice me from this. Was it worth it?

[APRIL 14TH, 2022 UPDATE:]
I finally figured it out. The song I said We Are reminded me of, I mean. It was My Way by JUST B. The instrumental break of the chorus.