Song Review:: BANG&JANG&YOO&MOON (B.A.P): Curtain Call- Gone

 

• Release date: 2024 August 08

• Album tracklist: Love, Farewell, Gone, Stand It All, Way Back

• Album runtime: 17 minutes

As a brief reminder of the fifteen page backstory post, I wasn't into K-Pop when B.A.P were active. But I was also regularly adding their songs to my "Oh, I like this" playlists before I even knew anything about them. Now I'm filled with The Rage over how they were treated by their company, so the fact that they're back together (mostly) after all that is one of the little pleasures in life for me, and likely some major pleasures in life for people who watched their story from the beginning or even started in the middle. I can't wait to see what they do once their maknae rejoins them after he fulfills his military enlistment. And while I could use the name that they released the album under, it's long and they got their trademark, so I'm going to refer to them as B.A.P

For now, this first post-disbandment-then-reunion album contains both the pre-release single that announced they were back and also their title track. Interestingly, both of them are titled by the same theme, the same as the album title. There's a theme of endings across the board, which, considering what this is, is a little ironic. I would have expected a theme of beginnings, but perhaps they're saving it for when Zelo comes back and this is them officially closing the last two chapters. 

This is a sentimental song, but it isn't sappy. It's a fine line to tread to be sure, and I'm sure there are many people are going to disagree with me about it, but when you have a group who has gone through as much as B.A.P has, straying into sappiness can probably be forgiven somewhat, though, again, I think they manage to avoid it. 

Starting off soft with the instrumentals and popping the energy up with percussion alongside the wistful, what I think is a four part harmony immediately had me saying "Yes." I'm actually half in love with the instrumentals going on the entire song. If I could get them on their own, I'd be exceedingly happy to just listen to them. They are the rolling of ocean waves, and frankly, if the music video had featured the ocean in some way, that would have made complete sense for the sound of the song. And I have to give a shout out to Bang Yongguk (the Bang of the group (subunit?)). I see his name across writing, composition, and arranging, so props to him! I'm not sure exactly which one he is, I think he's the one with the deep voice that I'll be talking about later, but it always makes me happy to see the artist somewhere in the credits beside just performing. Anyway, there are some interesting slides that pop up occasionally behind the vocals during the verses. Very much a "Ooh, hello there friend", but one that's gone before you've fully registered it was there. A drive-by slide, if you will. And the electric guitar that pops in as well there at the end, just to bolster that ending and provide extra...not pizzazz or energy, but celebration. 

As the chorus says "Our love is not over", and if there is a more fitting phrase to embody the return of a boy group that disbanded under terrible circumstances and which faced a scandal, I don't know what it could possibly be. (Looking up who sang that part) Youngjae's voice fits that bombast so well right there, though, that I'm left just in awe. It's a swell into the chorus that allows the softness of the verses to breathe before leaping and building once more. Obviously, I enjoy this. I also enjoy the texture of Yongguk's voice. With the tendency K-Pop has of prioritizing higher male voices, his is so refreshing to hear because it absolutely is not. I could rhapsodize about how much I love his voice (easily the first one I noticed from the group), but I won't, because that's not why we're here. The balance of the other voices against his is very well done, which is as I expect when you have a group member with their hands in the production and arranging like that. 

The thing that makes me laugh, however, is a comment I saw about the music video. It was something to the effect of "It's not a B.A.P MV if they aren't breaking the law." I thought that comment was funny enough to bring me closer to being won over, but for now, I'll stay with this one and eventually go back and watch past music videos. This one is where the real sentiment is. Starting off in a theatre, together, and having so many scenes with them being together and having fun together. The best part is that it's a frame narrative, but you don't realize that it's a frame narrative until the cut to them in the restaurant watching the music video on one of their phones. I'm a fan of frame narratives and was not expecting one in music video like this, but here we are. That scene in the restaurant makes me giggle as much as them looting the store does, and then Youngjae's voice takes my breath away. It's a real rollercoaster of emotions, probably doubly or triply so for those who are actual fans. 

I'm excited to see what they come up with next, and I'm curious about the timing for their next mini album. Will Zelo be involved? We'll have to wait and see.