Review Summary: They're playing with fire in their attempt to form a 'bolder' image, but what made them amazing didn't stay.
Despite releasing only 5 songs before this album, Blackpink, a girl group with 4 members, is a force to be reckoned with in the K-pop world. From 1 year after their debut, their YouTube channel already has 3.7 million subscribers and over 1 billion views. Such fame can be easily attributed to their members’ charm and swagger, along with their powerful yet distinct vocals. When Blackpink returned in 2018 with their single “Ddu-Du Ddu-Du”, the internet exploded. It managed to garner 36.2 million views within 24 hours of debuting, surpassing even the likes of Psy, BTS, and Adele.
It’s not particularly surprising that the lead single “Ddu-Du Ddu-Du” was this successful; the song itself boasts a lot of charisma, with members Lisa and Jennie spitting out rapid-fire verses similar to their debut hit “Boombayah” but with more force, whilst Rose and Jisoo take center stage in the pre-chorus in a style reminiscent of “Whistle”, but with more powerful vocals.
The album overall displays that Blackpink is trying to evolve into a more bolder and stronger image. However, unlike the lead single "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du", the other songs tries too hard to continue this ‘strong’ image. One prime example is “Forever Young” is an engaging mid-tempo song that manages to allow the vocals to shine with the reserved instrumentals, but has questionable stylistic choices which made the song more annoying. For example, its 1 minute dance break at the end doesn’t fit into the song at all; it felt like it was placed there for the sake of ticking boxes of their image change.
The rest of the mini-album goes downhill from there, as the other songs also shows Blackpink’s attempt to have a more fiery attitude but severely lacks in other departments. “Really” lacks interesting melodies or instrumentals which makes the song feel bland. “See U Later” has a catchy hook that showcases a lot of swagger, but the members’ singing sound very monotonous.
For me, SQUARE UP was a particularly disappointing release, as their previous releases were much more musically interesting and engaging. "Whistle" had a minimalist hip-hop production underlying the members' impressive vocals. "Boombayah" is a great party track with its rapid-fire verses and addicting trap synths. "Playing With Fire" and "As If It's Your Last" were very infectious thanks to the more engaging instrumentals and melody. Heck, "Stay" utilises only guitar strums, harmonicas and claps to craft a catchy folk-pop piece, forming synergy to each of the members' unique voices.
While this album is undeniably still shows Blackpink has the swagger they have kept throughout their career, their comeback was quite a letdown. In the pursuit to form a bolder and stronger attitude, they have failed to showcase their vocals and their new songs weren’t nearly as enjoyable as their previous releases. One can only hope that Blackpink’s next release will be less dull than this album.
