Album Review:B.A.P Returns With 'First Sensibility', A Musically and Emotionally Cohesive K-Pop Album That Outshines Recent Releases

TS Entertainment's B.A.P makes a strong comeback with the first full length studio album, First Sensibility. B.A.P recently released their two year debut with First Sensibility, a follow up to the 2013 extended plays Badman and One Shot, and their 2012 debut single album Warrior. Led by Bang Yongguk, B.A.P's Dae Hyun, Young Jae, Jong Up, Him Chan, and Zelo form a powerful K-Pop group. B.A.P's leader Bang Yongguk was involved in the composition of every song on First Sensibility, an album that exhibits stunning continuity and musical diversity. As a songwriter, Bang Yongguk has the potential to elevate himself to the level of luminaries such as Park Jin Young and G-Dragon

First Sensibility reflects various influences including 1980s American hip hop, hard rock, and New Jack Swing. First Sensibility opens with B.A.P. In typical K-Pop fashion, B.A.P celebrates the musical comeback of the group. The emotional complexity of First Sensibility grows with the first single, 1004 (Angel) which ups the emotional stakes, showing a display of desperate sorrow after a break-up.

The album transitions to Easy, elaborating the sorrow of a lost love, a common theme in K-Pop. The theme is expressed by B.A.P as these two songs tell a deep story, entering the mind of the sorrowful lover in the modern age. Both songs feature classic R&B styling that complements the theme of yearning. The fourth track, Spy harkens back to One Shot era B.A.P where the members play out nineties Bad Boy Entertainment era hip hop amidst international spy tropes. Musically, Spy resembles the break beat structure that provided the backdrop for 1980s American hip hop classics like Electric Boogaloo. Check On also contains elements of early hip hop, solidifying the fact that B.A.P are at the forefront of Korea's K-Pop meets hip hop revival.

Shady Lady is a R&B ballad that further explores the prevailing topic of women who wronged B.A.P, while Lovesick is an uptempo dance track. Lovesick has the potential to be both the confessional admission of love and the post-break up anthem of Valentine's Day. One of the standout tracks of First Sensibility is Bang X2 a rock track with heavy electric guitar rhythms. Bang X2 sounds more like the style of a FTISLAND or CNBLUE song with an unexpected stadium-sized blast of hard rock.

S.N.S follows Bang X2 and is a suggestive homage to social networking. The repeated lyric 'Twit me your mention' has caused the song to be deemed unsuitable for broadcast. B.A.P moves further into the territory of seduction with the sensual track Body& Soul. The album then returns to the darker subject matter of loneliness with the emotionally arresting song Save Me.

B.A.P concludes First Sensibility with a tribute to their fans on the track B.A.B.Y, which features sampling of live audio footage from fans. First Sensibility concludes with the track that is consistent with the established sound of B.A.P. With You combines R&B ballad elements of an R&B ballad with hip hop breaks to solidify an overall stellar album.

Tags
B.A.P
Bang Yongguk
Dae Hyun
Young Jae
Jong Up
Him Chan
Zelo
TS Entertainment
Join the Discussion

Latest Photo Gallery

Real Time Analytics