Review: Bangtan Boys Aka BTS Show No Sign Of Letting Up On The Anthemic 'War Of Hormone' [VIDEO]

Bangtan Boys, also referred to as BTS, are a group that's not afraid to play against the expectations of what a boy band is supposed to sound like.

Though they clearly possess the male model looks and charm along with enough dance ability to be just another run of the mill K-pop boy band, on their new single "War Of Hormone," released earlier this week, they have instead chosen a direction that is something quite different than what you'd expect if you had only seen a band photo.

Edgy and layered, with some very legit rhymes, "War Of Hormone" shows the group demonstrating the hip-hop prowess they brandished on earlier dance floor bombs like "Jump" or "BTS Cypher PT.2."

The disturbing dystopian imagery of past BTS music videos like "N.O" is not present here, yet the downright pleasant surroundings of the "War Of Hormone" video against the hard-hitting sound of the song are almost jarring.

And though there are traces of Western pop music like Justin Timberlake or Bruno Mars in "War Of Hormone," there is also something distinctly non-American going on in the soundscape here and it's not just the language.

Sure, Korean, like most non-English languages, offers new possibilities in how to phrase rap verses in an idiom that was developed in America. But again, this is something deeper.

In the sound of Bangtan Boys you can hear the moan of K-pop crooners like Crush or C-Luv, the dark brooding quality of their fellow boundary-pushing South Korean boy band B.A.P, even the epic builds of Psy. It's a general musical sensibility that is pure Hallyu.

That being said, there is also something different, something, as the title of the album "War Of Hormone" appears on screams, "DARK&WILD."

Electric guitars screech, the drums repeat a syncopated pattern that is far from any recycled club beat and in the song's strongest moment the beat dissipates into a stripped down backwards break before "War Of Hormone" builds into an epic climax.

There is something cutting edge here, though the listener may need to wade through several coats of digital smoothing in order to experience it. This band is going to places few boy bands dare to tread.

Or perhaps this kind of aggressive new pop sound is simply the new normal. There is no arguing it is a clear alternative to the sleepy piano ballads that dominate the South Korean charts.

If that's true, let's hope the next wave of groups employ the same impressive skills and unforced blending of genres employed by BTS and their producers.

If Bangtan Boys are the future of K-pop, than the future is looking good.

Check out the music video for BTS's "War of Hormone" RIGHT HERE

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Bangtan Boys
BTS
War Of Hormone
Hormone War
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