Big Bang – Alive

big-bang-alive-album-cover

Release Date: February 29th, 2012
Label: YG Entertainment

Tracklist:

  1. Intro (Alive)
  2. Blue [MV]
  3. 사랑먼지 (Love Dust)
  4. Bad Boy [MV]
  5. 재미없어 (Ain’t No Fun)
  6. Fantastic Baby [MV]
  7. 날개 (Wings) [Daesung Solo]

I haven’t liked a Big Bang album this much for a while. Actually, Remember was the last time I was this much in love with an entire Big Bang album. It seems that YG, Teddy and the boys put a lot of effort into this mini-album, and it paid off big time.

The songs flow well together, and for the most part each tells its own musical story. For me, Love Dust was a bit forgettable, but the rest of the album is pure pop perfection. With the release of Blue, Big Bang prove they can still fill a slow song with lots of soul and emotion but still have it be catchy (Lies, anyone?). Fantastic Baby is an unbelievably addictive dance track that has everyone I know dancing and randomly blurting out “Boom Shaka-Laka.”

While Fantastic Baby is fun and Ain’t No Fun is smooth, the most intriguing song on Alive is Bad Boy. It’s the gem of this album. The instrumental layers alone tell a story. Add in the vocals of Big Bang, and the song is unstoppable. Producer Choice37 did some amazingly creative things with the beat and hook. You’d be hard pressed to find its equal today in the pop music scene, let alone just K-Pop.

To top everything off, Daesung is back and shining brighter than ever with his solo song, Wings. Pil-Kang Choi helped create a song that perfectly matched Daesungs strong vocals. It’s a beautiful blend of rock and pop, bringing together the elements needed to let Daesung show off a bit.

In short, Big Bang has finally outdone themselves with Alive. If it’s true that they have a full studio album coming out later this year, I can’t wait to see what else they’ve been working on because Alive was sure worth the wait.

Favorite Tracks: Bad Boy, Fantastic Baby and Wings

Rating: ★★★★½ 

Preview on Xiami | Like it? Buy it internationally on iTunes | Or on YesAsia

Jenna

Part-time student, full-time media whore, fan of all things Asian.

4 Responses

  1. cim says:

    i think u hav to consider g dragon as the song writer n producer also…

  1. January 28, 2014

    […] The single that many Kpop fans have anticipated is finally out. Blue is the titletrack, directed by Agon Creative [1], from Big Bang’s upcoming fifth minialbum ALIVE. […]

  2. January 28, 2014

    […] latest release from Big Bang, Monster, is out to promote the re-release of the Alive […]

  3. July 15, 2014

    […] Bang’s Alive was released yesterday, along with a new music video for their second single, Bad […]

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