When last we heard from Donghae and Eunhyuk, they were trying to convince us how dangerous they were. I wasn’t totally sold on the concept, but now they’re back with B.A.D – another attempt at bad boy posturing. This time, the sentiment feels a little more authentic, thanks to a few musical touches that stray from the typical blustering boy group template.
Composed by Donghae and writing partner J-Dub, B.A.D fuses retro influences with trendier trap flourishes. It’s mostly successful, though I wish the guys would lean more heavily in a single direction. The track opens with a satisfying synth texture reminiscent of a talkbox. This returns later to underpin much of the chorus. From here, the first verse unveils a vaguely melodic sing-talk structure, helped along by punchy synth and a sense of freewheeling energy.
After a restrained pre-chorus, we move into B.A.D’s two-part hook. The first half is a little repetitive for my taste (I’ve never been a fan of ‘spelling out words’ and calling it a chorus), but the track is smart to include a livelier second hook. It’s all very shouty, but the instrumental frames it as such so B.A.D never feels jarring. Even as the structure changes for verse two, the song retains much of its energy. Compared to a track like 2015’s excellent Growing Pains, B.A.D feels quite lightweight. But, Donghae and Eunhyuk’s strong personalities help drive its weaker moments, while a few great instrumental touches give it the character it needs to stand out.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8 |
~
Well, hey, this isn’t bad. Its way better than I thought it would be. Way way better than trying to convince us that Donghae was dangerous, as if.
Sure it falls into every overused contemporary trope. Everything on our list. Trap pre-chorus. Drop chorus. Rap breakdown second verse. Even the empty parking garage video shoot! But unlike the others, it has a lot of energy so by the third listen or so I blithely ignored the second verse rap. Real Outro too, not just a final chorus repeat.
Its Bad without being dark bad, its more like mischievous bad with tongue firmly in cheek. Its bad like ha ha Leeteuk we borrowed your fancy car for our shoot, look we are doing donuts in the parking garage bad, look whats happening to your wheels bad. (actually, I don’t know about that, but it could be true.) Look, Kyuhyun, I took over your ballad living room set and knocked over your lamp bad.
They are having way more fun than anyone else this month. This song is purpose built for concert energy for the ELF to call and response with them. This side are you bad! BAD BAD! I can’t hear you. This side are you bad! BAD BAD!
Low 8’s for me. I will play it more than I should.
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hahhahha borrowing Leeteuk’s car…
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I just love how “bad” always seems to involve posing as a car drives in circles around you. Never once have I seen this actually happen in the real world.
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You haven’t lived in Indiana.
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HAHA!
(I have relatives there, though)
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I’m positively surprised by the album. It’s pretty solid.
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I like it , sounds pretty good but I don’t love it. I’d rate it somewhere like 8………. same as you , I guess
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I really have no expectations for this September , While I am happy Taemin is coming back , the others are looking pretty bland
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I wasn’t really a fan of the preview so this was a nice surprise! The intro is 10/10. The synths in verse 2 add more personality so it’s a slightly more interesting version of the trap/rap second verse we’ve heard so much. I don’t love the stop at 2:38, but the next section is the best part of the song.
The album itself is really solid. I haven’t listened to it enough to pick a favorite, but I enjoyed everything on first listen. It’s also funny to me that after we got Telephone and 1 Billion Views from Sehun & Chanyeol, Donghae & Eunhyuk now have Off Line.
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Not sure if I agree with the 8 to be honest. Solid 9 for me. Personally, I really appreciate the display of the various techniques this duo has at their disposal. The way they play with synchronicity inside the rythm and melody really ensures that the song never lays flat. And the hook I find quite catching, although it can be boring for some to spell out words in a hook this way, it also plays into the obvious forethought the artists put into the flow and feel of the song. I really enjoyed it.
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It’s good. No Oppa Oppa, to be sure, but still worth a spot in any kpop playlist.
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