Review

Song Review: Ravi – ANI (ft. Soyeon)

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Ravi - Ani (ft. Soyeon)Over the years, I haven’t been particularly kind to Ravi’s solo music. I settled on an “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all” approach, choosing not to write about every song he releases. But, I’m always up for a pleasant surprise and still preview his work in case something sticks out. Happily, this is the case with new single ANI (애니). It’s good! Welcome back to the blog, Ravi.

ANI enlists (G)I-DLE’s Soyeon as guest artist, though her contribution begins and ends with the second verse. Instead, the song succeeds on its bounding beat and catchy hook. I’ve been wondering when the massive success of The Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber’s Stay (a bop!) would filter into K-pop, and ANI is one of the first tracks that feels really inspired by it. The combination of driving, synth-supported energy and quick, cathartic verses is quite familiar, but it’s a trick that works.

Sadly, Ravi remains a huge fan of vocal effects, and the slathering here does ANI no good. Soyeon’s verse is far more enjoyable thanks to its rawer nature. But even with all the processing, ANI’s hook is catchy and memorable. It’s not the most complex track you’ll ever hear, but this approach doesn’t lend itself to noodling about. The composition is direct and snappy, bolstered by an equally forthright instrumental. I love how the guitar amps up during the climax, giving ANI a punky rock edge that perfectly fits the song’s energy.

 Hooks 8
 Production 8
 Longevity 8
 Bias 8
 RATING 8

19 thoughts on “Song Review: Ravi – ANI (ft. Soyeon)”

  1. I hear the Kid Laroi comparison, but I find the melody here grating enough to sink the entire thing. Stay’s vocal line was buoyant and inspired; this sounds like Ravi bleating over an admittedly great instrumental.

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  2. Oh Ravi!
    Ravi ravi ravi.

    Kudos again to Ravi for being a soloist launched out of a kpop idol group that has good name recognition. Also sound recognition too. I own a lot of kpop in this category, and sometime I can’t tell them apart. I often holler back to the back row to she who controls the ipod – child! who is this one!

    I think this song is OK. It has a lot of forward momentum which chugs nicely along along. Coupled with some nice hooks and a solid delivery, it makes for a solid pop song. As Nick says, its direct and snappy.

    Do I like it? … … …I wished he leaned more into his weird vocal styling and effects. More edgy. It almost plays it too safe, too mainstream, too generic bad boy sound. I have grown to love Do Han Se’s “Tag Over”, sorry its “Take Over”, because it leans so hard on spit fire crazy warped delivery. This one by comparison is just OK.

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      • I’d feel bad laughing at his pronunciation, but he and Ravi both rap like they’ve got a head cold no matter what language they’re speaking. It’s a choice and like MYMA said, it’s certainly distinctive, which is unfortunately lacking in too many rappers. I don’t know if Victon would have ever stood out from the pack for me if it weren’t for Hanse’s crazy warped delivery. Every so often I revisit their title tracks because even if the early ones aren’t my thing, it’s actually kind of remarkable how you can track his stylistic development over the years. Whoever at their agency decided to lean into that gets two thumbs up from me.

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        • Yes, to be clear, it isn’t Do Han Se’s accent. I am surrounded by accents of non-native English speakers. My own husband has a pretty broad northern England accent. My brother-in-law is from Erie PA, and that is almost like a foreign country. (hah, ok that last one was a joke.)
          It’s the deliberate lean into a warped delivery. I am not making fun of it at all. It’s all profound admiration for that warping that works extremely well for him.

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  3. Agree heavily with “WM”. The Stay influence is pretty prominent but it lacks the main thing that makes Stay so good aka it’s melody, especially in the chorus. It doesn’t help that Ravi nor Soyeon (love her, that’s my girl) have as pleasing of tones as Laroi or Beiber. The vocal effects just add to overall grating experience of this song. The instrumental is still nice tho. Still surprised this got a 8 tho. I’d go low 7s maybe.

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  6. I really love “Bum” from earlier this year, and I’ve got a few more of his solo titles rattling around the playlists, but I’m not sure about this one. I liked Soyeon’s verse – how about a solo release, Cube? – but whereas the autotune effects work for me on louder tracks, here they’re maybe too much?

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    • As soon as I hit post a voice in my head was all, “hey, didn’t Soyeon have a solo release earlier this year?” And yes, she did, I just didn’t care for it. Oops.

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  7. “I settled on an “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all” approach”

    Wait. Does this mean we won’t be seeing any reviews scoring 5-6 in the future? Oh, cmon those reviews are the funny parts of your site.

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  9. I’m not feeling this, although Soyeon is cool. I guess I just don’t vibe that much with Ravi’s singing.

    Now, he was great guesting on the live stages for Strawberry Gum. And, I really liked Bum. I’m bummed (pun intended) it never came out on US iTunes or in physical form for me to buy.

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