Review

Song Review: Twice – Enemy

Posted on by 18 Comments

Less than a month since the release of their new Korean album, Twice have already returned with the lead track of their upcoming Japanese album. They’re certainly busy, and Enemy represents a new sonic challenge for them. The group has long been known for their glossy pop sound but this track injects a grittier rock texture.

Even though this is very much in keeping with current trends, it’s still surprising to hear Twice’s vocals backed by a heavy band sound. They pull it off well, but I would have liked to hear stronger material for their first big venture into this genre. Rather than explode with rock intensity, Enemy sounds more like a generic mid-tempo that just so happens to include guitars. This is most evident during the verses, which rely just as much on trap percussion as they do on rock energy. Things improve as we hit the dramatic pre-chorus, but I’m not sold on Enemy‘s centerpiece.

Strip all the genre hallmarks from the production and Enemy has a relatively plodding tempo. For a song like this to work for me, it needs to be bolstered by a stellar chorus. Enemy‘s hook is too rote and predictable to offer much inspiration, fusing a repetitive melody to a few flourishes of higher-toned drama. It’s all quite lockstep in structure, though Twice do their best to inject passion and grit. For some fans, I suspect simply hearing them operate in this musical realm will be enough to satisfy.

Hooks 7
 Production 8
 Longevity 8
 Bias 7
 RATING 7.5

Grade: C

18 thoughts on “Song Review: Twice – Enemy”

  4. Well, … … actually .. I am all for it. I say YES. Because it is a new sonic direction for Twice that also seems like it could suit them. tbh it sounds like a Dreamcatcher song with the energy set to 8 instead of 11. The song has been so EQ’d that everything hits at the same intensity. There are not nearly enough quiet spots to contrast with the loud parts.

    Also 1.1x speed is about perfect. Try it! It deserves to be that fast.

    Plus one point for the key change. The “Breaking me free” line at 2:10 is lovely. Mid 8’s from me.

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  5. It might not be designed to be a super catchy song but a song doesn’t have to be catchy to be good. I think it’s a beautiful emotional song. I really like the melody, the inspired vocals and the use of the intrumentals. I noticed Jeongyeon got some more lines here, I really enjoy that. This could he used as for an anime because it feels like an adventure. I think the chorus is really beautiful and so is the MV. The song could have been longer though.

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  6. 2 weeks after This is For. We got two mvs in one month. Crazy.

    The only groups in K-Pop (my opinion) that actually have good quality Japanese releases are Twice (Breakthrough and Hare Hare along with a few others are definitely their best Japanese releases) and Lesserafim. I honestly really like this release. Twice is putting out good releases. I stan Twice BECAUSE of their great music. I don’t compliment their music because they’re a group I like. Twice is making each release unique even after ten years, and they all stayed together without anyone leaving and have great chemistry (and they never like took long breaks or anything). They’re truly a one of a kind special thing in K-Pop.

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  7. btw nick can you give me some recs for serbian pop? heres some i already listened to

    1. ostavljamte
    2. neprogresivo
    3. insomnia
    4. krimi rad
    5. stan na dan

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    • I’m obsessed with Jelena Karleusa’s Alpha and Omega albums. They’re like Serbian pop meets hyperpop in the best way. Her 2012 album Diva is also very strong and includes that SHINee cover. In fact, anything post-2004 from her is highly recommended.

      I’d also check out Zejna’s work and Seka Aleksić’s “Trilogy 2”. Milica Pavlovic has some good songs, too. I’d start with Kucketina and Zauvek.

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        • Alright this took me some time :p Not everything is in Spotify but YouTube has them for sure. I hope the message has spaces when I hit enter because I copied it from Word.

          Ceca: Maskarada, Crni Sneg (ft. Aca Lukas), Didule, Manta Manta, Gore od ljubavi, Pogresan broj, Nagovori, Vazduh koji disem, Lepi grome moj,  Idealno losa, Beograd, Pile, To Miki, Znam, Kukavica, Kad bi bio ranjen, Bruka, Plan B, Doktor, Rekom Bez bez vode, Zamalo, Necu dugo, Pazi sa kim spavas, Dragane moj, Dokaz, Crveno, Batali, Zabranjeni Grad, Dobrotvorne svrhe, Trepni, Metar odavde, Ljubav zivi, Oprosti mi suze, Mrtvo more, Ja jos spavam u tvojoj majici, Sta je to u tvojim venama, Ludo srce, Idi dok si mlad.

          Note: many of Ceca’s songs are not on Spotify and some of her that are, are sped up. Some YouTube versions are sped up too so look for the right ones. 

          Sinan Sakic: Ej od kad sam se rodio, Trezan. 

          Dragana Mirkovic: Još si meni drag, Dolaze nam bolji dani, Nije tebi do mene, Milo moje sto te nema, Placi zemljo, Do poslednjeg daha, Sto cu cuda uciniti, Pečat na usnama, Gromovi. 

          Saban Saulic: Kraljice srca moga, Mihajlo, Gordana, Odlazis odlazis, To je zena koju volim, Ti me varas najbolje. 

          Zorica Brunclik: Kada bi me pitali, Kosava, Otkopcano jelece, Težak je ovaj život, Tamo gde si ti, Ja znam. 

          Lepa Brena: Jugoslovenka, Sve mi dobro ide, Ti si moj greh, Cik pogodi, Perice moja merice, Hej Seki Seki (Šeik), Luda za tobom, Suze brišu sve, Udri Mujo. 

          Indira Radic: Lopov, Zmaj. 

          Seka Aleksic: Crno i zlatno, CRNOOKA, CRVENI RUZ. 

          Vesna Zmijanac: Malo po malo, Da budemo nocas zajedno, Ja imam nekog a ti si sam (ft. Slavko Banjac), Eh da je istina. 

          Snezana Djurisic: Pricaj mi pricaj, Lepi moj, Izmedju mene i tebe tama. 

          Semsa Suljakovic: Zasto si se napio, Volele se oci crne i zelene, Tugo moja kome da te pricam. 

          Mitar Miric: Ne moze nam niko nista, Zivela ljubav, Voli me danas vise nego juce, Nisam lopov, Cigance, Pomirenje, Ko je onaj mladic. 

          Ana Bekuta: Ne zalim ja, Rano moja, Jesam pa sta mi mozes, Sarajevo, Veseljak. 

          Zdravko Colic: Hotel Balkan, Okano, Ti si mi u krvi, Produzi dalje, Pusti pusti, Cini mi se grmi. 

          Nada Topcagic: Zbog Tebe, Nezno neznije, Mihajlo Miki Miki, Dobro jutro, pijanice, Mali gospodin. 

          Halid Beslic: Zbogom noci zbogom zore, Hej zoro ne svani, Crna ruza, Budi uvijek sretna, Hej lijepa zeno. 

          Ipce Ahmedovski: Placite oci moje. 

          Gordana Stojicevic: Pusti me da nadjem srcu lek. 

          Viki Miljkovic: Ne znam sta si tugo moja. 

          Magazin: Bilo bi super. 

          Predrag Gojkovic Cune: Janicar. 

          Dara Bubamara: Opasan, Juce Sam, Opa Opa. 

          Nino: Donesi divlje mirise. 

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