Over the past few months, BTS have released music videos exclusive to Spotify premium. I haven’t covered these on the blog because I don’t have a premium account and many others don’t either, so the music videos remained paywalled. Today, they’ve uploaded the mv for Merry Go Round to YouTube, so this probably deserves a write-up of some sort.
The Arirang album came and went for me. Despite all the hype, I didn’t find any songs that pulled me coming back for future listens. Because of this disinterest in the project, the second half of the album became a particular blind spot for me. I appreciate the opportunity to think about Merry Go Round on its own. This is definitely one of the album’s more pop-forward moments, but it’s the sludgy, downbeat sort of pop that has colored global trends for the past few years. It’s music to mope around to, which isn’t exactly a new idea but has never really appealed to me. I’m just not much of a moper, even in the worst of times. I’m much more likely to look to pop music as an escape and energizer.
This isn’t to say that Merry Go Round is inherently bad simply because of its intent, but even when compared to past angstier BTS songs the sound and execution leaves me wanting. The melodies feel amorphous and slight and the heavy vocal effects add to a detached feeling that prevents me from diving in and feeling the emotion they’re trying to portray. I suppose the atmospheric synths are nice, but atmospheric synths alone are not enough to pique my interest when everything else plays like a flatline.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 7 |
| Longevity | 7 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7 |
Grade: C-
This is one of the songs I like the most in the album because I think it is honest. I am sure life during mandatory militar service and probably right after it felt like this to at least some of them, particularly for RM who seems to have been the main creative voice behind the album on the side of BTS to me. It does feel like a flatline, but that’s also what the lyrics are about, so I find it works for me, same as the overprocessed vocals. It feels intentional here: the feeling of trapped in routine, detached from everything.
I rhink a 7 is fair, though I would go 7.5 probably.
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I think the music fits the topic extremely well. The plodding nature of the instrumental feels like the endless cycle they’re talking about. I also happen to love the melodies–they convey so much emotion, especially when paired with the lyrics. So, I think this song conveys the message they wanted to discuss perfectly. An upbeat, robust instrumental would have been out of place. I still listen to this song consistently 6 months after release too, so it has major staying power! 9 (9, 8, 10, 9)
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