Music Review: BTS’ long-awaited comeback album ‘ARIRANG’ is an exciting experiment

By MARIA SHERMAN

NEW YORK (AP) — The game-changing K-pop boy band BTS has returned after a nearly four-year musical hiatus. “ARIRANG,” the 14-track, fifth studio album from the septet — RM, Jin, Jimin, V, Suga, Jung Kook and j-hope — is here. And it is appropriately massive.

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“ARIRANG” — titled after a popular, traditional Korean folk song that touches on themes of longing, separation and love — is a stadium-sized album that serves as both a reintroduction to the band and as a keen reminder of their place atop popular culture conversation. That’s evident from the jump: The first half pulls largely from trap and hip-hop, an energetic reminder of their early rap records. It’s an ode to where they came from and where they’re going — as immediately demonstrated in the opener “Body to Body,” which works in a melody from the traditional “Arirang.”

After the fiery block comes the short interlude “No. 29,” a reverberating bell toll captured from the Divine Bell of King Seongdeok — South Korea’s largest extant bell, designated National Treasure No. 29 in 1962 — before a pop detour of various genre experiments.

The tagline for BTS’ comeback album is “born in Korea, playing for the world.” It couldn’t be more fitting: Here, the septet utilize their familiar strengths and further their inventive spirit, bringing their country to a global audience eager to hear from them again.

To call it highly anticipated would be a gross understatement. “ARIRANG” is the band’s first original full-length release since all seven members completed South Korea’s mandatory military service. Not that it has been all quiet at team BTS: The band tiered their enlistments, giving ample time for its members to focus on solo projects while the group was on a break.

The time apart must’ve bolstered their hunger for composition and experimentation: According to a press release, leader RM is credited on every track save for the interlude. The others contributed, too: Suga and j-hope on a number of songs, including “Body to Body,” “Merry Go Round” and “Normal”; Jimin with “They Don’t Know ‘Bout Us” and “Into the Sun.” V was also involved in the latter as well as “2.0.” Jung Kook was involved in four tracks, including “Hooligan.”

There are a number of familiar names on the credits: Mike WiLL Made-It, Ryan Tedder, Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker and Diplo are among the listed producers, and their presence is known. The latter brings Jersey club to the energetic “FYA”; there’s a real joy in its boisterous lyrics: “Club go crazy like Britney, baby / Hit me with it one more time.” Parker’s dreamy, psych-pop production is heard on “Merry Go Round”; BTS’ performance amplifies the producer’s signatures. “Normal” has echoes of Taylor Swift with a low-key hook; it leads to the distorted trip-hop and Pixies’ wistfulness of “Like Animals.”

Then, a brief pivot back to the first half’s trap-pop. There’s the 808 bass of “They Don’t Know ‘Bout Us,” a partner to the earlier track “2.0,” before pivoting again and again: to the synth-y “One More Night,” the R&B harmonies of “Please” and the acoustic, early morning closer “Into the Sun,” that climbs to a resonant, rock ’n’ roll coda. Zig, they zag.

With “ARIRANG,” BTS had big shoes to fill: their own. The group’s last album, 2020’s “Be,” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and featured some of their best-known hits, “Dynamite” and “Life Goes On.” Here, on “ARIRANG,” there is no “Butter,” no English-language bubblegum pop. Instead, there is a band atop the music world, returning to their throne on their own terms: with bilingual bangers and avant-garde ambitions.

“ARIRANG” by BTS

Four stars out of five.

On repeat: “FYA,” “Merry Go Round”

Skip it: “Aliens,” only if you must skip one

For fans of: Big swigs, big concepts, bigger feelings