GOT7 - 'IDENTIFY'

Hip-hop septet GOT7 is back, but this time with a full-length album. The boys have been busy since their debut at the beginning of the year: 2 mini-albums, a Japanese single, promotions, tours and variety shows. Fresh from their Japanese tour, the JYP group released "Identify" today, their very first LP.

The album starts with the JYP-penned tune "Stop Stop It." The really annoying auto-tune in the chorus aside, this is a decent R&B track. It grew on me a little bit, but I'd rather hear real voices than robotic ones. If I want a robot, I'll dial into voicemail. I do enjoy the insistent vocal -- "hajima" -- that drives the song, but the auto-tune is a turn-off. It's a decent enough song, but it could be better. 



"Gimme" is a catchy track that starts with the up-pitched stuttering word "gimme." Then it launches into a pounding track with some R&B synth. I think the sampled wordless vocals ("Uh, Yeah, Aayyy!") really help carry the song. The singer wants your love and wants it bad enough to tell you more than once :) Mark and Jackson do a great job with the raps here.

The third tune, "Take My Hand," is basically a soft pop tune with sweetly sung vocals by Youngjae, JB, and Jr. I think what ultimately saves it is BamBam's rapping, which appears in two spots. He helped get my body moving again after the song sort of lost its way. The lyrics suggest the boys want to do more than just hold hands. 



"Girl Like You" brings the uptempo hip-hop back to the album. It starts out with Mark and Jackson handling the raps and ultimately has a more exciting urban beat to it, more of a sense of urgency about the song. The beats dance along at a good clip, making for a pretty good song.

The middle track, "Just Tonight," is primarily propped up by raps by BamBam, Mark, and Jackson, who each show off their unique rap styles here. BamBam raps along to the melody more, where Mark keeps time to the beat, while Jackson churns out a more half-sung/half-rapped style.  The song has occasional melodic interludes that serve as a chorus. The lyrics are pleasant in their sentiment: "Could you be my only lady?"



"Turn Up The Volume" again cranks up the tempo and the beats. The vocals summon up dance floor swagger and serve the melody and beat well. The boys combine their vocals and raps here, sounding more forceful on this song, and the track is better for it.

Track seven, "Stay," is a smooth, jazz-inspired piece, and all the boys turn in rather sweet vocal performances in this song. While it's nothing amazing, it doesn't detract from the album and is fairly enjoyable.



They slow it down for "Moonlight," the first real ballad on the album. Not to detract from the performances of the others, I think Youngjae really had a chance to shine here, and his sincere vocals laid down over a pulsing bass really worked well. The song is about being bathed in moonlight and remembering a lover fondly because of it.  



We hear primarily high notes by JB and silky harmonies on "She's a Monster," a slower song than what we're used to hearing from GOT7. The song is saved from being utterly forgettable by strange sounds that aren't strictly music in the breaks, and at the end, the temp rises and we're treated to the same melody only chugging along at a decent pace. The lyrics are somewhat different; I'm not sure what being beautiful has to do with being a monster.



"Girls Girls Girls" is the lead single from their first EP. What it's doing here I'm not sure. I'm guessing it's filler, but ironically it seems to be one of the standout tracks on the album, tight and razor sharp.

The album finishes off with "A," which was on their previous album which I reviewed here. I'll give you the short version: I liked it. 



It's a slower album than 'Got Love,' but I think in some ways, it's stronger. They seem to have directed GOT7 toward a more experimental style, but the band never strays from what they do well. While I really wanted more rhythm and less melody, their composers have done some interesting things with song structure. What I don't want is for GOT7 to lose their edge. It would be very easy to restructure these songs into generic boy band pop anthems, and I'd rather a band had a unique house style rather than a bland, generic collection of radio-friendly tunes. This album straddles a fine line. I'm hoping they don't cross that line and firm up the boundaries instead.



At times funky, at time sweet and soothing, this album has something for everyone. 

Recommended Tracks: "Girl Like You," "Turn Up The Volume," "Girls Girls Girls"

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