iKON - 'WELCOME BACK' (Full Album)

Tracklist:

1. Dumb & Dumber
2. What's Wrong?
3. I Miss You So Bad
4. Rhythm Ta
5. Anthem
6. Apology
7. Airplane
8. My Type
9. Today
10. Welcome Back
11. Rhythm Ta REMIX (Rock Ver.)



After a warm-up single, half album, and even a double digital single, iKON has dropped the highly-anticipated full version of their 'Welcome Back' debut album. The new release features a ton of their pre-release tracks, so you have all your faves in one place. But there are three new tracks that you haven't heard, so how do they stack up?

"Dumb & Dumber"
Despite my misgivings about the title, this track is anything but dumb. Don't get me wrong -- the lyrics are lacking intellectually, but the big room aesthetic, time changes during the bridge, the rapping, and the hooks are all awesome here. This is a sweet party starter that demands to be added to your Friday night playlists.  



"What's Wrong?"
This song reminds me a lot of Big Bang's recent material. Before you get upset, it's meant as a compliment. On the surface, it's nearly a companion song to "Sober," but beyond that is where the similarities end. The song's message is as much a statement as a question about what went wrong and how they're just roommates and not really lovers anymore. The tune is generally upbeat despite the subject matter.  

"I Miss You So Bad"
The song that has fans excited is this tune by G-Dragon, with additions by B.I. and Bobby. G-Dragon gave them the song as "a debut present," according to YG Entertainment, as iKON was recording next door during Big Bang's 'MADE' sessions. Starting with an understated horn that finds its way back during most of the tune, the song itself is slower. The chorus is sort of a slow burn, aggressive raps and a rapid succession of syllables during the main verses bringing most of the enjoyment here. The beginning lines turn out to be the chorus later on, and I enjoy the parallels here:

"I hope this wouldn't be
the last song that I sing for you
I hope this wouldn't be
the last letter that I write for you
I hope this wouldn't be
the last time that I'm going to you
I pray."

 


"Rhythm Ta Remix" (Rock Ver.)
There's  not much here that you haven't heard in the original, and to be frank, the original was better. It's really just the vocal track with different backing instruments. It's pretty loud and sounds awkward in places. Definitely not my cup of tea.

As I said before, even if their warm-up single wasn't anything to write home about, they consistently surprised me with offerings like "Anthem" and "Apology," and established themselves as more than just another idol band with members writing their own material. The album runs the gamut from high-energy tracks to mellower fare, and the boys came through with their trademark charm.

MV REVIEW - "DUMB AND DUMBER"

Watch as the boys of iKON go on a wild road trip in "Dumb and Dumber."

It's a pretty wild trip too, without much rhyme or reason. You see them in separate beds. Then they're all in a car together. Next there are kaiju versons of the band at first fighting, then dancing, as the boys in the car nod their heads in time to the music. At the end they all dive into a bouncy house rife with plastic balls. It's plotless and pointless, but it ends up a lot of fun as well.

Despite the fact that they feature it prominently, there's not a lot of dancing. And the dancing they do feature seems cleverly free-form, even though it's not. They use some standard tropes to signify that they're monsters, as well, such as the exaggerated stiff arm movements, and the oversized hands. It's okay; not great, but certainly not terrible.



The costumes are fairly normal, too (well, except for bright yellow socks). They look like they're headed to a club, dressed to kill. I can't quibble with sport coats and t-shirts. Nothing seemed to clash, either, which was refreshing.

This video is a high-energy mashup of a wide variety of scenes and environments. I think it would have made a unifying rationale for the whole thing if each of them sat up in bed, suddenly waking from the same dream, but they didn't ask me. Still, this is a highly-enjoyable thing to behold the first time, and then watch it again after going "WTF did I just watch?" I don't really think the title fits "Dumb and Dumber," though; more like "Wild and Crazy."

MV REVIEW - "WHAT'S WRONG?"

Watch the boys stray into a weird urban wonderland in "What's Wrong?"

The band walks down a street, but soon find themselves running from masked assailants. Except these are the oddest assortment of people you would meet, with eye and mouth holes crudely cut into masks, garbed in a variety of colors that would make Crayola jealous. They tie them up, harass them in phone booths, and even slap them with giant hands.

There are quite a few dancing sequences, but the dances are all fun-type dances, not synchronized at all, and very obviously set in the same city set, so the scene shifts are very organic and integrated with the whole theme of the video.



This is where the costumes get weird. Zebra-striped jacket over a checkered shirt, black jacket over a pink hoodie, and colorful ensembles that superheroes would think were garish. It fits the theme of the video seamlessly (no pun intended), and everything is so out of whack you barely notice.

This is actually quite well done, even if it looked like they partied too much when they were making it. Everything was so zany and nothing made much sense. Sets were colorful and the situations they found themselves in were more weird than menacing. But I think the charm lay in the fact that the MV wasn't serious, and it looked like it was hella fun to make. 

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