STRAY KIDS – 'GO生'

Track List:

1. GO LIVE

2. God’s Menu *Title

3. Easy

4. Pacemaker

5. Airplane

6. Another Day

7. Phobia

8. Blueprint

9. TA

10. Haven

11. TOP (“TOP” OST)

12. SLUMP (“TOP” OST)

13. Mixtape: Gone Days

14. Mixtape: On Track

Stray Kids has just released their first full album, 'Go生.' It's got 10 new tracks and four previously released ones. This includes their mixtape singles, along with their work on the "Top" OST. So this doesn't turn into a full TL;DR, thought I'd give you an overview.

We start with the intro track "GO LIVE." It starts with rapid-fire raps and ends up drenched in auto-tune. Not like I have a problem with that. Because it leads into probably the best track the boys have ever done -- "God’s Menu." Full of aggressive raps and softer bridges, it's got something for everyone. They continue this trend on "Easy." And even when they flip the script, like on "Pacemaker," the vocals are still full of fire.

They dial it back for more conventional offerings, like "Airplane," "Another Day," "Phobia," and "Blueprint," though I have to admit that "Phobia" sounded every bit like I'd expect a track with that title to sound. With the exception of "TA," the rest of the songs are pretty much what you'd expect. Some are drowning in synths, and seem more like what everyone else is doing. The two "Mixtape" tracks have already been released elsewhere. "On Track" is the only other ballad on the album.

Now that I've told you what's there, maybe I should tell you how it sounds. Stray Kids has the ability to give you aggressive raps on one song, and then drop into fairly smooth crooning the next. Sometimes in the same song, sometimes not. That's pretty well what's going on here. A couple of the songs are from the "Top" OST, so you may have heard them before in one form or another. The nice thing about including them here is that you don't have to go out and buy the OST just to get your Stray Kids fix.

And really, if you're looking to scratch that Stray Kids itch, this one's for you.

MV REVIEW

This video takes place in three locations: a kitchen, a lab, and a racetrack. What do those three things have in common? You'd have to ask Stray Kids.

Despite all this, there is no story. It's largely them dancing around, jumping about and generally raising a ruckus. Is there anything wrong with that? Not at all.

You see, the song is so high energy and switches up so often it's difficult to do much of anything else. Still, you can't deny that it draws the eye. It's difficult to think while this is happening. And I think that's the point.

So it doesn't make much sense on the surface. But it doesn't have to. You should be having so much fun grooving out to the song that you shouldn't care about. I know I didn't. And as far as "God's Menu" goes, I'll have whatever they're serving.

Score

MV Relevance............8

MV Production...........9

MV Concept................9

MV SCORE: 8.6

Album Production......9

Album Concept...........8

Tracklisting.................8

ALBUM SCORE: 8.3

OVERALL.................8.5