TWICE – 'MORE & MORE'

Track List:

1. MORE & MORE *Title

2. OXYGEN

3. FIREWORK

4. MAKE ME GO

5. SHADOW

6. DON’T CALL ME AGAIN

7. SWEET SUMMER DAY

At long last, TWICE has just dropped their latest EP, 'MORE & MORE.' It's got seven new tracks just waiting for you to cue them up, including the title track "MORE & MORE." This is their 9th mini-album.

Their title track is "MORE & MORE." Starting out with vocals, the song goes through several changes before it ends. There's a techno-inspired bridge, but it's not too distracting. There's even an adorable rap before the song wraps up. I like this one a lot. "OXYGEN" is a great bop. I think I enjoyed this one more than the title track at times. I like the rapid tempo of the vocals, and the bridge was simply a breath of fresh air. The rapping was a bit awkward here, though mercifully quite short.

"FIREWORK" is a more mature sounding tune. It lacks the youthful exuberance of the other songs and opts for a more complex tune, complete with time changes and a fantastic chorus. There are even hints of a Latin guitar thrown in for good measure. "MAKE ME GO" fits into that more mature category as well, with a suspenseful sound. It's R&B and has that thrumming bass and subtle horns. I really like the way this one's put together and it's nice that Nayeon wrote it.

It's like we've crossed into the land where the truly remarkable songs dwell. "SHADOW" is definitely one of those songs. It starts subtly, but it gains steam as it progresses. I like the staccato sounds here. And it's definitely easy on the ears. Drenched in horns, "DON’T CALL ME AGAIN" is the next track. It's not bad, but it felt a little heavy-handed. They hit you with a wall of sound, and it doesn't let up much. I think it could use some softer bridges.

"SWEET SUMMER DAY" has hints of the crowds we've been told to avoid. It's a fun song, and this is where we're back in familiar territory. It's not bad, and it's certainly TWICE. But it kind of sounded like filler. Jeongyeon and Chaeyoung lent their pens to this one.

There are some top-notch tunes on this disc, and the three in the middle make up for the ones that are merely okay. I've said it before -- once they started taking an active hand in their music the quality shot way up. And based on chart performance, I'm not alone in my opinion. If you want an enjoyable way to spend your time, pick this one up.

MV REVIEW

In the MV for "More & More," the girls get back to nature.

Most of the first verse seems to be establishing shots -- the girls singing and dancing in a grotto, striking scenes with Tzuyu and stalking leopards set the stage. When we reached the chorus, it turns into the Biblical story of the Garden of Eden. There are shots of a snake wrapped around a tree, and biting into an apple seems to cement that idea. The rest of the chorus has them dancing in a temple with multi-hued pillars.

The scene changes in the second verse as well. Chaeyoung is playing with a giant web, complete with animatronic spiders. As they sing, Jihyo stares at a white mare in the distance. And they walk through a portal to a little meadow by a lake. And that's when everything changes.

At about 2:37, just before the dance break, they throw most of the nature stuff out the proverbial window. Instead, they're dancing in front of a sculpture that was at the center of a plagiarism scandal. When they hit the dance break, the lighting changes, as well as the costumes. I guess the sculpture lights up, too.

What to make of this video? It certainly doesn't look cheap -- most of the time, anyway. In fact, the video is quite arresting. The colors just pop. And I've never seen the girls look better. I have to give this one an enthusiastic thumbs up.

Score

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

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

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

MV SCORE: 8.6

Album Production.....8

Album Concept..........9

Tracklisting................9

ALBUM SCORE: 8.6

OVERALL................8.6