[Single Review] B1A4- "Tried To Walk"

B1A4 is a guilty pleasure of sorts, for me at least. They remind me of Orange Caramel in a way, and ever since their debut (as well as Orange Caramel's), I think they have really been taking a spin on K-pop as it is. Why? Well, personally, I find B1A4 and Orange Caramel to be forms of parody. With their over-bearing (yet awesome) cute style, I think they not only performed the aegyo which people have grown tired of, but they exploited it, being just so ridiculously crazy and loony that one really begins to understand the fine line between forced cuteness and true imagination.

Imagination, of course, is the more desired one. B1A4 do not really portray themselves as just cutie boys, rather they portray themselves as comics. Their forced cuteness as seen in their earlier videos were just another medium in which they could bring forth the parody and satire of the overly common aegyo style, and also a tool in which they could establish themselves as these adequately crazy, fun and just guilty-pleasure-ish  artists. If everyone could just understand the purpose for their image, I really don't think there would be any other reason to hate on them.

Their music is fine. Really catchy and playful, with really poor English which just add tenfold to the fun count. Their style of music, I'd say, haven't really deviated much from electro-dance pop which is perfecty acceptable if they want to set an image for themselves in stone. However, since dance pop has literally swamped all music charts, I could only foresee B1A4 having a harder time making their music stand out from the rest. Yes, they could add more crazies into their music videos, which by themselves threaten 'PONPONPON' and 'Balloons' as one of the wildest, imaginative videos ever in the Asian music market.

What I was hoping for them was to break from the mold. Try something new and different. Look at Brown Eyed Girls.

When they first debuted, the style they wanted to go after was a sort of vocal group style, primarily focusing on dull ballads and dry, cliched summertime pop music. Naturally, they didn't garner much success. That was, until they decided to go bold and indulge in the dark side of music so rarely tapped upon. With 'Abracadabra', 'Sign' and 'Sixth Sense', they firmly cast their roles as one of the premier groups in Korea.

B1A4 has so much potential. Jinyoung is a fantastic songwriter and singer. Baro is a phenomenal rapper, with mellow, deep and rich tones that almost mirror that of TOP's. Sandeul is a stunning vocalist, as is C.NU. And Gongchan bears all the charms of a innocent maknae, that just make fangirls swoon. But if they were to stick to their usual style, going the safe route of dance pop, I would be satisfied just the same, but it would be such a waste of their abilities.

What was their true, defining style?

Thus, 'Tried to Walk' was released to much of my personal interest. Just the first listen got me really hooked, and thanks to the heavens, it was different, and to my enjoyment, a welcome change. It veers away from the fun dance pop style, instead opting for a more muted Europop ballad, somewhat like 'Blue' if you want an example. In fact, I'd say it sounds quite reminiscent to Bigbang's style of music. That sort of bluesy, souful, rich vibrato-ey music. It's lush and really soothing, and is quite an impressive track overall. Now, let's break it down to analyse each section.

First, the introductory verse. It starts out slow and raspy, with chopped up verses delivered with a softness, that just bring forth this gentle vibe to start us off. It is slow, but unlike 'Janus', isn't dull or overly-stretched out or even cheesy sounding. Janus' background track was all grand and everything, almost pleading for a gregarious roar of emotion, yet only this frail, weak pleading tone spurted out instead, which resulted in a failed introduction. In B1A4's case however, the background track is barely even there, only appearing as little strums or teases, really allowing Jinyoung's and Sandeul's sweet vocals to shine. Then comes an electronic breakdown, into the main melody, a foot-stomping, bass synth-heavy Europop groove.

Though heavy with all sorts of clashing melodies, the product is surprisingly light to the ear and serves as a very upbeat and fun way to start of the song. The first verse follows the introduction somewhat, albeit with a louder, quicker beat and cleaner electronica rhythms and synths. The pacing of the song while aurally, may seem slower, actually becomes livelier and serves as a progressive build-up.

The bridge diverts the beat right back to old school pop. The first couple of notes of each bar hit the surface quickly, yet with an airy, spiritual quality. These lines are delivered soulfully but somehow keep an almost casual, overly-relaxed tone throughout. Hearing them, I don't feel overwhelmed or emotional, instead I am piqued. I feel curious, the song drawing me into a narrative, establishing the song's identity. Some lines, like these, have anthropomorphic qualities, and are just stunning to the ear and soul.

The chorus then kicks in, with a crass burst of raining electronic beats. Falsetto is used in abundance here, in addition to a couple deeper, richer wails. The blend is really amazing to hear, and the beat somehow manages to add another layer to the lyrics, adding a core to it, and also sustaining the pace. From the intro to the chorus, although the lines themselves have undergone significant variations, from choppy syllabic lines to airy runs, the pace never lets up and the pulsating bass beat keeps our feet tapping. Jinyoung's interjection in the chorus, brings us back to the start with the choppiness, and makes the chorus seem almost like a tease at what the song can be, before reining it back to its humble, indigenous roots.

This brings us to the rap. Oh how much I love the rap. It's deep and really mellow. The rap itself is split into 2 sections. The first is a portion in which Baro barely gets his voice out, letting a lot of air burst through his words, and also adding a melancholic, almost heavenly quality to his lines. The pacing here doesn't drop, and the rap intertwines around the main beat to make things work.

The section part is more fierce, and the lines are delivered with a more cocky bite that I really adore. The raps aren't empty, they are versatile and teeming with emotion, unlike those empty, hollow, rap-for-rap's-sake type of breakdowns. The rapidfire is really cool, and the overall rap sequence serves as a brilliant flip side of the song, albeit with a similar beat and pace.

On a whole, I'd say, that this song is a lot more complex than it seems. While appearing to be a one-off sad song, I think the stark changes and differences between each section, be it the way it is delivered or how it meld around the synths, really gave the song such variation which kept me really hooked and intruiged. The style and progression of the song really mirrors the concept of creativity, which as I mentioned really enabled B1A4 to have the success they've been having. Though each section, to the ear sounded unalike, they were all rooted by the same beat, the same core and the same emotions.

Maybe creativity is complexity? Creativity is maturity?

If creativity can come across as forced cuteness, totally unappreciated and flat, how can it be such a rich, deep concept simultaneously? An immature maturity? Maybe that's what really describes B1A4's defining style; the bombastic perfection, the playful abider, callous obedience.

These may not seem to make sense but who cares.

It's creativity, give me a big dose of it.

- Kpop Philosopher