The New Kids series is finally done! After waiting for AGES for new iKON music, I like how they have been continually bombing us with new music in 2018. It’s such a big contrast to 2017, and it makes me all happy. When they announced iKON New Kids: The Final, there were 2 thoughts that went into my head: Yay! and Already? I was like the aliens from Toy Story:
I did pre-order copies of this album off of Choice Music. They have a set of bother versions for $36.99 plus shipping and handling here. You can also purchase just one copy of the album off of Choice for $18.99 plus shipping here. Off of Amazon, the 2 version set is running for about 50 dollars with free shipping as a Prime member here. You cal also buy one version for $26 here, also with free shipping.
If you don’t have Amazon Prime, you can get a 30 day free trial using this link here. I will not lie, the free 2 day shipping, plus all of the free music and videos are totally worth it. I also now use it for books for my Kindle paper white too, and it is honestly a life saver. They have a program called Kindle Unlimited where you can check out 10 books at a time, read them, and put them back in the kindle library. The program cost $7.99 a month, and you get the first 30 days for free with this link.
For the purposes of reading the remainder of this post, I recommend that you put the album on in the background, and read through it while listening to the track that I am talking about. This is what I recommend for all of my song reviews.
iKON New Kids: The Final Track by Track:
이별길 (Goodbye Road)
I love how iKON has gone for a ballad for their single this time. The track starts with an acoustic guitar, and a retro, record sound. It is them matched with a sad sounding violin and a solid guitar beat (typical ballad style, to keep the song moving). I always admire how strong the rappers are in iKON, and this track is no exception. They manage to match the mood of the song, despite it’s slow tempo. This song seriously sounds like a Big Bang song the more I listen to it. It reminds me a lot of “If You” which is an AMAZING song. Still really like the song though, as I love Big Bang, so I love this too.
내가 모르게 (Don’t Let Me Know)
Now that I realized that the first track sounds like Big Bang, that is all I can think of with this one too. It starts in a very similar way to 우리 사랑하지 말하요 (Let’s Not Fall in Love), but with a different back track, like a slightly more modern back tracking, less classical rock, and more up tempo. I actually really like this track too. I like how happy the instrumentation is, which is a huge contrast to the lyrics where he talks about how he doesn’t know, he’s not alright, and it makes him sick. Such a grotesque contrast, but I love it. It’s deceptively sad, it’s like when you are in that stage of fooling yourself. Good job guys.
좋아해요 (I Adore You)
Another ballad! I love how we are getting a bunch of down tempo songs this time around. I like this song because it is simple, and really highlights the vocalists. iKON is typically so rap heavy that it is nice to have a track that pulls more towards the vocalists strengths. This song has a pretty wide range for the singers, and yet again, I hear serious shades of Big Bang. The message of the song is also relatively sweet, which is a huge contrast to the last song. I really like this ballad #InMyBalladPlaylist
꼴좋다 (Perfect)
Lots of ballads on this one! This last track is like a open mic night “I drank to much and have to sing because I’m lonely” song. That is very specific, I know, but that is the image in my mind for this one. The lyrics also match it, as the lyrics, say “I was wrong baby come back to me”. See! Ten shots of vodka deep, and then you sing this song. The house band can keep up even if they don’t know the track because the music is so simple. Just give them a chord progression, a tempo, and go. Rapping like Bobby and B.I would be interesting after alcohol though… there would be lots of slurring. I hope you all were listening to the track while reading this one, because then you will get this image in 2 seconds.
K-Points: 78/5
My overall thoughts on the four new tracks that they added? It’s nice to see them add a few more ballads to the mix, and one depressing upbeat song. Honestly, I’m a fan. Despite being a fan of this, in comparison to the first 2 parts, this one was slight lacking. It didn’t have enough of a rounded out sound in my opinion, like it feels inconclusive, it leaves something to be desired.
Do I dislike it because it leaves me wanting more? No, absolutely not, I just think that if one more track was added, it could have been just that much better. If I had to pick my favorite out of the three parts, which one would I pick? Despite the fact that 죽겠다 (Killing Me) has a very special place in my heart, for full-ness of story purposes, Return’s got me covered.
Should you buy a copy of this album? I’m not sure if it is absolutely necessary, as there are only 4 tracks on it, but if you are a big fan go for it! I did buy it, as I really enjoy iKON’s music. Should you stream this? Absolutely, the music is still fantastic, even if I think it is incomplete. Just make sure you pair it with one of the other parts.
Which part of New Kids is your favorite, K-Nuggets? What’s your favorite track? Let me know in the comments below!
사랑합니다!
–Rachel
