I have gotten pretty excited about B.A.P’s comeback, even though it only seems a few days ago they were shooting Zelo
and teaching us how to spell their name with “Warrior”. As one of the
most talented rookie groups in recent years, B.A.P completely stole my
heart and I may or may not have made a few small blood sacrifices in the
hope their comeback would be equally gritty and bombastic. Hahaha! The teaser photos pretty much proved this wasn’t going to be anything
near “Secret Love;” there is a distinct 80s Euro-disco flavor that retains much of the intensity and fierceness we fell in love with. The colors, the violence, powerful poses (Bang Yong Guk appears to be able to dislocate his entire jaw and Jong-up
seems to be going for a backslap) and threatening stares were the
reassurance I needed. Normally, a group doing a similar concept as that
of their debut suggests lack of imagination and group growth, but
without the teaser video, there is no way of knowing if this will be
“Warrior” II. In terms of new hairstyles, Key(Shinee) has competition in the faux-mohawk department a la Youngjae.
It’s sad but good to see the wall to wall blonde is gone, giving the boys a
better chance of distinguishing themselves onstage. The future looked
neon bright for their comeback. No more 'I like the blonde one' comments. While “Warrior” was animalistic with feral clothes and blood-red
coloring, “Power” has a more electronic and scientific feel, with many
frames of broken machinery. Well, I can’t say if it is broken, but while
I’m no mechanic the smoke and the sparks can’t be good, right? We also
have the boys hooked up to
some dangerous brain-zapping machine; a cyber-punk matrix if you will.
These shots are interspersed with B.A.P adopting a similar attitude to
Warrior, the crunking, the aggressive pointing, the general anger…only
now improved with a water floor and a smoke machine. It ends with the deadmau5
I mean the B.A.P rabbit, only now we can see its inner workings, and the boys in
what looks to be part of the Large Hadron Collider. It's hard to tell if this is offering hints at a plot-based MV like: maybe they're bots, or trained soldiers! If it’s a breakout theme
where they over-throw their oppressors since that was pretty much the “Warrior”
story. Or perhaps they are just car mechanics with a love for musicals. While the use of the rabbit logo has sparked accusations of plagiarism, the whistle blowing, Zelo’s mask and even the feral
dancing are becoming staple B.A.P moves. It can take years for bands to
define themselves; to have such a strong start is indeed impressive. But before you get too complacent, you TS Entertainment
bosses, we do need to have a little chat about the costumes in this.
Times may be hard, but making overcoats and trousers out of
silver-painted quilts just isn’t cool, okay? I spy suits happing
underneath; there is time to appease me if they do an epic
suit-revealing, clothes-ripping dance move. The black tank tops can
definitely stay too. Overall, this looks to be a top-notch comeback, hopefully cementing
B.A.P as pulling serious KPop weight. I have every bit of faith in them
— bet you'll like them too huh?
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