SEVENTEEN “Attacca” Review: K-Pop’s Self-Producing Idols Reach For New Sonic Boundaries
SEVENTEEN have always multi and inter-dimensional, playing off of each others’ strengths like thirteen comets in each other’s orbits — and Attacca at its best is emblematic of that.
It’s the kind of EP where pop-punk-inspired tracks are performed by a vocalist and rapper (bonus track “2 minus 1”), and some of the most tender and wistful moments are offered up by a hip-hop unit, as it is in “I can’t run away”, another standout.
SEVENTEEN’s title tracks have always favored a particularly explosive, lightning-in-a-bottle sound, no matter what genre they tackle, and “Rock With You” is certainly no exception. Equal parts tender and fiery — punctuated by a quietly-rapped bridge by leader S.Coups that’s perhaps one of the EP’s most understated moments — with a rhythm that’s reminiscent of last June’s title track “Ready To Love”, but with a far more focused, streamlined sound.
“To You”, an instantly memorable standout from its very first listen, is backed by muffled, synth-heavy production that’s instantly one of the band’s most mature in recent memory, and perhaps best marks the band’s growth and increased deftness in their roles as K-Pop’s resident self-producing idols. “Imperfect love” is yet another entry in the ever-expanding canon of SEVENTEEN ballads, the vocal unit’s always reliably impressive pipes take center stage, further elevated by a layered production that recalls some of their earlier tracks, but with a new grounded maturity that gives the track more palpable texture.
“Crush” is a surprising track — only second to the performance unit’s eclectic “PANG!” — and is unapologetically direct in its lyrics as it is explosive in its production. One can’t help but recall the band’s earlier days, performing the now-classic “Pretty U”, which by and large drew mainstream popularity for all its confessional romance. It’s those same boys who sing in this track now, but they’ve also noticeably grown since then, and seemingly invite fans and listeners in this new maturity.
Pop-punk influenced bonus track “2 minus 1” is cut from the same thread as the EP’s title track, and is memorable not only as the band’s first all-English track, but for the kind of frankness that echoes the most popular of early 2000 pop-punk, Avril Lavigne at the very top of that list.
And the production. Production is by far is the highlight of the EP, the centerpiece that all these experiments revolve around. The consistently solid production flows through the EP like a singular thread, at times a quietly thrumming force to let the boys take center stage, other times soaring alongside the vocalists’ crescendoes — “To You’s” euphoric chorus most notably comes to mind.
In its widest strokes, Attacca is an experiment that lies somewhere between pop-punk and pop-rock, that signature SEVENTEEN K-Pop polish ever-present throughout. It also marks the band’s fourth EP released throughout the pandemic. And in those four EP’s over the past two years, starting with June 2020’s Heng:garae, the band have both stepped beyond the tools they’re most recognized for — melodic EDM, tender ballads, fiery hip-hop tracks, to name a few — as much as they’ve solidified their status as one of K-Pop’s most dynamic acts. If anything, Attacca leads the group towards bigger, more ambitious sounds that would sound more at home in a stadium. Like its title denotes, Attacca is the culmination of a steadily maturing band that refuses to settle down — and today’s K-Pop is all the better for it.
