B.A.P’s BANG&JUNG&YOO&MOON reunite to make us emotional for the first mini album Curtain Call and title song Gone.
I cannot believe I get to write a B.A.P group (minus baby Zelo) for the blog today but it feels like an amazing day. I am so happy to see the boys reunite as one for a proper comeback. It’s been teased for so long and probably took a lot for them as well to make it happen. The teasers had me excited as well as the concept photos. One question I do have why does this feel like the end rather than the beginning with all of the song names and the mini album name? Boys don’t play with my heart we are just getting started with this new era. Anyway, let’s get into the review!
Gone already feels like an anthem to be honest right off the bat I can only imagine how this would play in a stadium and I love it. Gone is much sadly much slower than I expected it to be. B.A.P used to give us hard-hitting high energy songs and Gone is much more on the softer side of things, that doesn’t mean Gone is bad by any means I think the boys, the vocals of all of them finally coming together and Yongguk’s raspy rap and tone bring Gone together and make me more than nostalgic. There isn’t a world I could have hated this song because it just evokes so many emotions inside of me and makes it feel homey and like a late summer bop already. Gone is catchy, melodic, and feels like B.A.P giving us what we needed the most: just them back on the scene.
I sadly only had time to listen through a couple of songs on the mini album so far but I can tell the boys went down a route of emotions and feels. Love is stunning. Farewell however, picks up the pace a bit more and feels like a more fun and lighthearted song and has to be my favorite besides the title song. This is where the party is at. This is fun! I honestly just can’t believe we get to hear them together on a track again.
It’s a bit surreal that we got a B.A.P reunion 6 years after their last group comeback and after everything they’ve gone through because of that horrendous company (so happy they shut down). I still remember being side-tracked by Hands Up being their last proper release (and a criminally underrated one at that) and I feel like I’ve never made peace with the fact that they’ve all gone their separate ways despite remaining friends. We’ve been following them separately and they have proven to be such great artists individually with their discography underappreciated. 2024 seems to be the year that will bring us our dear groups back and we couldn’t be happier! I am so excited to review this comeback – and yes, Zelo you are missed!
The boys really decided to give us a nostalgic, emotional track this time around and I feel both sadness and happiness in me while listening to Gone. It’s such a lovely song with a warm melody and a music video that brings out even more emotions. The chorus is fully sung, melodic, and overall so stunning. It combines vocally heavy sections with some catchy chants that really make this a special kind of setting. The atmosphere Gone creates during its run is a bit wistful and a bit bitter-sweet, but feels like a warm hug at the same time. The lyrics are definitely another lovely part of the song – it’s apparent it’s a song directed towards those who have stayed with them all this time and a sort of a look-back at their own past. It feels like both and ending and a beginning – maybe because it comes across as them saying goodbye to their past and embracing the future, simply in a different way but still together. I don’t want to sound sappy and overly biased but Gone really touched me and made me realize just how much I missed seeing the boys together and having a good time. This is a lovely gift.
Now, real talk, did anyone else get teary-eyed seeing matoki again? What an emotional comeback of one of the most recognizable logos in k-pop! From this mini album, I’ve really enjoyed all the b-sides. They’re just the right amount of emotional and pretty to really feel like one cohesive unit from start to finish. Stand it all might be my favourite one just because it goes even further when it comes to the emotional sound they have going on this time around. Gone is, however, a deserved title track and I think it really leads the album well.
Thank you for this lovely and warm gift to all of us. We missed you!