Premier K Pop band TWICE formed in 2015 and quickly built up stratospheric sales and giddying levels of fame in both South Korea and Japan. In recent years, they've begun to look towards the international market but have yet to reach the giddying levels of international stardom achieved by the boyband BTS.
'Gone' is taken from their 2022 EP, Between 1&2 and it begins dramatically with atmospheric strings that signal the brooding nature of the song, which appears to be about an unhappy relationship. The band are multilingual, and this is reflected in the ease with which they switch languages. The killer hook ("I see the lies on the tip of your tongue") begins in English before switching back and forth between languages. There's also an immaculate rapid fire rap, which adds additional attitude and dimension to the track, increasing its level of pure pop irresistibility.
Fellow K Pop girl band BLACKPINK have built similar levels of global recognition to TWICE but there seems to be a preference for the boys over the girls which I don't entirely understand. Someone who knows more about K Pop than me will no doubt be able to explain it to me but, for now, I remain bemused.
Hollie Cook began her musical career as the teenage
keyboardist in the final incarnation of legendary punk y reggae band The Slits.
While this isn’t always obvious in her solo career, what is clear is that Cook
shares with the late Ari Up a love of reggae and dancehall.
A sophisticated and assured piece of work, Cook’s second
album Twice manages to weave a
complex combination of instrumentation around a central sound and mood that is
both vivid and highly atmospheric. While her debut album was almost girl next
door London lovers rock, Twice is
dancehall as art form and lovers rock as filmic soundtrack.
Cook’s debut self titled album was dedicated to the Slits
frontwoman, and Twice opens with ‘Ari
Up’, an atmospheric slice of ska which begins as a hymn like eulogy with its
proclamation ‘Come, let her fire blaze on’. Of all the tributes written to Ari
Up, this salute from protégée to mentor is surely the sweetest.
The slow tracks such as ‘99’, the single ‘Looking for real love’ and album teaser ‘Twice’ mix strings with loping bass, brooding tension
and sweetly sad vocals, with ‘99’ and ‘Looking for real love’ reflecting a
shift in mood from earlier post break up song ‘That Very Night’.
By contrast, ‘Desdemona’, ‘Tiger Balm’ and ‘Superfast’ are
playful ska infused high quality pop songs whereas ‘Win or Lose’ features
harmonised layered vocals over a loping bass line. It manages to be spacey and
brooding while remaining sparkling.
Of the up tempo pieces, ‘Postman’ is a particularly good
track. It begins enigmatically with a disembodied voice saying, soothingly,
‘You are awakened by sun in the distance’ against a delicate riffle of steel
drums and strings. The use of steel drums alongside the ska bass and strings
makes this it very danceable to, not to mention a good choice for a future
single. It is crowned in its perfection by a particularly delightful drum roll
at the end.
But the standout track has to be the title song,
‘Twice’.A gorgeous slow burner, the
delicately mournful strings and slow brooding groove combine with the slow,
seductive vocals to build an atmosphere of evening sultry heat. ‘I try
everything once,’ purrs Cook, ‘twice if I like it.’
This is a grower that
rewards with repeated listens, and builds on the impressive experimentation
established by the spacey, dubby ‘Sugar Water’ on Cook’s debut album. ‘Twice’ is perhaps the most experimental and
textured piece on the album and, while it is complex in structure; it still
feels spacious rather than crowded by orchestral swirls and occasional guitar
fuzz.
Sophisticated and atmospheric, with a central cohesion and
mood, Twice is an accomplished album
by an artist still testing her wings in many ways. Having yielded at least two
possible contenders for song of the year, the album is in a strong position for
album of the year.
