[Review] Dal Shabet ‘Have, Don’t Have’
I have a major love-hate relationship withDal Shabet. They’ve managed to make their way towards the top of my list of groups whose next release I look highly forward to. However, the general mediocrity that typically shrouds each release makes me wonder why I was anticipating them so much in the first place. In typical fashion, I was ecstatic for their latest mini-album release, ‘Have, Don’t Have‘. Yet despite the typical sullen mood I soon acquired upon listening to it, I was not completely entrenched in this mindset for long. No matter the forgettable nature of what they continue to churn out, there were some parts of the album that struck me in a way thatDal Shabethadn’t previously.
My usual negative sentiment was brought out upon listening to the first track of their release, “For Darling“. Typically, I detest ballads as introduction songs as more often than not, they’re simply fluff and don’t give a strong impression in any regard. Thus, for obvious reasons, this is typically not how one usually wants to start an album. “For Darling” doesn’t deviate from this trend. The song is a typical moderate love ballad containing more awkward key changes than one could possibly hope for. I don’t really have any reason why I would ever listen to this song again, and it certainly didn’t give me high hopes for the rest of the album.
Luckily the next track, “Have, Don’t Have“, quickly dissipated my disappointment. What originally sounded like aMichael Jackson“Thriller” copy quickly turned into a boppy synth-happy up-tempo disco tune. As demonstrated particularly well in their prior release “Mr. Bang Bang“, their staccato, blippy vocal quality—or their processed vocal quality anyway—matches particularly well with this type of instrumental tracking. Even though the song in general sounded like a direct fusion ofT-ara‘s ”Roly Poly” andA Pink‘s “Boy“, and their music video is reminiscent of the sameT-aratune andGirl’s Day‘s ”Oh My Gosh“, this song worked well enough for whatDal Shabettypically brings: inoffensive, simple, and generally listenable, and in some respects even toe-tapping, though nothing incredibly ground breaking. While I’m not overly crazy about this being the title track—the ephemeral disco craze in K-Pop was not my particular cup of tea—I certainly wouldn’t look back on it with any disdain.
I wasn’t prepared for “Don’t Touch“. What came off as an unassuming introduction of an amalgamation of urban environment sound clips transitioned rapidly into a heavy electronica house anthem. While the lyrics and rap in the song aren’t particularly memorable—then again, when is any electronic lyric supposed to be meaningful?—the engineering of the background makes this track far and away the most addicting song of the mini-album. While at times it feels like the producers were just pulling every stop that a program as standard as Ableton Live could offer, there were certain textural shifts throughout the song that put it a step above most other K-Pop songs produced in this manner. Notably, the extended use of minimalism and silence in instrumentals before transition to the refrain provided a needed break from the heavy texture, but also provided a prolonged amount of tension that made the drop of the refrain all the more enjoyable. Overall, I would confidently put this in the top tier of engineered pieces released in K-Pop this year. I’m not sure if this is a direction Dal Shabet will continue to strive towards in their future releases, but it is a nice refreshing change from their usual stereotypical bubblegum pop.
I’m not quite sure how I feel about “Falling in Love“. The instrumental backing doesn’t seem to mesh whatsoever with the lyrics and melody on a variety of aesthetic levels. This certainly isn’t a critique on either of these two layers by any means. I actually think the melody is surprisingly catchy: the R&B-ish feel gives an opportunity for members of Dal Shabet to show some sense of individualism throughout the song. However, the mood which it attempts to set is offset by the odd combination of ambient and moderate pop drum track. While this backing is likely fine on its own, layering these two aspects just give the song a strong sense of sonic conflict and confusion. Despite this, I feel that the song is catchy enough to warrant several more listens, and it’s easily among the strongest melodic piece I’ve heard fromDal Shabet.
In summation,Dal Shabetlives up to what most people expect of them. While some may be overjoyed by this, it leaves me wondering why I continue to be so ecstatic about their releases. Outside of the production effort of “Don’t Touch” and the catchy melody of “Falling in Love“, this release is either banal or sonically confused. Yet, I know that despite my general disappointment, I will continue to look forward to their next work as I have done so far.
Rating Overview
Pros: Instrumental backing of “Don’t Touch“, catchy melody in “Falling in Love“, “Have, Don’t Have” matching Dal Shabet’s vocal strengths.
Cons: Confusion between instrumentals and melodies, “Have Don’t Have” is unoriginal as it is an obvious fusion of other pieces that came before, “For Darling” is just plain unoriginal.
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