KILL THIS LOVE – BLACKPINK

★★★(6/10)

The K-pop girl group’s fun but bizarre dating EP messes up the EDM style ahead of their big Coachella debut.

Currently, BLACKPINK is the world’s largest K-pop girl group. The appearance of the four women was precisely designed by K-pop star Big Bang, 2NE1, PSY and South Korean entertainment giant YG Entertainment, which has selected a multicultural group to appeal to audiences around the world. The girls perform in Korean and English, and then record the Japanese version of each song to maximize their accessibility in various markets.

The decades-long Hallyu craze for Korean pop culture exports is said to be on the agenda with government funding and approval to boost the country’s global soft power and economy. But between BLACK PINK’s English advantage and the explosive increase in global pop music currently taking place in the U.S., there has never been a female idol group ready to follow BTS‘ footsteps in the U.S.

Last June, BLACK PINK’s acquisition of the U.S. began with their massive international hit “Du-Du Du-Du” peaking at 55th on the singles chart. And this weekend, they will be the first K-pop girl group to spread the gospel of K-pop to numerous drunken people and perform at Coachella, a four-women group that easily influences Instagram’s close chaser through a complete synchronized choreography and simple hook.

Kill This Love EP is a collection of five songs that usually exist to promote one giant single. The title track is a sharp center piece, a trap-EDM winger with a strong TNGHT horn and a belligerent snare. The girls rap and sing about their resolve to end toxic relationships, as if they were in a life and death situation. Like other songs in the song, the song is only half of BLACK PINK’s overall experience. The music video boosts the mood in the drama, with girls dressed in costumes inspired by the Tomb Raider and Suicide Squad performing hip-hop moves in the middle of a giant bear trap. It’s such a confident and splendid rehash of the traditional Western symbols that have been popular over the past three or several years. So BLACKPINK tricks you into thinking they’re introducing something completely new.

BLACK PINK can sing and dance exactly, but Kill This Love is also strangely old, as it was made 10 years ago and forgotten in a time capsule for the next five years. “Don’t Know What To Do” could be a great pop song when EDM songs with acoustic guitars like Flo Rida’s “Whistle” topped the charts or when dolphins’ flute sours sound became popular. Then, Kill This Love is confusedly rounded up by the country bumpy pop ballad “Hope Not,” featuring a heartfelt performance by all its members, but it doesn’t seem to fit in the rest of the project.

BLACKPINK’s core philosophy is rooted in mixing hard and soft, a concept that suits its name. But because the sonic elements here are poles and poles apart, they look like another A&R tactic that affects all genres, moods and feelings to allow the group to be marketed to as wide an audience as possible. Listening to the EP, separated from the visual components completing the K-pop experience, is a gruesome experience. This is even worse in that BLACKPINK is a rare K-pop idol group with no clear leaders or front-runners. Each member’s individual talents and personalities can shine, encouraging fans to cling to the particularity of their favorite members. Even if it causes a little genre error.

Although BLACK PINK’s music is not groundbreaking, innovative or even so great, they are still completing the country’s larger mission to establish a cultural presence in YG Entertainment and the world. Assessing BLACK PINK only as a musician is tantamount to criticizing the U.N. ambassador for being as trivial as how well they can tie their shoes. They are specially packaged to become representatives of Korea and appeal to as many people as possible; they are sensitive but not aggressive and soft but not pushed out. And when they reached the American stage as big as Coachella, they were specially trained for years to be impeccable. If their music doesn’t change the game, it’s on purpose.