BTS Arirang Album Review – Best Tracks and Weak Moments
Hi everyone, it’s Anthony Stirford here from Anthony XO.Music, and today I’m reviewing the new BTS album, Arirang
BTS have spent the last decade becoming way more than just a successful boy group. They’re one of the defining forces behind K-pop’s global explosion. You can debate who started it, but it’s hard to ignore who pushed it into the mainstream worldwide. They took something rooted in South Korea and helped turn it into a global movement.
They didn’t follow the typical Western industry path either. They built everything step by step, growing from a smaller group into one of the biggest acts in the world. And yeah, a huge part of that is their fanbase. The loyalty there is honestly insane, and it’s a big reason why they’ve reached this level.
They’ve also never stayed in one lane. Collaborations with artists like Coldplay, Nicki Minaj, and Charlie Puth show how naturally they move between K-pop and the global pop scene. They didn’t just enter that space, they helped reshape it.
But Arirang hits differently, because this isn’t just another release. This is their comeback after four years away, a gap that came from their mandatory military service. That kind of break changes things. It builds pressure, expectations, and honestly a bit of uncertainty too. So now it’s not just about how big they are anymore. It’s about how they return.
To really understand Arirang, you have to look at how BTS got here.
They didn’t start as global superstars. They started with a very clear identity. Heavy hip hop roots, strong Korean rap elements, and a style that was way sharper than melodic. In the beginning, it wasn’t about polished pop. It was raw, direct, and focused. Projects like 2 Cool 4 Skool, The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Pt. 1, and Dark & Wild didn’t just introduce them, they made people pay attention. They weren’t just another boy group anymore. People started connecting with the sound, the look, the energy.
But that was just the setup.
The real shift came with Wings. That’s where it became clear they weren’t stuck in those hip hop roots. They started bringing in more melody, more range, and that mix is what really pushed their sound forward. Then everything scaled up fast. Love Yourself: Tear and Map of the Soul: 7 took that sound and made it massive. Singles like “Boy With Luv,” “Dynamite,” “Butter,” and “Idol” made them unavoidable. That’s also when the BTS ARMY really locked in, and that support helped carry them to another level completely.
Then right at that peak, everything paused. After Proof, they stepped away for mandatory military service. Four years. No group releases. No momentum to build on. So Arirang isn’t just another album in their catalog. It’s what comes after all of that.
And what comes after is dark.
This is not their career peak. It’s not their breakthrough. It’s not even their most cohesive project. But it might be their most internally focused. A lot of this record sounds like them unpacking darker experiences from their time away, and that shift changes everything.
This is easily their most experimental album. It’s not melodic in the way their early work was, not fast, not gleeful. It’s darker, heavier, and way more stripped emotionally. The production leans into that. You’ve got names like Mike Will Made It, Diplo, and Tame Impala shaping the sound, and together it creates something dense, moody, and at times really impressive. Songwriting is mostly sharp and introspective. You can tell they’re actually trying to say something here. But it’s not perfect. There are moments where the writing slips, where ideas don’t land as hard as they should. Performance-wise, everyone delivers, but RM stands out the most. He feels the most locked in, the most present. Meanwhile, V, Jung Kook, and Jimin lean into a softer, more emotional tone. It works in some places, but not always.
Body To Body opens the album with a mature, controlled energy. It still feels familiar, like a bridge between their past and this new direction. The production is heavy but clean. High bass, glossy synths, noisy percussion, it all fits together well. The performance holds up, and the songwriting is close to being sharp, even if it doesn’t fully hit that level.
There’s a stretch of tracks that sit in this frustrating middle zone. Holigan, Aliens, and 2.0 are not bad songs at all, but they feel like missed opportunities. The production is there. The ideas are there. But the songwriting and performances don’t push them far enough. They don’t explode the way they should. They just sit there, sounding good without really leaving an impact.
FYA snaps the album back into focus. This is a melodic banger, and it reminds you exactly what BTS are capable of. The energy is high, the performances are sharp, and the chemistry between Jimin and RM on the pre-chorus and chorus stands out immediately. It feels alive. This is one of the few tracks where everything clicks without hesitation.
Then the album slows down emotionally. Merry Go Round leans into that softer side. It feels like an evolution of something like “Make It Right,” but darker and heavier. The synth pads carry most of the weight, with slow drums sitting underneath. It creates a strong atmosphere, even if it doesn’t stay with me for that long. It’s effective in the moment, just not as memorable after.
NORMAL goes deeper. This is easily one of the most introspective moments on the album. The writing here is sharp, probably the sharpest on the entire record. You can feel the weight of what they’re saying. It doesn’t feel surface-level. This is where that internal focus really works.
SWIM leans fully into the Tame Impala side of the production. It’s hazy, almost dreamlike, but it still has an edge to it. It’s one of the few slower moments on the album that actually earns its place. It clicked for me pretty quickly.
Like Animals is the standout for me. Production-wise, this is the best thing on the album. There’s a slight resemblance to Twenty One Pilots in how the sound balances emotion and intensity, and it actually works in BTS’s favor. The performance matches the production perfectly. It feels emotional without losing energy. This clicked for me immediately, even on the first listen.
One More Night strips everything back. The production goes near-minimal and the vocal delivery carries almost all of it. It shouldn’t work as well as it does, but it lands. It’s a quiet gut-punch that fits right where it sits on the album.
Then you start noticing the cracks again.
No.29 feels almost empty. It’s an interlude, so I get the purpose, but it doesn’t really add anything. It makes you question why it’s here in the first place. It doesn’t transition the album in any meaningful way. It just exists.
they don’t know ’bout us is where things dip harder. This one feels generic. The writing is weak, and the performance feels flat. There’s no real emotion behind it, no weight. It just passes by without leaving anything.
And then the album closes with Into The Sun, which is honestly the most disappointing moment here. This should’ve been a strong outro, especially for a comeback album like this. Instead, it feels lazy. The production is raw but not in a good way, and the performances sound tired. On an album that’s been aiming for something deeper and more intense, ending like this just doesn’t work.
Arirang still works as a comeback statement. It’s unusual for BTS. It pushes away from their core sound and tries something darker and more experimental. The production carries a lot of that weight, and there are genuinely strong tracks here. It’s not full of filler, but it’s not clean either.
It’s not their most cohesive album. It’s not their biggest. It’s not their defining moment.
But it does what it needs to do.
It brings them back.
Rating: 7/10
- Favorite Tracks: Body To Body, FYA, SWIM, Merry Go Round, NORMAL, Like Animals, One More Night
- Least Favorite Tracks: they don’t know ’bout us, Into The Sun
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