Day6 explores human relationships in prismatic new album “The Book of Us: Entropy”
Korean pop-rock group Day6’s third full album, “The Book Of Us: Entropy”, released on Oct. 22. The Sidekick staff writer Akhila Gunturu provides her thoughts on the album’s compilation and songs.
November 11, 2019
In the recent past, K-pop has become a blossoming genre in the western world, with many Korean idol groups breaking through on the Billboard charts and gaining international recognition. Five-piece Korean rock band Day6 is yet another band building a name in the west, with its latest album peaking at No. 10 on the US World Albums chart.
On Oct. 22, Day6 released its third full album, The Book of Us: Entropy, the second in the Book of Us installment, which explores various human relationships. This album digs deeper into the theme, with an interesting twist.
“Entropy”, according to Merriam-Webster, is a decline towards disorder and randomness, with a lack of predictability. This is heavily felt in the title track, “Sweet Chaos”, in which the members sing about a changing, disorderly romance that despite its wildness, they look forward to. Written by bassist and vocalist YoungK, who contributed lyrics for eight of the 11 songs on the album, love is described as a “disorder a flower [blossoms]”. The song serves as one of their faster title tracks, and the lyrics leave little room for interpretation.
Love is a prevalent theme in this album. “OUCH”, “Not Mine” and “Not Fine” all delve into wild, unhealthy relationships, and “Deep in love”, “About Now” and “Like a flowing wind” convey the softer nuances of romance. These songs feature beats and music as intense as the lyrics, and while this stylistic attention is appreciated, the topics become almost frustratingly redundant.
Considering this, “Stop Talking” comes as a welcome change. The lyrics convey a well-needed message to the public to stop judging others. In a world where not only famous figures, but everyday people are constantly torn apart and scrutinized for the smallest details, “Stop Talking” serves as a heavy reality check for those who hurl hate. Vocalist and electric guitarist Jae has tweeted about this before, and the members of Day6 frequently interact with fans on Twitter. The song shines musically as well, with a heavy guitar solo and a general intensity flowing throughout it.
The album closes with the previously mentioned “Like a flowing wind”, a soft ballad about a lover slipping through the members’ fingers. It ties the album together quite neatly, and the juxtaposition between the song’s gentle tone and the more heavy, loud songs on the album highlights Day6’s musical diversity.
Despite the album’s redundancy in themes, Day6’s commitment to exploring, as the title says, the book of us as humans, is clear. The Book of Us: Entropy marks yet another successful album in Day6’s career and many more to come.
Follow Akhila (@akhila_gunturu) and @CHSCampusNews on Twitter.
