Stray Kids are joyously defiant embracing ‘maniac’ energy in ‘ODDINARY’ – Album Review

By Nandini Iyengar -

March 20, 2022 - 3:26 PM IST

South Korean powerhouse male group Stray Kids, under JYP Entertainment, have once again delivered a collection of 'no-skip' music. The octet released their mini-album "Oddinary" on March 18, 2022, with seven tracks. The group continued their trend of clubbing two words together for album titles. This time they picked "Odd" and "Ordinary" and coined "Oddinary" to send the message across that they stand apart from the crowd, and yet sport a familiarity. Staying true to their love for music, they presented the listeners with a vivid range of music. The group's music production unit 3RACHA (Bang Chan, Changbin, Han) made a comeback, and members Lee Know and Seungmin participated in songwriting and composition for ‘Waiting For Us’, Hyunjin and Felix participated in songwriting and composition for ‘Muddy Water’. This marks Stray Kids' first release under Republic Records after signing an exclusive contract with the label in February 2022. Let’s take a look at the album:

Stray Kids are joyously defiant embracing ‘maniac’ energy in ‘ODDINARY’ – Album Review

거미줄 (VENOM)

When tracklist artwork dropped, ‘Venom’ had spider-webs all across the screw image. The track unveil video begins with ‘Spider-Webs’ words also. In the video, the members are trapped in what looks like a bunker and metaphorically ‘trapped’ as well just like the Sony-Marvel character. The beats remind us of how Venom is afraid of high-level sonic sounds and interestingly, knowing how the group plays with the ‘noisy’ sound, they embrace sonic ability to captivate you. ‘Venom’ is a song about getting trapped in manipulation or someone's charm. The rubbery stretchy notes in the chorus drag the lyrics across one's mind and make their presence felt. The switch between rap and vocal verses is smooth. The trap beats are perfect for a track like Venom especially when it has captivating lyrics that go – “ I'm drunk off your touch that captivated me / I want it more, I need it more / This spreading venom, this addictive poison / Any sensе of feeling threatened has disappeared now.”

MANIAC

The group’s narrative in their music releases so far has been carving a place for themselves in the mainstream. ‘Maniac’ music video introduces the listeners to a new multiverse but Stray Kids version. The song sends out a message that they want to be a maniac, an out-of-the-ordinary person. Stray Kids use the metaphor of Frankenstein to show how maniac they can be. It also tells the listeners that eventually one's true self does show itself – “Eyes filled with lunatic / All senses are tense/ Locked up while wrapped up in that pretty package / As time goes by, it'll eventually be revealed / The inner self that was hidden, yeah.”

CHARMER

'Charmer' begins with spaced tap-tap-tap beats and soon confluences with hip hop beats. The snake charmer's flute-like music in the chorus is an attention-grabbing tune. 'Charmer' is all about flaunting one's success. It is this success that charms everyone to come near them and follow them. Stray Kids call out the imitators and boast about their access when they sing – “I hang up the imitators on the laundry rack / If we do it, they all fall down like bowling pins/Shoulders held high like Mt. Everest/No chance of falling down, it is unstoppable every day.”

땡 (FREEZE)

The word 땡 (ttaeng) is used in Korean when one wants to say "Freeze". Using this ideology, the group sings a classic "want for freedom" track with lyrics like – “They're all just freaked out / Because of my obvious ease / Stop right there, keep trying, if we don't succeed/I'll keep rocking until I overcome it all.” The rap is fast and hard-hitting. There is a short segue with simple vocal verses and the song ends with a 땡.

LONELY STREET

‘Lonely Street’ is a heartfelt ballad track. The trap beats accompanied with rock guitar strums enliven the emotions in the lyrics. The song feels like a final goodbye. The members have struggled a lot; to the point of exhaustion and now the street they have walked often just feels lonely. “I'll pull out the sword and draw my true own path / Towards the sunset but I'm blue / I can't see it, even with the moon/I'm still astray, I'm still astray, ayy, ayy.”

피어난다 (WAITING FOR US)

'Waiting for Us' is a soulful number. Sung by unit Bang Chan, Lee Know, Seungmin, I.N, this track proves that Stray Kids can deliver any genre with an equal flawless edge. The tempo gradually rises in the track. Starting with buttery soft acoustic tones, the song progresses to indie rock instrumentals. 'Waiting For Us' is a track about waiting for one's partner and in extension, waiting for one's relationship to bloom again. There's hope tinged with sadness evident in the lyrics – “After a long, long wait / The cold air has settled / My heart that was frozen melts with your warmth / I'll melt your frozen heart too.”

MUDDY WATER

'Muddy Water', with unit Changbin, Han, Felix, and Hyunjin, begins with jazzy piano tunes but soon makes way into the rap verses. The song is another unabashed and unapologetic of Stray Kids' success. With ‘Muddy Water’, they employ simple tunes which will immediately catch one's attention. The lyrics of the track go – “Looking back at what you said behind my back / Doesn't matter 'cause I'm a winner / Strong believer / 24/7 with the members scoring goals like a team player / I execute the shadows all around me, call me demon slayer” - making a worldwide proclamation of their success.

Ahead of the album release, Stray Kids, under JYP Entertainment, set a new record for themselves surpassing 1.3 million stock pre-orders. This marked an upgrade from their previous album that had 930,000 stock pre-orders recorded.

Stray Kids’ are joyously defiant in this new album 'Oddinary' and once again prove their musical capabilities. No bowing down to conformity, it is interesting to note how using everyday words like ‘Freeze’ or ideas like ‘Muddy Water’ to chalk up a whole narrative with such ease. This makes the simple even more meaningful, perhaps making them “oddinary” as well in the process. Strays Kids are known for their out-of-the-ordinary music compositions and narratives, and Oddinary is no different. They stuck true to their theme and gave the listeners an album that is indeed 'Oddinary'.