What’s the Drama with Aespa?
By. Geonna Smith
Your favorite “I escaped the FLAT with the help of Nævis and now I’m back in the real world, also…I’m spicy” girls are back. On November 9th, aespa dropped their new mini album, Drama. This time, the girls showed us an even darker side that we’ve never seen before.
Whats the drama?
With previous songs such as Salty & Sweet, I’m Unhappy, and Savage, we’ve received a small glance at Aespa’s shadow side. In a previous article, we’ve mentioned that Aespa has two sides to themselves, the real world side and the “ae” side. Their last comeback revolved around the real world side and how everything is back to “normal” or so they thought. The album has 7 tracks consisting of different genres from the following songs Drama, Trick or Treat, Don’t Blink, Hot Air Balloon, YOLO, You and Better Things.
a look into the sweet tracks
Trick or Trick, the second track is one that you’ll catch yourself repeating throughout the day. 10 AM: “Now, you see me, now, you don’t”. 4 PM: “Now, you see me, now, you don’t”. 7 PM: “Now, you see me, now, you don’t”. This song almost has a playful yet still badass tone to it as the lyrics explain that someone is captured by the aura of aespa and can’t escape their hold. The complex aura of this quartet is enough to keep anyone on their toes. In the song, a boy is taunted by Aespa as he tries to get closer, it's made evident that he’ll always be two steps behind them and they are merely a dream for him. This is the musical personification of “you can watch all you’d like but you will never have me”.
The third track, Don’t Blink, seems to be a fan favorite b-side within 24 hours of official release. If Trick or Treat is about the actual chase and limerence a person would have for these girls, Don’t Blink is all the chase they will ensue for the one they want. Track 3 starts with guitar riffs that sound similar to a cowboy/western theme, then with the help of trap snares and the girl’s vocals, it forms into a certified head bopper. Don’t Blink is very catchy and will definitely raise the hairs on your arms when you first hear it.
The album takes a brief turn for track 4, Hot Air Balloon. This song is for all of the Yeppi Yeppi (Savage mini album) enthusiasts as it’s hyper, happy, and fun. The girls compare their hearts to a hot air balloon and tell their love interest to hop into their “hot air balloon”. The lyrics are guiltlessly sweet “Towards you, higher and higher. The excitement is an ignited fire. In my heart swelling bigger”. The song keeps an upbeat feel and is sure to keep you in a good mood.
Track 5 is for anyone who feels as if life is holding them down. YOLO, is an inspirational song that entails an upbeat feel while the lyrics are on the deeper side. The lyrics go as follows: “No one can influence my choice. Never grading again. I want to throw it answer (Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah) even if the wrong answer is right I'm not scared”. This song is all about following your heart and doing what you feel even if it's scary at first. This song would be highly recommended when you're in a rut and need a mental “pick-me-up”.
In track 6, the song, You, provides a slower tempo, ballad feel but somewhat pulling from rnb roots. This song is dedicated to the MYs, aespa’s fandom. Aespa expressed their love towards MYs. Aespa dealt with negative critics when they first debuted and it lasted for a few years until recently. This song is for ones who stuck around and always supported them as they’ve given the girls the strength the keep going. “Always be with me MY someone” “MY someone who will protect me” “My world, because you are there, let's always be together”
Taking it back
Everyone is aware of Better Things, track 7, which was released as a single in August of this year. If you haven’t heard Better Things, first, catch up, second, you’re welcome. This song is excellent. The song delivers a mid tempo, island with two sudden trap beat breaks in between. Anyone dealing with a pesky ex, could use this song for an instagram story or two or even a instagram caption. The lyrics are all about a person from the past who wasted their time and now this same individual is trying to come back when they see you moving on. This was a great choice for a closing track.
Let’s take it back to track 1, Drama. Aespa, you’ve outdone yourselves with this one. The song is full of synth pads that drive it straight into a villain atmosphere. Vocals, rap and instrumentals are all mindblowing in this song. Aespa never delivers anything less than good but this song has really exceeded expectations. The one thing that can make a song even better is the music video, so let's chat. Drama is a 10 out of 10 recommendation. In the music video, we, as the viewers are given a list of rules:
Inside the drama
The song starts with a goosebump-generating ambience and we see consistent color themes. Aespa members are dressed in black outfits in a dark room with other people with identical clothing and they realize that something is up. The girls are fighting! (No pun intended) There are clones everywhere and everyone is fighting amongst each other. It's chaos but it raises the question of where did clones come from? Why are they fighting each other to the point of blood being drawn? What are they fighting about? In the teasers, we also get a glimpse of an alter ego/clone for everyone and some fans had their theories about this.