Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
A special gift for Big Bang fans due to the reality that all the members will soon be enlisted into the military, “Flower Road” promises that the group will return to them soon and delivers a quality song to boot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wowAOdTYqw8
As far as melancholy songs dedicated to fans go, “Flower Road” is definitely one of the best, somehow crafting a song built around an acoustic guitar that doesn’t bore me to tears by the end of it. While the barely mid-tempo pacing could be a detriment, it never falls into a typical lull, partially due to the smart composition and clever bursts of bass and synths.
Mainly though, the reason “Flower Road” excels is the members, who have the charisma to carry a song like this. One thing that stood out for me is that they all have distinct markers that make them easy to differentiate from one another, but those differences are rather complementary and helps keep the listener on their toes but isn’t distracting from the song itself. So while the formula used is rather simplistic, the verses always feel fresh and as if they’re flowing along towards the rather jubilant chorus, which has a refrain that embeds itself in your brain before too long.
None of that touch on the lyrics, which are mainly cliche heartfelt dedications to their fans, but at times show the type of nuance I appreciate, like telling fans that they understand if they leave for other groups but that if they’re lonely then come back to love them again, “If you want to leave, I understand, I’ll scatter flowers on the road you’ll walk on, but if you ever miss me, please come back, please love me again.” Yes, guilt-trip them into being more loyal! Genius.
Truthfully, I didn’t expect much from “Flower Road” other than a perfunctory emo song that would smash because ‘Big Bang’ and ‘hiatus’, so to get a quality release that feels like it could grow on you further over time was certainly a welcome surprise, and thus far it’s only gotten better on multiple listens. Their fans might miss Big Bang, but stuff like this is why K-pop will as well.
