Song Review: Bigbang – BiiiG

If you don’t count G-Dragon’s 2024 collaboration with bandmates Taeyang and Daesung, I haven’t written about a new Bigbang track since 2022. This makes BiiiG a pretty big deal, but also a bittersweet one. The band has now been cleaved down to three members, making this feel more like a sub-unit than a long-sought reunion. And rather than attempt to recapture past glories, BiiiG brings their sound into a new era. I have a ton of grace for Bigbang since they were one of the key components that got me into K-pop in the first place. Their music means a lot to me and simply hearing their voices again is a thrill. However, BiiiG has given me pause. I don’t know what I expected from a Bigbang song in 2026, but this is definitely… different. The guys have opted for a herky jerky — yet strangely flat — dance sound that largely cycles around the same spoken hook. The instrumental has an interesting presence, all dulled electro jabs and shuffling percussion, but doesn’t modulate into the kind of peaks I’d hope for in a song like this. Vocal melody is segregated to the pre-chorus, but even here the structure doesn’t feel unique or thrilling. Even more than Home Sweet Home, this comes across as...