When the credits for Jin’s new album were unveiled, my eyes immediately fell upon one name: Gary Barlow. I would have never expected to see the British Take That member’s credit on a K-pop release. Barlow has written a fair amount of fantastic music, but his taste also tends to be a bit milquetoast. Of course, HYBE’s music has also trended toward easy-listening of late, so his adult contemporary touch makes some sense. After the upbeat (but unremarkable) pre-release I’ll Be There, I was hoping title track Running Wild would give Jin a bit more grit.
Running Wild is the weirdest thing because it does sound exactly like a Take That song circa 2006. I hear Barlow’s voice in every bit of this, which is both a boon and liability. I appreciate that the song has a perspective, but it feels strange that this is so clearly someone else’s perspective transposed onto a K-pop setting. This style of anthemic Britpop isn’t something we hear often from Korean idols. It’s a sound I tend to enjoy, though I’ve come to expect that Korean producers will twist and nudge it in ways that feel unique to this industry. Instead, Running Wild is a solid copy-and-paste job.
The song fits well with Jin’s vocal tone and he excels whenever the melody lets him dive into his rich lower register. However, the falsetto-driven chorus could have used a more robust arrangement to match the surging guitar. Judging from his solo discography so far, Jin clearly enjoys this style. And as predictable as the structure and execution is, it’s nice to hear an open-hearted melodic approach in K-pop. I just wish Running Wild didn’t feel like Jin singing karaoke. He has untapped potential to deliver something much more nuanced and specific than this style of serviceable, fairly anonymous pop/rock.
Hooks
9
Production
8
Longevity
8
Bias
8
RATING
8.25