TWICE is “Ready To Be” Set Free with new mini album

After dominating the night of the 2023 Billboard's Women in Music Awards, K-pop's nine-membered diva group, TWICE, has returned with a covetous new release. Ready To Be is TWICE's 12th addition to the mini-album/EP series, featuring 7 new tracks. Although the album brings forth no new perspective of TWICE, it manages to stand its ground amongst all other releases for being another consistently enjoyable album from the group.

Two of the album's seven songs are two different renditions of the song "SET ME FREE", the Korean the title track, is a daring new song which showcases the members' charisma with an intrepid staple sound and a dynamic music video accompanying it. Meanwhile, their pre-release English song, "MOONLIGHT SUNRISE", is a dreamier and soft take on the electronic-pop genre. Surprisingly, both songs are sonically not my cup of tea and hence are my least favorite songs on the album. Even so, I can't help but appreciate the unparalleled adaptiveness of TWICE in their elements.

Speaking of adaptiveness, "BLAME IT ON ME" felt a quintessential TWICE song to me, in a good way. Even after facing criticism for their vocals, the members did not fail to give it their best and drive the fierce energy in this bold new track. With a simple yet effective formula, this song has managed to climb to the top of my tiers for this album.

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Another song with a simple TWICE formula is "GOT THE THRILLS", once more succeeding in becoming efficient. Raw with a melody for romance, the highlight of the song is its fun and climactic build up leading to a fresh groovy chorus. It's the type of song I would play on evening drives at the beach (though I don't even own a car).

Things take a moody and sassy turn with "WALLFLOWER", a song I'd definitely play as a sequel to "GOT THE THRILLS" on my drives, preferably as it passes dusk. My complaint with the song, however, is how it ends at a shorter and unexpected run, just like the fantasies of my drives which I know aren't happening anytime soon.

The album's sad yet comforting sound takes shape with "CRAZY STUPID LOVE". This captivating song incorporates trap in a rather unexpected fashion, which makes the experience all the more fun. I must say, this song felt unexpectedly nostalgic, albeit my inability to recall a similar song for the time being. It's kind of like deja vu.

As mentioned earlier, the new album has nothing new to offer from TWICE in terms of musicality. But that didn't stop the artists from serving an ever-familiar dish perfectly-cooked. While artists continue to grow, TWICE are playing it safe and releasing comfortably explorable songs in their 7th year from debut. Will TWICE, however, venture outside of their comfort zones to do something a little bit braver? It's a question whose answer I'm eager to know, as TWICE knows how to make the best of their strengths.

Shaikh Sabik Kamal needs to stop overthinking all day and then overworking during the ungodly hours. Comfort him with cat pictures at sabik2005kamal54787@gmail.com