Album Review: Twice's Formula of Love: O+T = <3
Overall: Jeongyeon is back! Kind of. Honestly, I’ll take whatever content we get with her, because I’m just so happy to see her performing again. I really think that this album is part of a turning point for twice, and it shows that they can truly combine their older, brighter concepts, with their current, more mature concepts. I also love the amount of member contributions to the songwriting process and the sub-units! Also, not an unpopular opinion, but the J-Line absolutely owns this era.
Update: I originally started this review around when the album first came out and I am the first to say that I procrastinated on it so much. But, it’s finally done and honestly, the timing kind of works out because Twice just started their world tour around a week ago and guess who got tickets!
SCIENTIST: 8.5/10
Mina’s deep voice and amount of lines, Momo finally having parts in her vocal range (and her bridge part, oh my god), Chaeyoung and Dahyun telling us we have crushes on them, iconic. I like that they decided to not go the usual route of having a loud, grand title track, and showcased their talents instead.
MOONLIGHT: 8/10
This song is super reminiscent of the 70s (I say as if I could reminisce on the 70s). I don’t love the intro part, but the rest of the song is pretty nice and just a classic Twice b-side. I love Mina’s voice in the pre-chorus and it’s a nice, chill song that gets stuck in your head (in a good way).
ICON: 9/10
This song is easily one of my favorites on the album. All of the members shine in this song, but I think that Nayeon and Chaeyoung really had their moment here. Nayeon’s vocals in the chorus are bright and full and Chaeyoung’s verse is perfectly-paced and showcases her insane rapping ability. Also, Jeongyeon’s pre-chorus part is mesmerizing.
CRUEL: 8/10
Member contribution: lyrics written by Dahyun
Their voices are so clear and light on this song. For me, Sana, Tzuyu, and Jihyo really fit this song. I love the way that Tzuyu’s voice has a chance to shine more on this song than others because her voice is one of my favorites of Twice. The instrumental parts of this song were so, so good.
REAL YOU: 8/10
Member contribution: lyrics written by Jihyo
This song starts out SO STRONG. Jihyo and the rap line really shine in this song. For me, this song gets a lower rating because mina’s part in the pre-chorus was subpar. It wasn’t really an issue with her singing, because she’s a great vocalist. I just feel like a different voice might have been more suited to that part, maybe Tzuyu. Also, it kind of fell short in the last chorus, and the beat sped up when it feels like it should have slowed down.
F.I.L.A (Fall In Love Again): 9/10
Member contribution: lyrics written by Nayeon
This song has such a fun disco feel to it. I love that Nayeon is writing more lyrics lately, and I think her writing style really works well with this song. The last chorus gave everything that i wanted “REAL YOU” to give, and it executed it perfectly.
LAST WALTZ: 9/10
This intro really reminds me of positions by Ariana Grande. I loved this song. It was consistently good, from start to finish and the instrumentals went perfectly with the vocals. I loved hearing Nayeon and Jiyho’s full and smooth voices in the chorus. This pre-chorus is my favorite of any Twice song and is a perfect lead-up to the chorus with the breaking glass and the split-second of silence.
ESPRESSO: 9/10
This intro with Sana’s whisper? Iconic. Jihyo’s deeper tones were so honey-like and smooth. This song had it all for me, and their vocals here are ridiculously good.
REWIND: 9/10
I loved momo’s vocal tone in this song. The smooth, slow-tempo chorus really helped this song, and I especially loved when Chaeyoung and Jeongyeon sang the chorus together. Their voices are matched so well and I feel like I’ve never really heard them sing right after each other. This song feels like it’s perfect for a rainy day.
CACTUS: 9/10
Member contribution: partially written and composed by Jihyo
I don’t know what it’s like to break up with someone, but i feel like this song is it. Jeongyeon’s voice in the second chorus and Tzuyu + Nayeon in the bridge ABSOLUTELY killed me. Their voices show emotion so well and I just love this song.
PUSH & PULL (Jihyo, Sana, Dahyun): 10/10
Although this is a grouping that I never would have considered, they killed it. Dahyun's low-tempo raps, Jihyo’s clear tone, and Sana’s consistently sweet voice mix together so well and I love everything about this song.
HELLO (Nayeon, Momo, Chaeyoung): 8/10
I love that Momo is finally getting a chance to show that sub-rapper position and that Nayeon has a chance to rap. Chaeyoung also just shows how much of an ace she is in this song. There are only really two things that I don’t love about this song. The first thing is that the song itself has very little substance, relying mostly on the beat and the repetition. The other thing is the use of the word “litty”. We’ve progressed past the need for this word as a society, let’s not bring it back please. I just know for a fact that if Chaeyoung had a hand in writing this song, the word “litty” would not be included.
1, 3, 2 (Jeongyeon, Mina, Tzuyu): 11/10
Jeongyeon lead vocalist I know that’s right! again, another grouping that I never would have considered, but their voices complement each other so well. Mina’s angelic, floating tone, with Jeongyeon’s powerful and steady voice, match with Tzuyu’s extremely unique and almost biting tone perfectly. Also the fact that Mina and Jeongyeon had a rap moment in the bridge just put the song on another level. I love this song and could honestly write a 10-page essay about how good it is.
CANDY: 8/10
This song is another classic Twice track, along with “MOONLIGHT”. It talks about love being like candy and it’s just cute, consistent, and it has a nice beat. There’s nothing wrong with this song, but there’s nothing extraordinary about it either.
The Feels: 10/10
Member contribution: Korean Ver. lyrics partially written by Chaeyoung
I feel like this song perfectly captures the vibe of prom, and the girls executed it so well. I love that they’re becoming more comfortable with speaking English, and Dahyun and Jihyo's voices when they’re speaking English are so lovely and they really made this song for me.
SCIENTIST - R3HAB Remix
I’ll be the first to say that I don’t like remixes. They’re just not really my thing, and I feel like the song usually gets butchered in the process. The lyrics were sped up too much, but I actually really like the way the instrumental was changed. The only parts of the song that didn’t feel rushed to me were the pre-choruses. I feel like the lead-up to the chorus was done well, but I think the remix took away all the charming parts of the chorus.