Red Velvet is back once again and remains as active as ever despite being one of the older KPop girl groups out there. For their latest EP, entitled The ReVe Festival 2022 – Birthday (or Birthday for short), the quintet brings us back to their older, bubblier concepts that longtime fans may be nostalgic about.
It has been a few days since we are listening to all five tracks of Birthday, and we can safely say that we enjoyed it despite sounding rather dated when you compare it to the current KPop music scene. Read on our review on Birthday to know why we like this Red Velvet EP more than Feel My Rhythm:
More of a throwback
For their past few releases, Red Velvet is focused more on their “Velvet” side than their “Red” side, which was evident since Psycho back in 2020. It has been a while since we saw something as quirky as Ice Cream Cake, Red Flavor, or even Power Up, and its nice that Birthday brought us back to the bubbly Red Velvet concept that most fans are familiar with.
What’s even impressive is that they still can pull off all of those fun concepts despite being relatively old in the KPop scene (Irene, for one, is already in her 30s). The mix of live-action scenes with animations in between for the music video made us remember their early works–and it’s not a bad thing at all.
Trap and classic make for a good mix
Purists would probably call out mixing classic and trap music together as sacrilegious, but in the case of Red Velvet, it just simply works for them. They are known for fusing different genres in rather unconventional ways and pulling them off nicely. Aside from Birthday, On a Ride has that same trap and classic genre fusion that sounds better than what we expected.
BYE BYE and Zoom, on the other hand, showcase the group’s Velvet side, but do fit in the overall theme of Birthday despite not having any genre-fusing vibe with their sound. Celebrate makes well as a closing song for the 5-track EP.
Red Velvet Birthday Review Verdict
Pros
- Brings back the more familiar Red Velvet
- Fun overall music video concept
- Trap and classic genre fusion actually sounded nice
Cons
- Sounds dated compared to current KPop hits
Hype Meter: 8/10
While Birthday overall sounds dated when compared to current KPop hits, it is nice to see Red Velvet bring back its bubbly red side that perfectly reminds us of their older and iconic hits. Despite being one of the older KPop groups out there, Red Velvet remains to be an ace in pulling off quirky concepts and unusual genre fusions with their music.
