spicy (welcome to MY world); aespa

may 19 2023

Aespa are finally back after a long, long hiatus with Welcome To MY World. SM Entertainment couldn't really figure out what to do with this group after promotions in the West seemed to have not gone as far as they hoped, and further delays came from the Lee Sooman/SME/HYBE/Kakao stock battle royale. Not sure if this is true or just an attempt for SME to make Lee Sooman look bad (not sure why they'd lie though, he looks bad enough on his own), but word on the street is that Aespa's comeback was delayed because Lee Sooman gave them a title track about environmentalism and climate change instead of fighting the Black Mamba and the members broke down crying, leading SME to give them a new song.

In hindsight, it kind of feels like just giving them a new title track wasn't enough. Their entire concept for this album is touching grass/going outside/deleting social media and experiencing ~real life,~ which just feels jarring for Aespa. What happened to the AE? What happened to Naevis? What happened to the Black Mamba? Aespa's concept is all about tech, and I didn't like the group's concept at first because it felt like metaverse propaganda at times. For them to suddenly switch to a concept that's like "social media is the root of all evil and we need to throw our phones into a lake and go outside" just feels... weird? But it does make sense that if Lee Sooman was trying to shove environmentalism into this group's concept, and only the title track was changed, that there are still traces of that concept in here.

Gripes about abrupt concept changes aside, I think the mini album is pretty solid. "Welcome To My World (feat. Naevis)" was their pre-release single and it showcases a darker, moodier Aespa. I like this song a lot more than I thought I would; it's not a snoozer like I thought it might be. It has a great buildup. It's false advertising to say this is featuring Naevis, though. WHERE IS SHE?!

When I first heard the teaser for the title track "Spicy," I was afraid I wouldn't like it— the teaser showcased a part of the song that sounded very un-Aespa and reminded me a lot of an Itzy title track. Nothing against Itzy, they're very talented and I think they make good music, but it's just not to my personal taste. But that part of the song is a very small section of the post-chorus, and the only part of the song I don't like. There's this awesome zipper bass that starts immediately and thrums deliciously throughout the song. It reminds me a lot of "Next Level's" bass, which I loved. It's not my favorite song from them, but it's grown on me a lot and I didn't even dislike it in the first place.

"Salty and Sweet" is one of those songs that just shouldn't work but does anyways. It's ridiculously catchy and has a little bit of an edge. It's like "Illusion's" younger sister, and I loved that song. "Thirsty" is a real standout, laid back and calm without being boring. There are some really good vocal moments on this song too, from Ningning and Karina (surprising, since she's more of a dancer). "I'm Unhappy" is darker and more melancholy. It has this great muffled effect on its piano, which instantly caught my attention. This song has a great buildup and crescendos to a frenzied pace. The album then closes out with the respectable pop-ballad, "'Till We Meet Again." I will never listen to it again but it's a perfectly fine song.

Overall, I'm a little sad that they've dropped their original concept, but there's always time for them to pick it back up. Aespa have talked about how this album doesn't have lore because it's essentially a "vacation" for them after defeating the Black Mamba in "Girls," and for a beach episode side quest, it's a pretty good album. It's not really an Aespa album, but it's good nonetheless.