Buried Treasure: Seventeen – Anyone

A K-pop group’s title track isn’t always the best song on their album, even if it’s the one most people will hear. Sometimes, b-sides deserve recognition too. In the singles-oriented world of K-pop, I want to spotlight some of these buried treasures and give them the props they deserve.

Seventeen’s Ready To Love appears to be more polarizing than I would have expected. I’m still not completely sure how it will age for me. My review yesterday may have been a bit too generous, but we’ll see what happens in a couple of weeks. After all, that’s just in time for my annual “Risers and Fallers” feature to be published!

Opinion seems far less divided on b-sides Heaven’s Cloud and Anyone. I agree that they’re both incredibly strong — neck-and-neck when it comes to my own personal feelings. I think the performance team’s Wave is also very solid. In fact, the whole album is enjoyable.

In the end, Anyone feels like the more striking of the two songs. I love how seamlessly it weaves rock influences into Seventeen’s sound. And that chorus? For me, it’s the album’s strongest melody. It surges with atmospheric drama, tugging in all the right places. It’s simultaneously emotional and rhythmic, which can be a hard combo to pull off. The first time it pops up, the song almost stops in its tracks. The air clears, and that refrain holds us captive. But, I’m even more enamored with the beat drop that follows. Laced with haunting guitar, it conjures a fantastic groove – slightly menacing as that bass creeps along.

I wouldn’t usually care for verse two’s languid delivery, but I think it works very well within the context of a song like this. And for those missing a defining climax in Ready To Love, Anyone delivers the power-note-infused bridge you were hoping for. Still, it’s all about that chorus/beat drop combo for me.

Hooks 9 Production 9 Longevity 9 Bias 9 RATING 9

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