REVIEW: TWICE – MORE & MORE

This one, I’m glad I waited to review. Because my opinion has flipped so much on this album.

No, you aren’t seeing double. Like with my “She Is” articles, this is going to be a music review of the album More & More. I’ve previously written a fashion review of the song “More & More”. You can read that here.

I renamed that article to include fashion review, because that’s what it is. And as mentioned in that article, I went from not really liking “More & More” much to loving the English version of it.

By the time we got to Twice’s digital concert, “Twice: World in a Day”, I was hooked on this album. Sometimes Twice songs take a little longer to grow on me. Not all of them are instant hits for me. But it’s way overdue to talk about my thoughts on More & More, so let’s get into it!

More & More

I still love and listen to the English version more. I think my initial reaction to this song was because I wasn’t that into “Dance The Night Away” or “Alcohol Free”, although I do like “Alcohol Free” more now. My thoughts on “Dance The Night Away” are about the same, lol.

2018 Twice era was kinda the Dark Ages for me. I just was not feelin it. And I think this song releasing in 2020 gave me war flashbacks, lmao. Like we made so much progress, why are we going backwards?

But it wasn’t that. I think they just wanted another fun anthem. Sistar left the queens of the summer title open, so Twice wanting a shot at claiming the freed title I guess.

I love EDM/tropical house tracks. And I do think everything about this song is the better execution of this genre. I didn’t know Bibi participated in the lyrics. We have J.Y. Park back in lyrics as well.

I think most Kpoppies around this time know about Zara Larsson‘s participation in this song. That was pretty heavily promoted at the time. My favorite song with her on it is still Tinie Timpah’s “Girls Like“.

I feel like Zara Larsson is definitely more of a Euro household name than in the US. Julia Michaels is also a name I gotta mention. Western pop fans probably know her best from her solo song “Issues” but she’s written and provided a ton of behind the scenes stuff in the music industry for a while now.

This song just screams preparing for US debut. I still love the styling this era. I love a good Boho, music festival vibe.

Oxygen

My second favorite song from More & More. This was one of the songs that when I sat down to listen to this album in full, I was immediately obsessed with this song.

Of course, another JQ Makeumine Works track. I love this man/company’s work so much.

“Oxygen” sounds closer to the Twice we’re used to when it comes to these slightly slower tempo tracks you can still dance to.

But another track I feel is underrated. A top 20 b-side for sure.

Firework

My least listened to song out of my main go tos from this album. I love the Latin elements on this song. I gotta bring this one into rotation more.

There’s a surprising amount of 8D Entertainment producers/songwriters on this track. 3/5 are connected to 8D. You can see the full list here.

Make Me Go

Oooo a Nayeon written track! The bass on this track steals the show. I love the cool and mature vibe of the instrumentals on this song. Kinda feels like something you’d hear in a fashion show. Or maybe a club in a major city.

I just love it. So different from the previous songs on this album. Perfect transition into the rest of the album because there’s definitely a tonal shift.

Shadow

One of my favorite Twice songs EVER. And guess who arranged it? LDN Noise. I nearly fell out of my seat while writing this article. EVERY FREAKIN TIME. It’s allllllways LDN Noise making my favorite Kpop tracks. At this point, I’m their biggest fan, lmaooo.

My first introduction to this song was them performing it on “Twice: World in a Day”. I wish there was an official clip of this performance on YouTube from their official account. It was a pretty simple performance with the camera continuously tracking the members. The closest I can find is this video.

The parts with the girls in white and silver is from that concert. I think the additional footage was to prevent getting copyright claimed or something by JYPE. But I was in awe of this performance. It was so stripped down and elegant. I loved the shimmer and lighting used. Just chef’s kiss.

Anyway, prior to me learning this information, I just thought this was a banger and listened to it constantly. Wait… this is still how I feel about it. I love the vocals and adlibs in “Shadow”. It feels ethereal, and I think that specific performance of it encapsulated it perfectly.

At the end of all this, I’ll have a list of my ultimate Twice tracks, but know this one will totally be on there.

Update 7/4/2024: I found a screenshot I took of Sana (of course, lol) during this performance while cleaning out photos in my Google Photos.

Don’t Call Me Again

A tuuuuune. I don’t listen to this song nearly as much as I should. I forgot how good it is. I love the horns and the repetition of, “don’t call me again”.

I don’t see much talk about this one either. I think we’re all kinda sleepin on this one.

Sweet Summer Day

And another shift in sound. Kinda funny to end with either of these songs. I guess it’s a better choice to end on a high, happy note.

I don’t listen to this one much either, and I gotta change that. I love when I work on articles like these and re-rediscover songs to freshen up my music playlists.

Jeongyeon and Chaeyoung both have writing credits on this one. Let’s gooooo.

I didn’t include every one who worked on these tracks. But you can check out the Wiki or, for a bit more detail, the Discogs page. You can also read a bit more on awards and other background on this era with Twice on the Wiki, too. It’s a good starting point.

But what are y’alls favorite song or songs from this album? I forgot how much I love it. And it’s not that old as of writing. This was definitely me getting back into my active Once era though. But yeah, let me know your thoughts in the comments.

The fashion review again on “More & More” is here.

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See ya next post!

Ash💫