[Review] SWIM – BTS

ICYMI – BTS made their grand, long-awaited return at the end of last week with the single SWIM and their 5th studio album, ARIRANG. Their last official release as a group, before going on hiatus due to mandatory military enlistments, was the single Take Two, released in 2023. Rest assured that, while it has taken me a couple of days to review the new track (I was out of town), I didn’t forget about it and checked it out upon its release. It is pretty hard to miss BTS’ comeback, especially since it was so highly anticipated by many (myself included).

While SWIM features the familiar vocals and rapping of BTS (more on this later on), I would best describe the alternative pop song as a fairly pleasant release. While ‘pleasant’ is commonly a positive descriptor, I have previously used it in a manner that isn’t as positive, and I think SWIM falls into this grouping – ‘pleasant’ in the context of SWIM is neutral and beige. The synth work in the instrumental was pretty lacklustre and didn’t do much to help make the song memorable. I think its intent was to be atmospheric, and at times it definitely achieved that. But as a whole piece, it just doesn’t hit the mark. Nor was there much of a strong hook. The repetition of the song’s title does a bit of work, but it is best described as beige. However, there are some good things out of SWIM. I did enjoy the song’s more melodic touch, with the flow mimicking the sound of peaceful crashing waves. And I enjoyed the raspy, husky vocals throughout the song. Altogether, it was nice to hear BTS again after a long time, but SWIM was neither the track nor the style I was expecting for their grand return.

Most of the action in the music video was by the female lead, who I believe was holding herself back and unable to get past life’s obstacles (i.e., being stuck on a boat, the waves). But with the help of BTS (through some captaining and sailoring), she navigates through the waves and takes command of her journey forward. My take on the video is based on SOOMPI’s interpretation of SWIM‘s lyrics, which was reported in this article. I honestly wished we saw more of the BTS members throughout the video, given its is their big comeback. But it was still a nice video nonetheless.

The performance accentuates the song’s smoothness. There isn’t much else to say about the choreography, given that SWIM isn’t a performance-based song.

Song – 7/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 7/10
Overall Rating – 7.6/10