Song Review: TREASURE – Bona Bona

With every passing preview of its many album tracks, TREASURE’s ambitious 2nd full album “REBOOT” quietly became one of my most anticipated releases of the year. Each track seemed like a breathe of fresh air and brought a sense of personality that resonated with the kind of energy I had been craving for recently. And while the album no doubt has its fair share of fantastic efforts (G.O.A.T is an utter revelation) title track Bona Bona unfortunately ends up emblematic of YG’s worst instincts.

The sad part is that there’s an absolutely outstanding song hidden under here. That opening minute and first verse especially are phenomenal, harnessing a glitchy electronic energy that’s so perfectly conducive to the classic k-pop dance sounds of old. It caught me off guard in the best way possible, punctuated with an energetic performance that worked as a wonderful conduit for the dynamic connective tissue. Given a more ideal world, these segments would be expanded upon to deliver an utterly transcendent centrepiece, one that harnessed the euphoria and magic of dance and breathe new life into the fading magnetism and energy of K-pop’s current tepid landscape.

Unfortunately, Bona Bona pulls a Blackpink and absolutely collapses during its centrepiece. The attempt at bombast is commendable however comes across as much more flimsy and forgettable than I had both hoped for or expected. It aims for Wonderland but ends up at Kill This Love, a comparison that unfortunately does not bode well for the track. The performances do much to salvage the lack of any concrete melody or meat but there’s only so much It can do when the producers are so intent on sabotaging an otherwise excellent collection of surrounding elements. Other tracks on the album show that TREASURE can no doubt deliver a killer hype track (once again looking at you G.O.A.T) so the choice to kill the centrepiece and in turn, much of the song, is truly baffling.

Verses: 8

Chorus: 6

Production: 6

Performance: 9

Final Rating:  7.25 / 10