The Rose was formed a bit differently to most K-pop groups, because they aren’t exactly K-pop. They fall more in the category of an indie-rock band, with Woosung doing vocals and guitar, Dojoon on keyboard, Hajoon on drums, and Jaehyeong on bass. They also met organically while busking and then joined a company already formed, rather than the company putting them together. They later left that company and began their own, which they still work under.

Here are my credentials: I’m absolutely a fan of The Rose, enough to consider myself a Black Rose (their fandom name), although I’ve only been one for four months or so. I’ve heard most of their songs, and liked basically all of them, but since I’m going to see them in concert soon, I figured I should get to know their b-sides and so they’d be a good choice to be my first supplemental. Two birds, one stone, sort of thing. Let’s get started!

EP #1: Void

They were a band for a few years before, but officially debuted in mid-2017, with the song Sorry. Sorry is different from many k-pop songs of the time; it’s slower and feels more grown-up, not in the least because it’s an apology, which, contrary to public opinion, is one of the most grown-up things a person can do. By the time everyone’s voices came in in the last chorus, I was completely invested. The combination of the guitar and very obvious piano was lovely, and I especially liked the piano solo at the end.

Like We Used To, the other song from this first single, also falls into the emotional indie rock category, but focuses more on the electric guitar and is a little more upbeat. I like them both, but this one just a little bit more. Also, I love Woosung’s voice. It’s not a “usual” k-pop voice at all; it’s a little raspy and incredibly emotive, and doesn’t sound the same in every song, which, speaking as someone who sings (albeit not this publicly), is harder than you’d think

For another quick digression…The clear emotion on display here in both of these songs is precisely one of the reasons that I think more k-pop idols should be given the ability to write their own songs, because when they sing them, it feels so much more genuine and they can bring their own thoughts to life in exactly the way that they want to.

I.L.Y starts much slower than the other singles so far, which makes sense given the subject matter and the very careful vulnerability portrayed. For an indie rock band, I really appreciate how much they use and center their piano and the quiet guitar plucking and a-capella in the last verse. I liked it, but didn’t love it.

From Void, the EP, I had trouble choosing between Candy and Baby, so I’ll talk about them both. Candy is chill and the guitar gives me gentle surf rock vibes. Baby, meanwhile, is also emotional rock, although leans more into the outright rock than the other songs have before, to great effect. Unlike a lot of rock songs, it has time to breathe between those great choruses.

Single #1: Red

Red feels more like a K-pop song than the others before (which I want to stress isn’t a bad thing). I liked this one right away, from the more electronic production to the clapping in the background to the anthemic nature of the chorus. I especially enjoyed how pared back the instrumental is in the verses, how it builds in the pre-chorus, and how it lets loose in the chorus, especially the last one. California, the b-side, is a bit more calm, and feels like a road trip song.

It’s not technically a single, but I wanted to give a shoutout to Strangers, their OST for the k-drama Strangers From Hell, because its tense building fits perfectly, and I had no idea when I watched it the first time, which is quite funny in hindsight.

EP #2: Dawn

She’s In The Rain has an acoustic background that I wasn’t expecting after the electric driven ones before, and I really liked how it kept their central sound but expanded upon it, using the same components but in such a different way. It’s such a lovely message of solidarity to anyone going through a difficult time and the change in the choruses between “I’m in to the rain” to “she’s in the rain” to “we’re in the rain” really affected me, especially as they all start to sing. I loved this one.

Black Rose is a special song for their fans that they made right before Dojoon, Hajoon, and Jaehyeong enlisted for military service. Song-wise it actually isn’t one of my favorites, but meaning-wise it never fails to touch me. Plus, the movie video is so sweet that it won me over. Basically, it’s not a song I’ll search for on my own, but if it comes up on my playlist, I’m not going to skip it. I quite like the “love is the way” ending too.

My favorite b-side from Dawn, the EP, was definitely Take Me Down, which was actually the first song I ever heard of theirs. I love the melodic vocalizing that bookends it and especially the last chorus.

Single #2: Beauty & The Beast

Beauty & The Beast is their first song after their return from military service and I think it’s one of their best combinations of melancholy vocals, guitar, and piano. It has an excellent build-up (that’s earned), with each verse and chorus just a little brighter and happier than the one before, and just like the original fairytale, it feels like it pulls you out of the darkness.

Album #1: Heal

Cure is backed by a sunny piano and thundering drums, and its message of enjoying the world wholeheartedly, whatever the context, really touched me. It’s a way of life that I try to embrace when I can. I enjoy the gentle acoustic guitar in the chorus and of course, the anthemic vocalizing, especially towards the end. It’s probably one of the ones I’m most excited to see live.

Childhood is a gut punch of a song that, despite being so quiet with such minimal instrumentation, had me hooked from the first verse. By the time of the bridge, I had stopped my multitasking and just sat there for a minute to think about it and process, which in my view is the mark of an excellent song. As has been clear since the beginning of my time reviewing, I am, first and foremost, a sap. Give me a song about friendship or growing up and I’m a mess on the floor.

Sour is almost ethereal in its blurred blend of guitar, vocals, and drums, and I liked it more than I thought I would. It’s the lead single from the album and I admit I liked the other two singles better. That doesn’t mean I don’t like this one, which I did, especially the breakdown and the ending, but it feels like it’s in the middle of the quietness of Childhood and the loudness of Cure and it doesn’t quite find the right path to take.

Hidden gems from Heal are definitely Yes (whose feature I enjoyed more than I thought I would) and Time (which balances sadness and maturity so well) , with a special shoutout to the a-capella section in Definition Of Ugly Is. Shoutout to the intros and outros from both Heal and Dual by the way, they really help give them balance.

Album #2: Dual

Clearly I didn’t know what I was talking about when I called Sour ethereal because You’re Beautiful is practically the dictionary definition of the word. It’s so atmospheric that it feels like floating, and the lyrics add to it perfectly. This is a perfect example of a song that achieves exactly what it sets out to do, knows exactly what it is, and is still exactly not for me. I enjoy songs like this in certain contexts, but I have to remember that they exist when I’m in a certain state of mind or I won’t enjoy them the right way. So this is more of a personal preference thing.

Alive, like Sour, fits right in between the softer, slower track of You’re Beautiful and the jump-up-and-down rock of Back To Me, but I feel like it still manages to carve out its own route that sets it apart. It’s…how can I say this without making myself sound five hundred years old…groovy? Well that didn’t work. But I don’t know a better word to describe it. It had me nodding my head and feeling like I should be listening to it walking down a city street in a party dress. I especially liked how odd it is, with the off-beat instrumental, chopped vocals, and electronic breakdown before the end.

Back To Me is my favorite song from this album, and despite not being the first song I listened to of theirs, is the one that made me a Black Rose and the one that made me immediately think of buying tickets and phoning my friend to make him come along when I heard that they were doing a tour. I’ve called so many of their songs anthemic, but like “ethereal” with Sour and You’re Beautiful, the word has no meaning until you hear this song. It got stuck in my head from my first listen, then made its way onto my running playlist, and then just became an absolute favorite. That chorus is golden, and they all sound like they’re having the time of their lives when performing it, which only makes me like it more.

My hidden gems from the album are Lifeline (which has a more understated catchiness), Eclipse (for its sense of grandeur and classical background), and Nauseous, (for making me genuinely laugh.)

Verdict: TL;DR

So, as is becoming a theme here, I’m very glad I did this. I’m surprised by how many songs I actually hadn’t heard of theirs, so it’s good that I know them now, and it made me both appreciate the diversity in their work more, and appreciate the evolution of their sound. It’s hard to keep every song feeling like “yours” while also diversifying, but I would say they did a pretty great job.

My top 5 songs of theirs are Back To Me (shocking I know), Cure, Red, Childhood, and She’s In The Rain. Honorable mention goes to Eclipse. The Rose gets a 9/10 from me, which I can acknowledge is personal bias. But, I think that everyone should check them out. If nothing else, I’d wager you’d find yourself at least one new song to enjoy. As for me, I’m watching their Mindset series for Dive studios, and I have a couple more singles to memorize since I’m now even more excited to see them live (with, of course, the friend that I dragged along, love you, man).

Next week I’ll be doing a female soloist and Part 2 of the BTS deep dive, so stay tuned. Tschüss!