Music Album Review: IVE - LOVE DIVE

IVE - LOVE DIVE BEN NIVERA

1.) LOVE DIVE

Ah, where do I start with this. At first listen, Love Dive sounds like your typical KPop song; catchy and momentous. But then you listen to it again….and again….then again, until you just can’t stop listening to it. As you listen to it repetitively, you’ll slowly realize how great this song truly is: a mix of great instrumentals and vocals.

First of all, I don’t know what type of percussion plays throughout the whole song(the sort of snapping and clapping sounds), but I LOVE it. The song is started by the group’s leader, Yujin. First verse and second verse sound very good; they highlight the vocal ability of several members despite being accompanied by “loud” instrumentals. What shocked me the most was Rei's part. She’s the group’s rapper, but her singing voice really amazed me.

The pre-chorus, especially before the 2nd chorus, is CHILLING. The harmonies during that part of the song are too good for one’s ear to hear. The somewhat lower-toned “ooooh’s” playing and Wonyoung’s “high” and “girly” vocals truly complement each other, creating a formidable and chilling pre-chorus. Also, can we talk about Gaeul and Rei’s “It’s so bad, it’s good”?

Then here comes the chorus. First line plays, and you’re already hooked. “Narcissistic, my god I love it,” is something you don’t expect to hear from kpop, but to my surprise, it works! During the song, the line is said by two people; Wonyoung and Leeseo. The contrast between the way they say it truly alleviates the song. Wonyoung says it in a sassier way while Leeseo says it in a menacing type of way. Liz follows and in Gen Z terms, I say, “she did not disappoint”. You’ll think that the chorus is done at this point; you’re gonna feel like it was too short and a little boring…..then comes the drop. The same harmonies from the pre-chorus return but louder and I guess with more layers added to it. Who would’ve thought that those heavenly harmonies in the pre-chorus would sound even greater during the chorus? The second chorus also has an interesting approach on the first chorus’ drop, which I’ll leave for your ears to listen to.

If I were to rate it, it would be a “my god I love it”/10.

2.) ROYAL

I’ll say it right from the start Diamonds and Gold/10. What better way to follow a good title track than to follow it up with a great bside. I won’t say much about this song because honestly, I don’t know what’s happening here but I love it; so I’ll leave it for you to listen to and be amazed. This is somewhat lazy of me, but I really want you to hear this song on your own. I don’t know what this computer generated sound is(It’s pretty common in K-POP), but I love it; it’s a great foundation for the song. Both 1st verse and 2nd verse are really good. Just like LOVE DIVE, both verses highlight the vocals of several members.

Here we go again with the pre-choruses. I have two words that somewhat summarizes both pre-choruses: HIGH NOTE. I thought we’re done with the pre chorus…I thought that LOVE DIVE’s pre-chorus was good enough for this album. Jokes aside, Royal’s pre-chorus did not disappoint. Both members who sang it did a great job in delivering those lines.

I won’t talk much about the chorus, all I’m going to say is that it’s very catchy and if not careful, it could easily get stuck in your head. In my experience, ever since I’ve listened to this song, it’s like I have a broken record inside of my head just repeating this part. As an icing on top of the cake, they end the chorus with a blast of vocals from Liz. Wow.

The raps speak for themselves. I feel like the song(Royal) without the raps would still be great, but the raps just complete the song. It feels like they add another 100 to an already 100/100 song. Rei and Gaeul really did a good job in composing and delivering their raps.

I’d also like to commend the ad libs near the end of the song, the song wouldn’t be complete without those ad libs and they sounded really good and prominent despite being layered below the vocals.