“Swim” Slows BTS Down After Their Four-Year Hiatus

BTS BTS K-POP GROUP BTS is a seven–member South Korean boy group known for their powerful performances, self-produced music, and global impact across pop and hip-hop. have been running their whole career. Since their debut, “No More Dream,” was released in 2013, the seven members have always been go, go, go. Even one of their last performances — “Run BTS BTS K-POP GROUP BTS is a seven–member South Korean boy group known for their powerful performances, self-produced music, and global impact across pop and hip-hop. ” from their “<Yet to Come> in BUSAN” concert — was all about how being bulletproof, or being BTS BTS K-POP GROUP BTS is a seven–member South Korean boy group known for their powerful performances, self-produced music, and global impact across pop and hip-hop. , meant needing to keep running forward. 

“Swim” slows BTS BTS K-POP GROUP BTS is a seven–member South Korean boy group known for their powerful performances, self-produced music, and global impact across pop and hip-hop. down — both in a positive way and a detrimental way. There are some redeeming qualities about the underwhelming title track from their new album Arirang: It’s easy to listen to, as it relies on a swaying melody and smooth vocals. There’s also a simple hook (“Swim, swim / Water falling off your skin”) for the all-English track, which makes it a simple song to digest and start to hum at random times throughout the day. 

BTS BTS K-POP GROUP BTS is a seven–member South Korean boy group known for their powerful performances, self-produced music, and global impact across pop and hip-hop. beg an unknown person to come back to them, but time isn’t an issue. As J-Hope raps in his verse, “Under here, we don’t chase the time.” For a group that took off globally six years into their career, no longer needing to charge full force ahead may come as a relief. If we also want to go the metaphor route, swimming works the whole body while allowing you to shut out the world, focus on the motions, and just breathe.

But the shortcomings of “Swim” outweigh the limited positives. The most commonly seen critique is how the track is sung totally in English. Some say this is disappointing since the band touted how Arirang is a return to their roots, which many interpreted as a return to more Korean lyrics. However, it’s only when this all-English is combined with other issues that it becomes more worrying. (After all, who are we to judge which language an artist wants to express themselves? Especially when it’s a language they’re not fluent in, and they’re making an effort.) 

BTS BTS K-POP GROUP BTS is a seven–member South Korean boy group known for their powerful performances, self-produced music, and global impact across pop and hip-hop. created their comeback album during a songwriting camp in Los Angeles. During the two-month period, the seven members joined up with veteran songwriters and producers like Ryan Tedder, Diplo, Tyler Spry, El Guincho, and JPEGMAFIA. For an album that was touted as bringing the group’s Korean heritage to the forefront, there were a lot of white people and western pop music styles in the room. This begs the question: Who is BTS BTS K-POP GROUP BTS is a seven–member South Korean boy group known for their powerful performances, self-produced music, and global impact across pop and hip-hop. and Hybe hoping to reach with this lead single? 

In “Swim” alone, nine people were involved in creating the track. RM was the only BTS BTS K-POP GROUP BTS is a seven–member South Korean boy group known for their powerful performances, self-produced music, and global impact across pop and hip-hop. member, though apparently he was quite involved in the lyric writing. Just like when we reviewed Map of the Soul: 7, were there too many cooks in the kitchen? 

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Production-wise, “Swim” is one of BTS BTS K-POP GROUP BTS is a seven–member South Korean boy group known for their powerful performances, self-produced music, and global impact across pop and hip-hop. ’ less impressive title tracks. There are some faint strings in the final chorus, which add a different texture. But the sharp percussive element repeating throughout takes the attention away from softness of the vocals, besides the harsh vocal processing which also dampens their distinct vocal colors. Maybe you could argue this is intentional contrast; yet, this sharpness appears frequently throughout the album and the band’s last few albums. Nothing in “Swim” really sparks “BTS BTS K-POP GROUP BTS is a seven–member South Korean boy group known for their powerful performances, self-produced music, and global impact across pop and hip-hop. ” in the first (or second or even third) listen. 

Even more issues permeate in the MV. Directed by Tanu Muiño, “Swim” was reportedly filmed off the coast of Portugal. It’s shot beautifully, adding a film-like quality, which is fitting for the sea adventure the members have embarked on in this narrative. This impression is fleeting, just like the first listen of the track itself. Some fans have likened it to an extended perfume commercial, an unfortunately apt description. 

The larger question is why they seem to center whiteness in the MV. In the second teaser, a woman stares at a ship model in a museum. BTS BTS K-POP GROUP BTS is a seven–member South Korean boy group known for their powerful performances, self-produced music, and global impact across pop and hip-hop. fans guessed it was Lili Reinhart — of “Riverdale” fame — and they were correct. The actress opens and concludes the MV, as she time travels to BTS BTS K-POP GROUP BTS is a seven–member South Korean boy group known for their powerful performances, self-produced music, and global impact across pop and hip-hop. ’ ship-bound adventure and then back to the present day. Reinhart ends up being the main character in the anticipated comeback that has been nealry four years in the making. 

We could argue that BTS BTS K-POP GROUP BTS is a seven–member South Korean boy group known for their powerful performances, self-produced music, and global impact across pop and hip-hop. wanted an outsider of Korean history to help viewers to enter this new(er) world. But choosing a white person to be that bridge points to who exactly Big Hit Music/BTS BTS K-POP GROUP BTS is a seven–member South Korean boy group known for their powerful performances, self-produced music, and global impact across pop and hip-hop. want to target through this MV. 

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Reinhart’s character explores below deck and above deck with both a sense of wonder and a sense of familiarity. She’s caught simultaneously in the past — echoes of what happened on that ship appear during her suggestive dance break — and the ghost of the present. She feels BTS BTS K-POP GROUP BTS is a seven–member South Korean boy group known for their powerful performances, self-produced music, and global impact across pop and hip-hop. as she bumps into V in the hallway and catches a glimpse of Jin in the mirror, but she isn’t privy to their complete story. 

Looking, listening, and reflecting a little longer on the “Swim” MV reveals details that perhaps redeem the title track choice — but only to a certain degree. Ahead of the release, Hybe published an animated trailer for Arirang. The video drew inspiration from the seven Korean students who attended Howard University, one of the United States’ historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), and became the voices behind the first-known recording of “Arirang” in 1896. (It’s worth noting that this recording is not the standard version that appears in BTS BTS K-POP GROUP BTS is a seven–member South Korean boy group known for their powerful performances, self-produced music, and global impact across pop and hip-hop. ’ “Body to Body,” according to a Korean ethnomusicologist.)

While the song’s production doesn’t inspire much more than “sounds nice,” there is one lyric that stands out. There’s a sadness in how BTS BTS K-POP GROUP BTS is a seven–member South Korean boy group known for their powerful performances, self-produced music, and global impact across pop and hip-hop. — namely V and his low timbre, Jungkook, and Jin — deliver “I could spend my lifetime watching you.” There’s also a deep sense of longing as the note coinciding with “watching” extends further than the others. BTS BTS K-POP GROUP BTS is a seven–member South Korean boy group known for their powerful performances, self-produced music, and global impact across pop and hip-hop. point to an uncrossable distance, maybe a nod to their distance from making music as seven or spending nearly four years apart from their beloved Army. They can only watch; they themselves cannot be seen. And that means no, or very little, acknowledgement or human-to-human connection. 

The members leave sporadic clues in “Swim,” which touch on this idea and tradition of “Arirang.” Jungkook steers the ship, his eyes firmly locked on the horizon ahead. He spins the wheel, perhaps leading a redirection the band needed, and pulls the interior gadget along the full length of the “voraus” command. In German, “voraus” means “ahead.” When the quick shot is paired with Jimin’s delivery of “I just wanna dive,” BTS BTS K-POP GROUP BTS is a seven–member South Korean boy group known for their powerful performances, self-produced music, and global impact across pop and hip-hop. emphasize their preparedness to go full steam ahead. 

One detail that’s classic BTS BTS K-POP GROUP BTS is a seven–member South Korean boy group known for their powerful performances, self-produced music, and global impact across pop and hip-hop. is the note in Morse code. Jin hands RM the slip of paper in the captain’s cabin, and RM gets right to work. For those who did some detective work, the note says “NORMAL,” which is one of their new tracks with lyrics that question the pressure they face every day. BTS BTS K-POP GROUP BTS is a seven–member South Korean boy group known for their powerful performances, self-produced music, and global impact across pop and hip-hop. challenge listeners to think about what is normal. Are their experiences “normal?” 

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They continue to lightly question what you see and what you don’t. The camera follows Reinhart in a one shot as she runs in between the frozen members. They’re there, but also not. They can be better likened to memories that remain on the ship. While Reinhart does return to her present — soaking wet and with a cheeky grin on her face — perhaps BTS BTS K-POP GROUP BTS is a seven–member South Korean boy group known for their powerful performances, self-produced music, and global impact across pop and hip-hop. ’ story can be carried even further now.

In the opening of the MV, the members prepare the S.S. Arirang, hoist sails, and set their direction. Around halfway, they brace for strong wind and rough waves (together, of course) as they put their backs into running the ship. The last shot of BTS BTS K-POP GROUP BTS is a seven–member South Korean boy group known for their powerful performances, self-produced music, and global impact across pop and hip-hop. focuses on how they’re all of one mind and body as to where they’re headed next. They stand on the starboard side of the ship and look beyond the frame towards that next adventure. 

“Arirang” is a folk song that has endured. It’s a piece of culture and connection carried through time and throughout generations. There are touches of this in “Swim,” but not enough to be a worthy herald of BTS BTS K-POP GROUP BTS is a seven–member South Korean boy group known for their powerful performances, self-produced music, and global impact across pop and hip-hop. ’ long-awaited comeback. 

In the title track they sing, “I just wanna to dive / I just wanna dive,” but where is that depth they hint at? Where is the risk that comes with diving right in? There are intriguing ideas in “Swim,” and especially in its MV, but they’re never built upon each other to make something particularly meaningful beyond surface-level observations.

The MV also doesn’t make up its mind on what its central thesis is. Is it telling BTS BTS K-POP GROUP BTS is a seven–member South Korean boy group known for their powerful performances, self-produced music, and global impact across pop and hip-hop. ’ story or is it telling their story through the limited lens of this stranger? Perhaps that caution and desire to catch the eyes — and ears — of everyone might have the opposite effect in the end. 

(YouTube. Lyrics via Genius[1][2]. Images via Big Hit Music.)