The second half of the Rock-Star album has a flowy sound that is smooth to the ears. Two of the songs on the second half of the album are remixes of previous songs. “Social PathP,” a song that was originally sung in Japanese, features LISA, a Japanese pop singer who is known for singing the intro to the anime Demon Slayer. The second remix is a remix of the song “LALALALA” which has a rock take on backing instrumentals.
Track five: “Cover me”
Lee Felix starts the song with a line that sets the theme: “Dari ireoke nunbusineun bamen” which means “On nights when the moon is so dazzling.” The song shares themes of loneliness and is mainly sung instead of using the normal Stray Kid’s format.
Christopher Bang Chan sings the line “dari ireoke nunbusinenun bamen nuga jeo bicheul garyeojugil oechyeo” which means “on a night when the moon is this dazzling, I cry out for someone to cover the light” which is a continuation of the hook of the song.
I particularly like this song because the vocalization shows the range of all of the members. It shows that the characters aren’t just a dark pop band. This song places 4th on my ranking of this album. As much as I love the song, it isn’t something I would put on my everyday playlist.
Track Six: “Leave”
Track six starts with a calming guitar melody. Once Kim Suengmin starts to sing, it expands with an added beat. After Suengmin and Yang Jeongin sing the hook, Seo Changbin and Han Jisung rap.
Lee Minho sings the chorus, which is a mirror image of the hook. The lines “Oh baby, please don’t hurt me nal ulliji ma. Neol saranghaetdeon maeumeul ajik mot jiwotjiman,” which translates to “Oh baby, please don’t hurt me. Don’t make me cry. Though I still got love for you and haven’t gotten over you yet,” are sung with grace and elegance.
This song has grown on me but still places fifth on my overall ranking. I love the lyrics and the instrumental-based sound they went for, but it doesn’t compete with the other songs on the album.
Track Seven: “Social Path [Korean Version]”
“Social Path” starts immediately with Felix with the lines “Gave up my youth for my future. I just want to rise up stronger.” The song takes on a happy backing track but it is not to be mistaken as a happy song as the lyrics tackle topics such as anxiety.
This song places 6th on my ranking. Barely anything was added and it is pretty much the same as the Japanese version. I like the Japanese version better anyway. But it is still a bop in my book
Track Eight: “LALALALA (rock ver.)”
Track 8 is the final song of the album. This song is simply a remix of the title track “LALALALA.” The lyrics of the song are completely the same as the original song. The only thing different about it is the backing tracks. The beginning of the track is nice, but the more you listen to the song it feels a little bit extra. The electric guitar build-up of the pre-chorus is amazing though. I wish it was simply in the middle of the original and rock versions.
Because of that, this song places last for me. I simply don’t find myself going out of the way to listen to this song.
You can stream the album Rock-Star for yourself on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, and many more platforms. I can’t wait to see what Stray Kids have in store next.
