BLOCK B -- A FEW YEARS LATER

After almost a year and 7 months, Block B returns with a new single "A Few Years Later." Written by Zico and Kyung, Zico also had a hand in arranging and composing the tune. Being a fan of Zico's solo activities, as well as BASTARZ and Block B, I was stoked to see what they'd come up with. Apparently, the single's topped the major real-time music charts in Korea, so they must be doing something right.

"A Few Years Later" starts out with a guitar arrangement, a smooth R&B track. One of the things I like about Block B is the sheer range of their material. They can go from hard to soft at the drop of a hat, cranking out R&B tunes or more familiar pop anthems, each of them sounding authentic and unique.



This is a rather reflective tune, and they're wondering about the relationship; what might have been, and what things may look like in a few years. It's a little different take on it, and the lyrics definitely denote pain.

The vocals on this track are great, and they do a dope job of distance between rappers Zico and Kyung, who all deliver on point sets. P.O. brings an anger and aggression to the lyrics, his deep voice giving the lines a bitterness I did not expect:

"I, who was all yours
Am now a beggar
You, brazenly living and breathing inside me
What can I do to bury you in my heart"

The music rises to meet his vocals, too, with superhuman piano stabs, before quieting down to pensive again.



Frankly, I'm glad I got to hear this now, rather than a few years later.

MV REVIEW

The boys are walking around the city, singing the song. There appears to be little going on, but I love city lights, and do my own wandering after dark. Snow falls (or is that soap chips?), and faces are morose and downcast. They appear lonely, as well, as no one's really there to talk to. There are some nice transitions between the singers, as well, as the next person takes up the vocals after passing the current one. In a key scene, B-Bomb heads down an alley and sees his girlfriend with another guy, and that's when P.O. starts up, raging in a bar. I love how all that all comes together.

There's no dancing, and little plot, though I like the resolution, where they all walk slowly down a snowy highway out of the city. It tells me that, in part, they were trying to tell a story. This is probably one of the more low-key Block B videos I've seen, and so it surprised me a bit. Still, I enjoyed it. There were some nice cityscapes to look at, and I was interested to see them simply, sweetly singing and not blowing up a bank or engaging in some other crazy activity. Was there a whole lot going on? Nope. Did there need to be? Not at all. This was an entirely appropriate and engaging MV.

Score

MV Relevance.......9
MV Production......9
MV Concept..........9
Songwriting..........8
Composition.........9
Impression...........9