\n<\/p>\n
Jennie also finds a way to call back to her foundation in the group \u2014 \u201cLike Jennie\u201d is a wild dance-floor romp, produced partly by Diplo, that futurizes the Blackpink sound, and features some of Jennie\u2019s toughest rapping. \u201cMantra\u201d is a slightly smoothed-out, commercial-ready version of that approach, with a burst of vintage electro thrown in for good measure.<\/p>\n
The moments of novelty on this album are more impressive, though, particularly \u201cStart a War,\u201d which Jennie tackles with the haughtiness of vintage Rihanna. \u201cWith the IE (Way Up)\u201d sparkles with the same sample made famous by, depending on your scene history, Jennifer Lopez\u2019s \u201cJenny From the Block\u201d or \u201cWatch Out Now\u201d by the Beatnuts, both credibility markers in their own way. Most striking is the R&B groove Jennie settles into on the album\u2019s back half \u2014 Bibi Bourelly, who\u2019s written hits for Rihanna, has songwriting credit on several of these tracks.<\/p>\n
All these big gestures and affiliations \u2014 they\u2019re a boom indicator, a sign of a healthy budget. A sign of music industry belief in the possibility of something grand, or great, or maybe even both. (Each member is signed to a different label \u2014 Ros\u00e9 to Atlantic, Jennie to Columbia, Jisoo to Warner, Lisa to RCA.)<\/p>\n
There\u2019s some of that on Ros\u00e9\u2019s album \u201cRosie,\u201d as well, notably in the breakout pop smash \u201cAPT.,\u201d a freewheeling and sometimes silly duet with Bruno Mars<\/a> that riffs on Toni Basil\u2019s \u201cMickey\u201d and went to No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.<\/p>\n Broadly speaking, though, as compared to Lisa and Jennie, Ros\u00e9 and Jisoo appear to be in something like a retreat from the shadow of Blackpink. \u201cRosie\u201d is curiously a musically tame album. Ros\u00e9 instead emphasizes her big vocals, pointing to a talent that translates in and out of her group. \u201cNumber One Girl\u201d is a quaintly melodramatic piano ballad about wanting to be accepted. \u201cTwo Years\u201d and \u201cToxic Till the End\u201d are back-to-back Taylor Swift homages, to her \u201cFolklore\u201d and \u201cLover\u201d eras.<\/p>\n \u201cRosie\u201d features big-name producers like Omer Fedi, Rog\u00e9t Chahayed, Greg Kurstin and Cirkut; Allen has writing credits here, too. But they all add up to something quite different than on Jennie and Lisa\u2019s albums. The firmness of Ros\u00e9\u2019s voice shines through on this LP, which is the best and most consistent of these releases. With its commitment to starkness, it almost recalls a polished take on Lilith Fair-era pop<\/a>, with galvanic feeling triumphing over filigree.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n