[Album Review] TWICE ‘Formula of Love’

As one of the most popular artists in the K-Pop industry, girl group Twice of JYP Entertainment seem to be unstoppable.

JYP Entertainment’s nine-piece girl group in their latest Music Video ‘SCIENTIST’. Photo: JYP Entertainment.

With the November 2021 release of their latest full-length album, Formula of Love: O+T=<3, the nine-piece group have solidified their steps in a different direction from their previous bouts of bubblegum, dance, and electronic pop into sounds such as retro-synth, 70s city-pop and even hip-hop.

As a devout K-Pop fan, but not a religious follower of Twice beyond their title tracks, I was intrigued to explore this album in full and see whether they could (in my eyes) live up to the incredibility of their addictively joyous English single The Feels, which runs through my mind at least twice a day without fail.

First on the agenda was the Formula of Love comeback title track SCIENTIST, accompanied by a music video which racked up 39 million views on YouTube in just 3 days. Almost immediately, I was drawn in by the song’s deep bassline and bounce and was reminded of the song’s predecessor, The Feels, which certainly piqued my interest. The visuals were vibrant and beautifully choreographed/edited, whilst the girls themselves looked gorgeous as usual and perfectly told the lyrics’ revelation of how “love ain’t a science!” in a concept that I had never seen before (I especially loved the cutesy Frankenstein segment).

Unfortunately, the track itself struggled to engage me further beyond the snazzy house influenced beat, with the blurred sound between the verses and choruses making it difficult to follow the structure and determine what to latch onto. This is particularly so in comparison with the clear-cut, addictively memorable The Feels (although some of its catchiness could easily be attributed to its English nature and this should certainly be considered).

Upon a second listen, I was stunned at just how much I was sonically reminded of SM Entertainment’s Red Velvet, particularly their 2019 title track Umpah Umpah. The vocals throughout SCIENTIST were a blend of strong and breathy just as Red Velvet’s tend to be and the pre-chorus progression sounded near identical to that of Umpah Umpah, with the background harmonies seeming to be directly lifted from the track.

After confirming that I wasn’t the only person who thought this thanks to a quick Twitter search, I was mostly surprised that I had not enjoyed the Twice track more, seeing as Umpah Umpah stands as my favourite Red Velvet comeback. I suspect this is due to feeling that SCIENTIST was therefore not anything overwhelmingly revolutionary to me, but this made me curious to see whether the rest of the album could offer anything new.

Watch the ‘SCIENTIST’ Music Video.

This was certainly the case, with the album covering an enjoyable range of sounds whilst simultaneously situating itself firmly in the feelgood, powerhouse genre of retro pop.

After the introductory SCIENTIST, the track MOONLIGHT presents more of Twice’s English language skills in a romantic song with both Latin and 80s pop influences reminiscent of Paula Abdul and Gloria Estefan. Although the summery, holiday vibes don’t quite match the time of year of release, the song is charming and certainly begins to highlight for me diversity in the group’s sound. This is built on during ICON, a reggae inspired track that feels confident and quite a bit sultrier than I was expecting from a group like Twice.

Despite a slight repetitiveness and a relatively uninteresting rap section, ICON is an intriguing, bold piece that once again showcases the group’s English whilst giving ONCEs the infectious anthem hook “damn, I got it, I’m iconic”.

The next three tracks on the album, CRUEL, REAL YOU, AND F.I.L.A (Fall In Love Again), jump perfectly into the retro, 70s/80s sounds previously heard in Twice’s previous megahit I Can’t Stop Me, offering everything from thick bass guitar lines, an indulgent anti-drop, gorgeous string segments, falsetto vocals, to Daft Punk-esque disco funk influences.

Despite the three songs sounding similar based on this genre choice, it works well for the group who suit and deliver it so perfectly that it can easily be forgiven — once the songs are on shuffle, the problem is practically solved!

Concept image from "Formula of Love: O+T=<3" BREAK IT version. Photo: JYP Entertainment.

Luckily, LAST WALTZ and ESPRESSO both present a refreshing switch up. The former has an interesting staccato instrumental initially, building on a stripped back guitar to lead into a chorus defined by its stunning vocals and almost eerie feel, then followed by a fascinating second verse that changes constantly to keep you on your toes before ESPRESSO offers an even darker sound.

A mixture of deeper vocals and harmonies with a deep synth line leads to a song that reminded me a little of The Boots by Gugudan if it had been intended for Halloween. The little pauses in the instrumental give it a gorgeous texture, coupled with a ‘call and response’ type of vocal that is just perfect for headphones before a terrific high note towards the song’s end that means I will certainly be thinking about this track for a while. 

REWIND and CACTUS then display Twice’s versatility further, with REWIND being a slower, jazz and R&B inspired song that comes at just the right time as a welcome break in the album’s intensity. The track feels almost autumnal and relaxing, stirring up imagery of sitting in a cosy café in front of the fire with a hot chocolate and a book.

The latter of the two songs shows a different side again, a delicate track until its emotional drum and piano build up that makes it feel like it would fit a coming-of-age musical movie. Whilst its touching nature is not to my personal taste, the track would not sound out of place on an album by Twice’s labelmate Day6 and certainly offers something new for the pop group. 

Concept image from "Formula of Love: O+T=<3" STUDY ABOUT LOVE version. Photo: JYP Entertainment.

The first of three sub-unit songs, PUSH & PULL (Jihyo, Sana, Dahyun) delves straight back into the 80s pop funk sound that practically epitomises the album but with a nice showcase of both vocal ability and rap tones.

HELLO (Nayeon, Momo, Chaeyoung) is perhaps the most jarring and unfortunately my least favourite track on the album, jumping between a trap-based beat with high rap tones, in ITZY style, to a pre-chorus that could be from another song entirely. This is before a straightforward chorus that is near impossible to differentiate from the verses which is disappointing as it is one of the most distinctive on the album.

1, 3, 2 (Jeongyeon, Mina, Tzuyu) steps back into reggae and Latin pop in this vocal focused track that may not be exactly my cup of tea but presents a switch up from the last few songs whilst giving an opportunity for the three members to deliver some reliable vocals.

CANDY helps to round off the album with another retro sound, this time more sugary sweet city-pop that could be easily lost amongst the more intense of the retro tracks if not for its catchy English metaphors and unique delicacy. After the near flawless The Feels as the penultimate track, I was surprised to find that I actually prefer the R3HAB remix of SCIENTIST to the original. It is FAR more distinctive from the retro tracks on the album and has a bouncy, EDM club sound that is not present in the other songs.

This makes it refreshing and a great way to finish off Formula of Love, an overall coherent and confident work that firmly situates Twice’s place as experts of modern retro and demonstrates their ability for darker, less purely pop sounds that I wasn’t aware of before the release of Formula of Love: O+T=<3.

Edited by Chelsea Cheetham.