This is the most solid release of Big Bang in the series yet. While it's not as fast as some of Big Bang's notably wacky songs, it's still a great listen overall. The drums power through the song and instrumental. Perhaps I've been listening to too many girl groups lately but it's been quite some time since the importance of drums has been utilized to this extent. It seems "Sober" has the proper mix of elements to make it the best Big Bang release so far. The pacing is faster than "Bae Bae," and keeps the energy up unlike "Bang Bang Bang." While I wouldn't label the singing or rapping any better than any of their other songs because they all have different individual flavor, and because the rapping in "Loser" and "Bang Bang Bang" are still really good, the simple truth that the song sounds very together is reason enough to push this as the best. Of course, no song is perfect. The sudden drop at the bridge is a bit awkward at first listen, and the chanting at the end seems like it was purposely lined up for karaoke rather than having the song in mind. Still, "Sober" from start to finish is just a loud and noisy song (in the good way) that you can let loose to time and time again.
The video also sustains Big Bang standards, having a variety of colours, props, camera angles, etc. Worth noting is that the colours are more dull, not as bright or vibrant as perhaps "Fantastic Baby," which helps ease the visuals around when the scenes constantly jump back and forth. I wonder if stalkers / sasaengs have tracked that poor little goat. It didn't do anything wrong, please don't kill it. Daesung's role with the drums was a very nice touch, though they didn't introduce that until later in the song. T.O.P is so animated now, it's still a bit of a shocker but in reality, nice to see this from the usually stoic rapper. Everyone else is at about similar levels of craziness. Like the "We Like 2 Party" video, watching them go crazy just puts a silly smile on your face. The boys have definitely put in a lot of work for this album, but they haven't forgotten to have fun either.
Above average to excellent choices in the structure of the song, instrumental, and video make "Sober" a very well-rounded song that certainly exceeded expectations compared to the past songs we've seen out of Big Bang. While "Loser" may be the safest song, "Sober" is the best when it comes to going crazy and enjoying the ride.
[ Overall: 92 / 100 ]
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