Buzz Beats: Album Review -‘The ReVe Festival 2022 - Birthday’ by Red Velvet

‘The ReVe Festival 2022 - Birthday’ is the sixth EP from K-Pop girl group Red Velvet released on November 28th, 2022. This album is a part of their ‘The ReVe Festival’ series which is one of my personal favorite concept ideas in K-pop and it’s what makes me come back to them time after time again. However, this most recent album has clearly been their most disappointing release in recent years, especially following their beautiful album, ‘The ReVe Festival 2022 - Feel My Rhythm’ released earlier this year.

‘The ReVe Festival 2022 - Birthday’ isn’t a bad album, but the five tracks just feel a bit lazy especially when you really are comparing it to their other flawless, skipless albums. “Birthday” is the title track of the album and it was severely underwhelming. I kept waiting for it to get better and it honestly never did. The beginning of the song is so strong and interesting which gave me such high hopes. However, once it hit the first chorus I was just disappointed and expected a lot more from them. It’s definitely not a bad song, it’s really energetic, it just lacks a lot of vocal variety compared to previous releases. I will say the more I Iisten, the more it grows on me. It’s a song that if it came on I would not turn off and I would only really enjoy it at a live concert.

The second track “BYE BYE '' helps make up for the first song, with its redeemable strong vocals and interesting background beat. Wendy’s beautiful high notes in the background as well make it a really nice R&B style song to enjoy. It’s my personal favorite song on the album and it’s only one I keep coming back to.

The next track, “On a Ride’, however, is not really that good. I will not lie. The energetic background track and their vocals don’t align and flow that well. It lacks a lot in certain spots vocally. There are some parts that are really good right after the chorus, but it is once again something I wouldn’t voluntarily want to listen to.

“ZOOM” and ‘Celebrate” are the final two songs on the album. “ZOOM” is pretty good and quite catchy. Wendy once again delivers satisfying highnotes and the girl’s execute it well. My second favorite song, “Celebrate” closes off the album with a more laid-back, mid-tempo feel. To me, it’s a nice end to the album and it showcases their more vulnerable vocals, which is what I love about Red Velvet.

Overall, this album disappointed me quite a bit, but it isn’t that bad, just something I’d never want to listen to on repeat like I do with the rest of their albums. Therefore, I rate it a 6/10.