I (almost) Like It Like It

After letting it stew for a while, I have to say that Strategy is not one of Twice’s strongest offerings. The title track is great and there’s nothing wrong with the track list, it doesn’t pack the same punch as mini albums I would say are definitely Twice.

For me, Twice really came into their own with Fancy You where every single track was pop perfection. It remains one of my favourite Kpop mini albums overall, not just from Twice, and I think the distinctly vibrant and cheeky personality are reasons behind that. Feel Special followed Fancy You and was a more sophisticated overall package. There was some cheekiness in there with the likes of Rainbow but there was more of a vampy, pensive atmosphere that pervades the majority of tracks.

From those back to back (Korean) releases, I really feel that Twice became a group with incredibly cohesive mini albums. Their B-sides which had been hit or miss for me until that point became addictive in a way I cannot rationalise. They have had some gems over the years with Page Two’s Touchdown and Headphones On being favourites of mine, but as far as mini albums go, the A&R felt very unfocused.

Full albums like Twicestagram and Eyes Wide Open which bookended this run of newfound mini album quality exemplify how much Twice has always been capable of with a longer track list, even they reflect the musical maturity and construction that occurred AFY (After Fancy You). Twicestagram is a good album too but I know it ranks lower for me than Eyes Wide Open and Formula of Love.

More & More is another mini album that came before Eyes Wide Open and, whilst I don’t make a habit of listening to it as often as my favourites, it has a solid personality. The dark vampiness of Feel Special loses its gleam and becomes a look at Twice in the dark without the glamour. It leads perfectly into the poisonous allure of Eyes Wide Open (and Cry for Me — what an incredible song to end an incredible run looking at Twice’s dark and vengeful side).

Strategy feels a lot like Taste of Love. I liked all the songs at first listen and every listen after that. But the mini album as a whole doesn’t grip me the same way prior releases had. Was this just because of the brighter energy behind it? I don’t feel that was the reason but who is to really say that I don’t have a secret bias against it? I listen to Taste of Love about as often as More & More but I listen to both of them far less than my absolute favourite Twice mini album Between 1 & 2.

From start to finish, Between 1 & 2 is perfection. It’s cheeky, fun, melancholic, and nostalgic. There are multiple different directions the tracks pull towards yet at their core they are saturated with Twice’s identity. This is definitely the mini album I listen to the most and I’d say it shows where Twice were always meant to be.

With YOU-th is another mini album which shows yet another side of this same coin. It feels like a darker exploration of Between 1 & 2 but much more grounded in the present than the past. With YOU-th is easily in my top 4 Twice mini albums (despite the overall tone of it gripping me with the fear that I Got You was a love letter to each member departing on their own path).

Strategy, whilst alleviating my worries that I was about to get my heart broken, occupies the same space for me as Ready to Be. It’s good. It’s okay. I think the songs are fun and there is a stand out track that will not leave my mind (Wallflower for Ready to Be and Like It Like It for Strategy) but it’s not my favourite mini album by a long shot.

I recently saw ‘discourse’ about how Twice didn’t succeed with Strategy do to various factors (fans will say no overseas promotions and the whole martial law thing, haters will say because they are flops who fell off) but I can’t say I mind it that much. For what it was, Strategy did as well as it could have and as well as it needed to. If Twice was suddenly supposed to blow up in the west (as if such a thing even matters) because of a feature from Megan Thee Stallion, I think I would have much preferred it with a mini album that stood up as high as their top offerings.

There’s still time for Twice to bring us a mini album filled with Like It Like Its but, even if they don’t, I’m always eager to hear what they will do next.