Henry: Hey everybody, this is Henry from classical musicians react.
Umu: What is up My Days? My name is Umu, I am ReacttotheK's channel creator.
Henry and I are currently on opposite sides of the U.S.
So we are doing this thing where we're just gonna be filming our reactions, and then we'll be calling each other afterwards.
H: Uh, welcome to North Carolina.
We're gonna be listening to Day6's comeback starting with Zombie and then the rest of the album.
So I hope you're ready to have your minds blown, I know I am.
U: First time through there will be no subtitles,
but second time through we will have the subtitles on. I promise we'll pay attention to the lyrics.
Sometimes it's hard to pay equal amount attention to lyrics and song at the same time,
so we want to make sure that we can cover both in this reaction. Let's go 3 2
*Excuse me I'm walking like zombie uh uh!* [Monsta X Shoot Out reference]
Is this gonna be a funky track? We getting funky zombies? *obviously didn't hear the teaser*
Oh
H: Wow
U: That beginning melody was just a repeat, melodically, of what-
He does it too (the vocal riff)!- of what YoungK was doing, but Jae sings it so differently, it's like completely new material
We're slowly moving up in range.
Yep! Wow, we're literally painting an upward-
Chorus?!
The sections flow so smoothly together.
H: Dang this is a lot calmer than I was expecting, I kinda like it.
U: There we go, I was waiting for that texture change it was just coming.
Oh yeah. Oh, this is a crying song
No don't~
And then we're gonna be high in the range-
we are higher in the range compared to the beginning.
U: OH and there's the harmonies! I forgot I was missing the harmonies too - this is such a good development!
H: Ah
All right, I'm really, really excited to listen to this again with the lyrics- or with the translation rather
Because this feels very strophic- oh no, now we have, we have our bridge.
U: Yeah, we're in halftime now.
Oh wow, they're talking about crying and there's pouring rain and the water.
OH MY GOD MODULATIONNNN!!!!!!!!!!!
H: Ohhh, I'm gonna have goose bumps when I have the, like words to this, with that key change that's gonna be insane.
I already really like it. I like- I'm a sucker for the cheese.
[laughs]
Oh I like finishing it out with...
a really...
live sounding organic piano sound with the singing.
It feels very intimate.
U: Wow
what
whAT
WHAT
H: That's a power ballad right there, in every single way.
Okay, I'm gonna get right back into it, let me listen to it one more time, but this time with the lyrics
so I know [mildly distressed] what's going on.
U: I became a zombie, 3, 2, 1.
[H laughs]
Mm
[mimics drums]
[hums along]
It's really singable.
U: I love the sound of the hit of the piano it wavers.
Mm
Yeah, this- I knEW THIS WAS A CRYING SONG GODDAMNIT
Wow interesting, they would try to change something.
And they say that "I feel like I can't change anything" and the texture doesn't quite change... yet.
Because the new thing added here is the synth hits.
three, four, one two, 'cause the drum loop is still the same... drum rhythm
[sings] We have some background vocals.
But up to this point no real harmony, it's very minimalistic melodically.
H: Ohhhhh yeah
That feels a lot more freeing with the- with the lyrics.
Until I close my eyes and just pshhh- Ah.
Interesting how they said "this meaningless life" with such a rich vocal harmony.
As if there's so much going on, but it doesn't really amount to anything.
U: Scarecrow without a brain, ohh
H: I like the allegory to Wizard of Oz.
I guess it doesn't have to be. A scarecrow is a scarecrow.
Oh, yeah
Yeah~
That's- that does feel much cooler after getting permission, and just an outpour in the bridge kind of as a-
emotional transition as well as a key change.
U: And then, repeated... the vocal melody, but totally different instrumental texture.
Wow, "tomorrow will be-"
Time to talk about the song.
Henry!
H: Hello U: Heeeeeyyy
H: Heeeyy, this is actually happening.
U: AHHH! Okay, yo- H: aahh
U: Dude! Okay (H: Yeah) I was so close to tears that whole time.
H: Really U: Yes.
It's that- (H: Both listens?) it's that guitar sound.
Yeah, the first listen I was (H: Oh the summer- the summer guitar) like, I'm gonna- I'm gonna cry when I read the lyrics.
And definitely, when I'm in a more vulnerable state, the tears will come.
[both laugh]
H: I might I might have felt differently if I got to listen to this in person, with people.
U: Mm
H: But um, I don't know. The first one I-
I thought they had some cool sounds but I could already tell that it would...
It would flourish through knowing what the meanings- (U: Mhm) knowing what the words (U: Mhm) meant.
Cause usually, you know me,
I don't- I don't usually listen to this kind of stuff with much care for lyrics (U: Right), as in on CMR.
I don't really- I don't really pay too much attention to (U: Yeah) what the lyrics actually say. U: Mhm
I kind of pay more attention to the melody, the timbre, blah blah blah
But for this one I could- it's kind of got that summer ballad- I also really like that (U: Oh summer ballad?) starting drum sound, that 808.
You know what I mean? U: No! I was thinking rainy day sad, maybe springtime- springtime rainy day.
H: Oh. I guess I tie this memory specifically (U: Ohh) or these sounds (U: Uh-huh)- these timbres
specifically to one or two summers ago when that, um,
spider-man movie came out. Post Malone released a song Sunflower that (U: Ohhh) has that kind of like
mmm, modified drum sound (U: Uh-huh) let's say
U: Uh-huh.
H: And then like a lot of the vibe and a lot of his vibe
which, he had a lot of hit songs that summer, had that kind of like
summery guitar, you know (U: Mhm) island guitar sound
U: Are you talking about like the- H: And that kinda- that kind of brought like a summer hit for me. U: The higher- when like the higher part in the guitar came in?
[sings the guitar part in question]
H: Yeah, yeah. [U keeps singing the high guitar part]
H: Absolutely, yeah. (U: What I loved-) I thought that was great. It really fit the kind of uh
I don't wanna say bittersweet it was it was more bitter than sweet.
U: I was just sad, yeah. [laughs]
H: Yeah, I was gonna say, like...
This is real reflective of our times. Just you know, (U: yeah) struggling to get through...
life that you know, even though we have so many things at our fingertips it feels...
hard to kind of find meaning. U: Mm
H: When I got to like, bridge and then the key change I immediately- in the first listen through
I'm like, oh yo, I'm gonna like, have goosebumps second time around, (U: Yeah) with the words.
And yeah, it was it was true, it was much more special.
U: I loved the contour of this piece. It just kept going up and up and up and up,
literally, because, I don't know- okay, if I had a piano I could plunk this out, but
[demonstrating pitches as she talks] they started really low in the range and then they move to like this in the range and then they had some,
you know Wonpil brought up the leap the first time through [sings the part]
a larger leap than had ever been stung before, in like that the first part of the song.
And then we had the modulation (H: Yeah) to make us go up even more.
So maybe in a way that's saying, you know, [H laughing]
even though it feels like life is looping around, even though- like what you said like
It's so hard to maybe find meaning sometimes it's if you can't see it,
it's probably there still.
You know? Like there will always be some sort of reason or meaning
to find to make your days better or (H: Mhm) to keep living life. That's what I pictured the difference in texture and
ascending throughout the in song- the song as.
H: I like that. That's uh...
No, I'm just gonna put a stamp on that. I agree, I second that
U: And then just my- (H: ??) my one complaint is, I wish at the very end we had a ritardando.
H: Yeah, no, I get that. I get that, because I- I really loved (U: I wan-) how organic it was U: I wanted that last bit to last a little bit longer
H: You know (U: Yeah) contrasted to how
I'm so- I'm so
expectant of like that live sound- live band sound from Day6. (U: Mhm) That starting off with that, um...
I don't want to- I don't know a good word for it, I called it in my reaction like
808 it's not that, and also like modified drum sound. That's as close as I'll get right now. U: Yeah
H: Um, but it's inorganic and then the guitar also is- is not something you just hear live, you got to
put that through a machine (U: Mhm) to get that sound, and at the end, it's just
U: Piano H: Unmodified vocals, you know- or lightly of course- and then the piano is like...
It's played with the vocals there. (U: Mhm) and it feels super grounding
super grounding, (U: Mm) especially after we've taken so much,
uh, time going up (U: Mhm!) and kind of crescendoing in emotion. U: Mhm
H: Yeah, no. If they drew- if they drew that out a bit more, I wouldn't have complained.
U: But yeah, no. That- that was, I felt that song was smart
and just, solidly day6.
Overall H: Yeah, yeah U: And I'm interested to see-
H: I wanna know how (U: what the album), yeah, they contrast the rest of it (U: will be like.), is it all gonna have this kind of like more outcry-y kind of style or is it gonna be?
Whats gonna happen? I don't know.
U: You saw that tweet that I sent you? H: Yeah, it didn't have zombie, I had to look it up.
U: Wait, you had to look up the-the H: For Zombie? Yes.
U: Oh no, it was supposed to be on the music video!
H: Oh, well, it's too late now [both laugh].
[they literally speak at the same time] U: WAIT you watched the music video- H: I didn't watch the music video at all
U: YOU DIDN'T WATCH THE MUSIC VIDEO!?!?!?!?!?
H: No.
[Umu is dying]
H: That's probably why you cried [distressed/laughing Umu noises]
H: So I'm just gonna go watch this right now U: Sounds good fam.
Okay, watch on the JYP channel. H: And then I'll uh, I'll message you...
When it's time to move on. U: Sounds good. Alright see you later (H: Alright shoot), thank you for (H: Welp, goodbye) watching guys.
We'll be doing an album listen. Goodbye!
H: Alright, ready? Music video for zombie. Three, two, one.
Oh, I don't need to hold the phone up, Umu's gonna edit this in [laughs].
Mm.
Ah!
Oh that's a Nord [the keyboard] love that
Oh man the mundaneness of life
[hums along] Ah!
One of those high notes
Dang Umu, you're right. The music video is so much but I'm like, I'm feeling the feels now, the water...
Everything...
[hums along]
I do wish they had a rit at the end too, a ritardando, that would be nice.
Wow, so good. So good. Yeah Wonpil's voice is just heavenly I really like that contour too building up
So good