DAY6’s Happy Ending to The Book of Us
It’s been a long time coming; the past year without new music from DAY6 could not have felt longer. Though fans were given a surprise in the form of DAY6 (Even of Day) in September, the desire for music from all five members was unquenchable. Finally, in the form of The Book of Us: Negentropy, DAY6 not only returns as five but also closes one of the most expansive chapters in their career.
Coming Back to Life With “You make Me”
After last May’s somber “Zombie,” a song that fit the year of 2020 more aptly than perhaps any other and preceded a year-long group hiatus, DAY6 returns with their cathartic new title track “You make Me.” Retaining some of the EDM-influence from Even of Day’s release, the song is about finding the light at the end of the tunnel in the form of support from a loved one. Thematically, the song couldn’t have been more fitting as a follow-up to “Zombie,” but even the electronic upbeat tone of “You make Me” makes the two songs feel like night and day. Truth be told, hearing the voices of Sungjin and Jae once again belting alongside Wonpil and Young K feels like the biggest breath of fresh air in itself. That being said, Wonpil takes the breath right back out of you with his high note in the bridge.
The music video for “You make Me” gives the song a surprising twist as it follows a couple throughout the night—only for the boyfriend to be hiding a fatal wound in his side. The story peaks when he grows faint at the wheel of the car they’re driving, forcing them to pull over; it’s then that his love interest sees his bloodstained shirt. It’s not 100% clear what happens next, though it can be inferred that he does indeed succumb to his wounds and meets his love again in the afterlife where they joyfully watch the sunset on a beach. The biggest hint that suggests his passing is the dreamy filter that overlays the second half of the video, giving the scenes a somewhat magical and hazy feel to them. As he happily reunites with his loved one, the five members of DAY6 look on in a way that likely has fans resonating with the video’s protagonist.
The Rest of the Album
By definition, negentropy is the opposite of entropy (chaos), or the state of things getting back in order. In the realm of DAY6’s The Book of Us series, their 2019 album The Book of Us: Entropy saw a relationship begin to fall apart at the seams, inviting chaos and disorder. The following album, The Book of Us: The Demon, saw this relationship at its worst, tearing apart not only the relationship itself but also the individuals in it (hence the self-reflective “Zombie”). The Book of Us: Negentropy has both sides of the relationship finding their footing again, both separately and together.
The album opens with “everyday we fight.” Perhaps probably the most rock-centric song on the release, “everyday we fight” is about learning to accept the bad with the good as every fight eventually gets resolved. “You make Me” follows, setting the bright, albeit somewhat wistful, tone that’s present in the majority of the album. Regrettably, this very tone causes much of the album to sound quite similar, with many songs sounding like they’ve been cut from the same cloth. Perhaps this is just due to the genre diversity found in releases like Entropy and The Demon, which truthfully at times gave me a little whiplash while listening to the albums in full. That being said, it makes perfect sense that Negentropy would sound less dynamic than the previously mentioned album, as the very act of negentropy is finding order from chaos.
The song that’s an easy standout to me is “Healer,” which harnesses both the bright tone and EDM influence of the album and uses them to their full potential. The track almost has a dance feel to it with its driving electronic percussion and the catchy repetitive chorus. It might just be personal taste or the song’s simple likability, but “Healer” is a new favorite and even after multiple listens, still sits above the rest of the album for me.
“Only” has a ‘70s soft-rock feel to it, which fits the stunning vocals of DAY6 well, but falls a little flat against the rest of the album and their discography as a whole. In spite of this, Young K utilizing his lower register in the middle of the song is still a pleasant surprise. “above the clouds” is a new fan-favorite, joining the ranks of other emotive ballads like “Colors,” “Cover,” or “Afraid.” The title alone can help one guess at the sad theme of the song; however, despite such a solemn concept, the delivery is less passionate than some of the group’s other songs. One of DAY6’s strengths as vocalists is their ability to make their songs sound truly heart-wrenching, and “above the clouds” just misses the mark at fully striking a chord (though Sungjin’s bridge comes incredibly close).
“ONE” sees the theme of negentropy realized, with the subjects of the song becoming two halves of one whole, taking on the struggles of life together. Personally, I find this song to be my least favorite on the album. It’s a little too disjointed for my liking, with each portion of the song sounding too different from the last; however, this leads to my second favorite song and the final song on the album, “so let’s love.” In my opinion, “so let’s love” achieves everything that “above the clouds” set out to accomplish. The mix of soft guitars, heavy percussion, and most importantly DAY6’s soaring vocals is what the group excels at, and though it’s not necessarily my favorite track on the album, it feels the most complete as a song. Simply put, no other song could’ve ended Negentropy as effectively as “so let’s love.” It’s a song that sticks with you, and seeing that leader Sungjin just recently enlisted in the military, “so let’s love” might have to carry fans over for quite some time.
All in all, this is far from my favorite release from the band. If I was more critical, I would say that I’d expected a more poignant album after a year apart, but honestly, I’m just grateful to hear them making music as a whole again. Though certainly not a step backwards, The Book of Us: Negentropy does not feel like it brings the band any growth, but that’s okay. Sometimes life is just about keeping your head above the water—the little victories are just as important as the big ones. Though I would’ve liked to have more standouts from the album (or maybe even another token line from Dowoon), I’m beyond thankful to share 2021 with DAY6.