Identifying as an anagram of the phrase, “I’m Fearless”, the LE SSERAFIM quintet has had their namesake put to the test this year as they experienced the negative effects of being performers for the ever-opinionated public. Freedom of expression often gets constrained and ridiculed by the very society that offers such dreams. It’s a relatable catch-22 that would understandably make anyone feel unbalanced. The group’s fourth mini album, CRAZY, comes after facing much criticism and boasts experimentation that is unlike anything they’ve done before.
True to their form, ‘Chasing Lightning’, is another track largely composed of trilingual statements and rhetorical questions. Though the lyrics may feel like a random stream of consciousness – this time ranging from a craving for Greek yogurt to wanting to be passionate about something – they all eventually come to a head and connect to the overall themes of the release. There are always going to be things outside of ourselves that we can’t control, but we can determine how we move within those circumstances. “Can’t change the weather, then let’s chase the lightning”, the girls repeat, signaling their embrace of the storms that try to tear them down. Rather than persist in attempts to squeeze into molds they cannot fit, they resolve to follow their racing hearts, “‘Cause going crazy means you believe in what you love.”
The title track, ‘CRAZY’, continues this story of LE SSERAFIM’s journey to self-actualization. “Galileo / I put myself on trial every day,” they sing in the pre-chorus, shows an awareness of how their choices will be judged, likening themselves to the Florentine astronomer who was deemed insane for promoting theories contrary to the mainstream of his time. It is clear they would prefer to be perceived as unorthodox so long as they can remain true to what they feel. They celebrate this through paying homage to ballroom culture and its community that has a rich history in radical acceptance by dancing with members from the Iconic House of Juicy Couture in the music video. While it is sonically nothing particularly new for them, the easy-to-memorize hooks and exploratory, conceptual visuals are sure to leave listeners wanting more.
The Official Music Video for 'CRAZY' by LE SSERAFIM
‘Pierrot’ features voice distortion and trap-adjacent production that is far from other sounds in their discography, providing the flexibility this EP needs in order to go the distance. With a sample from Korean dance music legend Kim Wan Sun’s ‘Pierrot Laughs at Us’, and mentions of female artists that greatly shaped the K-pop landscape (Uhm Jung Hwa, Lee Hyori, and IU), LE SSERAFIM envisions a career path with a similar longevity to these legends, and dubs themselves the “crazy girls of the new era”. They keep this energy with a strong bass in the repetitive ‘1-800-hot-n-fun’ where they further establish that they know who they are and what they are capable of giving the world. “I’m not tryna leave until they kick us to the road”, they say, strengthening their mindset of ignoring the gaze of others in favor of standing apart from the norm and living as they wish in any situation.
All of the momentum seemingly gets lost, however, as they opted for the format trend of closing with a ballad. ‘Crazier’ is polished and soft in comparison to the rest of the project, and the slow delivery may be a disappointing end for some. Regardless, it offers emotional depth that had yet to be reached until this point. Perhaps that is in part thanks to member HUH YUNJIN, who has writing and producing credits on this final track and intimately understands the joys and struggles the group has faced. The Korean title of the song translates to “the reason I can’t go crazy”, raising a different perspective and better reflecting the vulnerability shown through the lyrics. What does crazy mean to each individual? Can life be beautiful in the absence of crazy? “If you love something beyond sanity / someday look back and see / a flower which bloomed / on this field of thorns”, they gently guide.
Liberation does not always mean an immediate or complete breaking out of the systems that seek to keep us within certain lines. Sometimes it looks like burdens becoming lighter in the presence of smaller spaces and gatherings of people, even if only temporarily. Other times it looks like welcoming bristles and barbs that scar, and turning them into a crown. LE SSERAFIM’s spirit of perseverance permeates the entirety of CRAZY, and carries the promise that it is possible to overcome every limitation in the name of authenticity and passion.
