My initial review of new IVE album “REVIVE+”

IVE’s heavily anticipated full album comeback “REVIVE+” dropped today, their second full length album. This is my initial review following just a couple listens.

https://music.apple.com/us/album/revive/1873882195

Photo: IVE at the press showcase at Yes24 Live Hall in eastern Seoul 23 February 2026. Left to right: Rei, Gauel, Jang Won-young, An Yu-jin, Leeseo, Liz.

I am clearly using the term “initial review” because I feel one’s understanding, resonance, and relationship to a musical work evolves over time. Like my feelings on rankings lists (which I discussed elsewhere), the way reviews are done – due to the influence of needing to get material published or time limitations or whatever factors are causing it – isn’t reflective of this reality. What I plan to do on this EricJohnMusic.com site is initial reviews and then revisit works in different ways over time to communicate how my emotions and thoughts related to the work have evolved.

Different music has a different number of exposure times before it first resonates, and then before it evolves and/or your understanding/relationship of/with the piece deepens. With much KPOP, between the 2nd and 4th listen I find I get a pretty strong initial resonance and impression (whereas, say, something complex like Iron Maiden may take a few more listens, or something in a genre I don’t listen to frequently may take more listens to “find”).

Let me be clear when I say “listen” that means doing nothing else with your consciousness except focusing on the music. Not having it on in the background, not jumping around out of order or listening to partial songs. This is an ALBUM, and as such it’s a set of shorter work bundled together in a particular order for a reason that the artists and producers designed. The goal here is to understand and receive and be affected by what THEY were trying to get across first, before say tailoring the tracks in some order or skipping around or any of this, and before one imposes one’s own opinions on it.

It would do us all well to have the focus and attention span to listen actively as I describe, and also you are honoring the work of the artists and production teams by doing so.

Also important to note is that this is a review of the album and the music. KPOP comebacks entail much more in conjunction with a release than just the album and the music, including the concepts/lore, the looks, all of the pre-release promotional material, behind-the-scenes glimpses in various forms, and more. IVE’s build-up to this album has been effective as usual as they and they company Starship Entertainment have done well in these areas since their 2021 debut. I am focusing in this writing on the album and the music NOT these other aspects, though I tangentially touch on them in some cases.

To call this IVE’s second full length album is of course massively misleading to especially people not well versed in KPOP because IVE has been a hard working group since their inception and have released seven EPs and many more singles, most of which had additional songs on them. The EP’s in KPOP which they also call a “comeback” entail just as much work in terms of all the aspects and just as much of an artistic statement/concept as an “album”, so the distinction has not that much meaning. An album just has a few more songs in this context.

So if you look at it like that, “REVIVE+” is actually IVE’s tenth substantial comeback. They also are clearly at the point where there are leaning into a more mature and edgier image, which would be appropriate both for their actual ages and their contractual ages, not to mention that in the ultra competitive world of KPOP you always need to take it SOMEWHERE, and this is a logical place for them to take it given where they have been.

IVE’s image circa the last world tour I saw them live on (SHOW WHAT I HAVE Tour, 2nd World Tour, Kia Forum, Inglewood CA 13 March 2024) was very much aligned with what a barely knowledgeable US music fan would guess if I say “KPOP” to them. This isn’t a knock in any way, I am just highlighting both that the average US music fan is NOT knowledgeable about KPOP (though that is changing), and that many many groups would NOT fit their stereotype so well (say for exampled DREAMCATCHER…. but also i-dle, aespa, and a host of others since the diversity in way broader than people unfamiliar think).

And IVE executed on this type of KPOP and image very very well, and then grew from there. Each comeback and even single release absolutely stayed true to their past (unlike some artists than radically shed their past each comeback and emerge some new entity) AND built on it. And certainly through the touring and experience got stronger and stronger – the solo song section of “REVIVE+” features songs that have been worked in solo performances in the recent touring.

“REVIVE+” is a strong release, a logical evolution, builds on the past while advancing. This album should serve them well and further elevate their status.

The opener “BLACKHOLE” captures what I am saying right off the bat, the sonic wall group vocals, the soaring melody lines, and many typical IVE things combined with an immediately heavier sounding backdrop. There a lot of different bits in here, it will take me more listens to get it all. But it hits.

Probably not to many of you, but to me “BANG BANG” immediately conjures up the 1991 Aldo Nova sex song from the “Blood on the Bricks” album that was collaborative produced with Jon Bon Jovi (and sounds pretty much like Bon Jovi), so I had to move my immediate reaction pretty far to get back to IVE :-). In any case, again a second complex track, the over-riding feeling it leaves me with is acceleration, you get faster as you go along. Continuing the more mature edgy vibe certainly.

“Hush” is the sexiest track on here. The vocal comes across very intimately talking to you, and of course all of the whispering and breathing. There is an interesting vocal line that evokes “ATTITUDE” right before the chorus. Ultimately, this track is enticement and seduction and implies all sorts of clandestine activities… of course in KPOP’s “less direct than it would be in US music but not fooling anyone what we are talking about” way.

“Stuck In Your Head” is written in the way some KPOP songs that initially are borderline annoying actually DO stick in your head, as they are designed to do. Here in fact, it worked. It happened. It’s done. (As an aside, one of the more effective uses of a random beep sound that I’ve ever heard in any context, not to mention a cartoonish whistle sound like they use on some Korean comedies as a wink sound. Either you get that or you don’t lol.)

“Fireworks” You can already picture in that part of the concert near the end where the fans and the group have collectively taken so many feel-good music drugs that the entire arena is all bouncing with glee – a part of a musical performance the best KPOP does better than any other, the euphoric high is real. The group harmony vocals invoke GIRLS GENERATION for me, and you can’t get much more of a compliment from me than an SNSD one :-). And similar to GIRLS GENERATION “Lucky Like That” just enough electric guitar going off between all the harmony at the latter stages elevates it even more.

“HOT COFFEE” is the high point for me, this didn’t take multiple listens, this took seconds…. and then got better. This is a fantastic track and I assume will make my year end best list for 2026… that’s how confident I am. I absolutely love the track.

JANGWONYOUNG’s solo “8” is all attitude and swagger and it works.

GAEUL’s “Odd”…. I love GAEUL and I’ve loved watching her emerge more and more in performances over the years but I haven’t been able to “find” what she is going for here, at least not yet. Which I suppose is “Odd” :-).

“Super ICY” is certainly an interesting image statement for LEESEO. Challenging track and well done. Very much in the TWICE “Strategy” vein, which they directly tell with the line “I’m not going to tell you TWICE” which I find quite entertaining since TWICE uses the same lyric :-). None of which I saw coming in particular from LEESEO of all people. But O.K.

“Unreal” is a fantastic straight ahead pop song of the kind I love always. It takes you soaring and you want to go. Great job by LIZ.

REI’s “In Your Heart”…. this style of music is much more accessible to me in present times because I have been spending time listening to artist’s such as Dreamiecloud (https://music.apple.com/us/artist/dreamiecloud/1477427818). Even so it’s going to take me more time/listens to really get deep into this one. There is a LOT going on here. And it’s going on FAST.

ANYUJIN’s album closer “Force” I love and loved instantly. What a strong vocal! To me this is just a great rock song with a great vocal. I think it’s funny that Apple Music says she “channels naughts-era hip hop”. Seriously? This is a rock song. Whatever the little drumbeat thing is doing doesn’t matter, her vocal is right there is the power rock song tradition. Hell, it even could be like a Carrie Underwood pop country vocal. It’s a strong vocal that wants you to play it loud and sing it loud. To me, that’s rock n’ roll.

“REVIVE+” dropped today 23 February 2026, delve into it and all of IVE’s catalog. Hopefully they will tour the US this go round.

– Eric John, CEO, Erotique Entertainment