A heavy prison cell door creaks open, revealing a dimly lit room where Lisa sits, clad in a graffiti-red straitjacket. As pulsing electronic beats and rhythmic synths kick in, she flashes an eerie grin at the camera, breaking into maniacal laughter before bursting through the gray walls — a powerful introduction to her album’s title track, “FXCK UP THE WORLD.”
The setting of the music video perfectly encapsulates the experience of “Alter Ego,” Thai rapper and dancer Lisa’s first full-length album. Released on Feb. 28, the album features 15 tracks, including the pre-releases “Rockstar,” “Moonlit Floor” and “Born Again (feat. Doja Cat and RAYE). As an already well-established figure in the K-Pop industry due to her prominent position in the South Korean girl group BLACKPINK, “Alter Ego” is her first official entrance into the global music scene. Previously, Lisa debuted solo under the same South Korean company managing BLACKPINK’s activities, YG Entertainment, with the single “LALISA.” The EP featured rap tracks “MONEY” and “LALISA,” charting in the Official Singles Chart with its immense international popularity.
While “MONEY” and “LALISA” were both generic rap-pop songs that were similar in sound, Lisa tries to take a more experimental approach for her first album, crafting a unique concept and direction for each track. She introduces five alter ego characters — Roxi, Kiki, Sunni, Speedi and Vixi — each supposedly embodying a different musical style. To further develop these characters, Lisa has launched a graphic novel exploring their stories and released five slightly different versions of the physical album, each tailored to a specific alter ego.
Many of the songs on this album play to Lisa’s strengths: rap and dance. Tracks that lean into her Roxi, Kiki, Speedi, and Vixi side feature rap sections that complement her street dance style, paired with bold, dynamic beats that will make any choreographer feel like they struck gold. These songs also showcase high production quality, with each element — melody, rap and vocals — feeling energetic, experimental and simply fun to vibe to.
Despite the album’s emphasis on rap and hard-hitting beats, Lisa still manages to differentiate the tracks by incorporating distinct themes. “Born Again” carries a rustic, groovy ‘80s rock vibe reminiscent of Michael Jackson, while “Rockstar” and “Lifestyle” lean into a sleek, electronic, almost cyberpunk sound. On the other hand, “Thunder” features a hazy, echoing vocal effect, whereas “Elastigirl” stands out with its recognizable jungle beat.
Unfortunately, there is a clear drop in quality when it comes to her R&B-leaning and ballad-like tracks, both vocally and instrumentally. This issue is especially evident given Lisa’s longstanding criticism for her vocal technique. When she isn’t rapping, she has a nasally, whiny tone and a limited range, leading her to rely heavily on autotune in many songs. This results in a jarring, robotic voice that clashes with the more melodic instrumentals and lyrics.
Lyrically, “Alter Ego” leaves much to be desired. Many tracks create a repetitive cycle — most of the songs revolve around the same themes of flexing wealth, fame and superiority as well as issuing threats. Others rely on excessive, uncomfortable sexual innuendos, which distract from otherwise interesting instrumentals.
Take “Elastigirl” for example, with lines like “Stretch me out / Flex me now / Baby, watch me drop it down.” Some tracks’ use of profanity also feels excessive, with “Rapunzel” repeatedly hammering lines like “Spendin’ that sh*t ‘til we go dumb” and “B*tch, tell me how you love me,” once again conveying the same themes of luxury and superiority over and over. Then there’s “FXCK UP THE WORLD,” where Lisa proclaims, “If you want the old Lisa, listen to my old sh*t” — a puzzling statement given that her discography before this album, which can be counted on one hand, bears striking similarities to her new songs in both lyricism and genre. The similarity in theme makes it even more difficult to distinguish between the characters tied to the album’s concept.
The lack of lyrical range becomes even more jarring when she attempts to shift from her usual aggressive, ego-driven raps to softer, more sentimental moments in “Dream” and “Moonlit Floor.” The lyrics from “Dream” feel both out of place within the album and too challenging for her to execute. Lines like “We can catch up, drive down our old street / It’s bittersweet / At least a girl can dream” come across as unconvincing and insincere when paired with the rest of her album.
Ultimately, “Alter Ego” had a vision and a few great songs, but the execution is poor and the drastic drop in quality between tracks is impossible to ignore. The album’s concept feels like an excuse for its lack of cohesion, disguised as an exploration of Lisa’s alter ego characters. The lines between these supposed alter egos are also so blurred that distinguishing which song belongs to which character takes more effort than it should. Combined with the unnecessary five-album variation gimmick and a reliance on features, “Alter Ego” tries to cover too much ground and comes across as an altogether unfocused project — one that had the potential to be groundbreaking but collapses under the weight of its own ambition.
RATING: 2.5/5
