LNGSHOT Return With S.W.I.S.H. and “Bananas”

LNGSHOT released S.W.I.S.H. on November 10 with a video for “Bananas,” the title track. The five-song EP arrives ten months after their January debut. In October, two quite different LNGSHOT songs were finding an audience at once: “Masterpiece,” the first single from the new record, and “Moonwalkin’,” a track from their debut EP that had just reached Mediabase’s U.S. Top 40 radio chart, according to the group’s publicist, ĐẶC BIỆT.

A title track about the year that just happened

“Bananas” takes its name from the expression “go bananas.” In the release notes, the group describe the dance-pop song as a response to how much their circumstances have changed since January, and to the mix of emotions that came with it. They wanted the video to look further back than their own debut: ĐẶC BIỆT describes it as a salute to the K-pop that came before them.

It was “Masterpiece” that first introduced this EP in October. The alternative R&B single, with Japanese actress Ayaka Miyoshi in its video, still opens the record. “Bananas” comes second. The remaining three songs — “Wanna Go,” “Up & Away” and “Beep Beep” — round out the EP. LNGSHOT are signed to MORE VISION. For this release, Kakao Entertainment and Atlantic Music Group are partnering on international promotion, with Atlantic focusing on North America.

The story behind S.W.I.S.H.

The initials stand for “Swag With Integrity Shapes History.” For OHYUL, RYUL, WOOJIN and LOUIS, who all took part in making the EP, the most telling detail behind that phrase is the order in which they let people hear their work.

Before their debut, the four put out the self-produced 4SHOBOIZ MIXTAPE as an introduction. Then, two months after January’s SHOT CALLERS, they released Training Day. The March release took listeners backwards: the songs had been recorded when the members were still trainees. One tape introduced a group that had yet to debut; the other let listeners who already knew “Moonwalkin’” hear what the group sounded like before it.

In May, the four made the hip-hop mixtape 4SHOBOIZ Vol. 2: 4SHOVILLE with Jay Park, their label head at MORE VISION. They later joined his Serenades & Body Rolls tour as special guests. That stretch between the practice room and the touring stage is the year “Bananas” looks back on. The five songs on S.W.I.S.H. are what the four have chosen to share next.

Reporting source: ĐẶC BIỆT’s November 10 press release. Official release notice · Album and track list.

The photographs, cover artwork and video highlight were supplied by ĐẶC BIỆT for editorial use in this feature and its homepage placement. Media credits and use details.