7th Issue
With his solo work, Seo Taiji shifts to more of a rock focus. Some writers tend to divorce his solo material from the hybridity in his music with Seo Taiji and Boys. In reference to Seo Taiji 7th Issue, toksala observes: “There’s no doubt that his single is a huge success but my fear is — where does his unique style of rock fit in with Korea’s heavily pop-oriented music scene?. . . Therefore, after listening to the tracks I was slightly disappointed when he snuck in contemporary electronica to his sound.” Others cite his early stint as the bass player for the metal band Sinawe prior to joining Seo Taiji and Boys, and still others focus on Seo Taiji’s similarities to American groups such as Korn and Nirvana.
The video for “Robot” features common elements of a standard rock video. It intersperses a narrative with a powerful performance of the song by Seo Taiji and his band, complete with shaky camera, wind and smoke machine. Steve Allat sees more musical transcendence in Seo Taiji 7th Issue: “Anyone making music this interesting and thoughtful would probably also have something to say. And he does - saying himself that 'Since I'm very curious to begin with, there are many kinds of music I want to try. The new music is 'sensitive-core', which is hardcore that stresses the melodies. I wanted to bring out the sensitive side, and in particular, I expressed people's pain'. The pain he speaks of deal with Korea's censorship of outspoken artists such as Seo as well as sexual discrimination, the music industry in general and stalkers (over 80% of his fan base is female).” While the musical style of the album lends itself to Seo Taiji’s rock preference, the critical elements of the album derive from the social commentary Seo Taiji learned from hip hop.