SHINee Story of Light EP.3 came out on Monday. I’m sorry that this post is 2 days late. I was driving all day Monday, returning from KCON NY. So, I apologize for my slight tardiness on this. Driving and typing blog posts is dangerous, K-Nuggets. Don’t do it. Even if it is for the love of K-Pop.
I did pre-order a copy of this from Choice Music LA for $16.99 plus shipping. You can also pick up a copy off of Amazon from $24.79 here with free Prime shipping. If you don’t have Amazon Prime, you can get a 30 day free trial using this link here. I will not lie, the free 2 day shipping, plus all of the free music and videos are totally worth it. I also now use it for books for my Kindle paper white too, and it is honestly a life saver. They have a program called Kindle Unlimited where you can check out 10 books at a time, read them, and put them back in the kindle library. The program cost $7.99 a month, and you get the first 30 days for free with this link.
SHINee Story of Light EP.3 Track by Track:
Our Page:
This song is written as a tribute to Jonghyun. I did take the time to listen through the lyrics of this one, as that is the important part here. They talk about how all of their spirits are united and will be joined together again one day. It talks about the journey that they went together as a group and how no matter what, the void that he left behind will never be filled. It is a beautiful song with tight harmonies and electric keys. What I really like about this song is that the instrumentation doesn’t overpower the message of the lyrics.
Tonight:
Thus far, The Story of Light EP.3 has a very different feel from the first two parts. it isn’t nearly as electronic and upbeat, and is a bit more ballad heavy. This track features echoing keyboard arpeggios, simple chords, and some light drums. I think having more ballads rounds out the sound of the parts as a whole. Up to this point, the music has been very uptempo heavy, so I’m happy that they are taking it down a notch. SHINee has always known how to slay a ballad.
Retro:
I love how this song has more of jazz, R&B feel to it. It is still a slower tempo than a number of the previous tracks, but it has a bit of an upbeat flair to it. I like the light drum kit that they used, the use of jazz chords on the piano and how the guitar pops through the vocals in the chorus when they are sustaining notes. As we also know, I live for a good base line, and this track has it. I really enjoy this song. It reminds me a bit of Heize’s most recent release. Strongly approve.
I Say:
Another ballad has joined The Story of Light EP.3. I’m actually really enjoying all of the ballads up to this point. SHINee has always excelled at ballads, and this is not an exception. This song features simple piano chords, strings, and chimes. It is simple but sounds full. I love how the strings go back and forth between using a bow and plucking the strings in the second verse. Additionally, I like how the piano adds more trills as the song builds and moves. Per usual, the harmonies are wonderful. SHINee knows how to kill them. Totally digging this track.
Lock You Down:
Okay, this song has me all emotional. If you are a huge SHINee fan, you will be emotional when you listen to it as well. They sampled vocals that Jonghyun had previously recorded. Once you notice it, this song becomes much more challenging to listen to. Despite this, I still love this track, and I think it really rounds out the sound of all three parts. It has a very upbeat dance song feel, like a number of the songs in the other parts. It did make it into all of my playlists. This is an excellent tribute to Jonghyun. Just make sure you are prepared.
K-Points: 567/5
As the final piece of The Story of Light, this EP gave me everything that I felt the first two parts were missing. It added that extra layer of emotional flair that I was actually worried SHINee wouldn’t be able to add. Honestly, I cannot think of anything that I didn’t enjoy about this piece of the EP. It was very fulfilling.
Should you buy a copy of this album? Absolutely. It’s top notch work, what I anticipate form SHINee. Can you just stream it? Totally. No matter what, it is worth a really good listen. If you want to read my thoughts on the rest of the parts of this series, you can do so here. This link will automatically update as the rest of the un-boxings get added too.
Which song off of The Story of Light was your favorite? Let me know in the comments below, K-Nuggets!
사랑합니다!
–Rachel
