This is a comeback that I have been looking forward to, and not looking forward to for ages. I’m excited that SHINee is finally back. At the same time, it will not be the same without Jonghyun. I’ve talked about how much I love Jonghyun in a number of posts, including my reviews of his post humous album and the unboxing of said abum. You will also know by now that I am generally a big fan of SHINee, as I have written a number of posts on them (all of which can be read here). When they decided to do a 3 part series for Story of Light, I was all for it.
SHINee is an artist that I feel the need to preorder. There is a copy of this album coming my way (hopefully it will get here soon). I picked it up from Choice Music here for $16.99 plus shipping. You can also pick it up from Amazon for $24.99 here, with free shipping if you have Amazon Prime. If you don’t have Prime, this link will get you a 30 day free trial. Honestly, as a K-Beauty K-Pop addict, getting an Amazon Prime subscription was so smart for the amount of money I save on shipping.
My thoughts on SHINee’s new album:
All Day All Night:
The album starts out with some really happy sounding chords and birds chirping, which quickly shifts into a dance track that starts with Taemin singing. By the time that I got to the chorus, this track had won me over for how catchy it is. I like the direction that this song has gone with their image. Onew’s vocals really shine on this song, as he does the descant later in the track. It’s nice to hear. As you can image, this track made it into my playlist.
Good Evening:
Another dance track that starts with Taemin’s vocals; this track is the title track. You can watch the music video here. Even though both tracks thus far have been dance tracks, each track has a completely different feel. I really like the instrumentation of this song. It has this distorted hum/vocal sound in it that is really interesting right when the beat drops. So far, I’m completely digging their comeback. It screams SHINee, and it really matches their personality: offbeat, but bright and full of energy.
Undercover:
More dance music! I feel like SHINee is really touching all pieces of the dance genre with this comeback. I also feel that this would be best to dance to with glowsticks. No issues with that whatsoever, they are slaying it. When the beat drops in the chorus on this one, you get a bit of that “I need to bodyroll” vibe. It hit me hardcore. I really enjoy this song as well, and it did make it into my playlist.
JUMP:
First thoughts on this track, no matter how much I love Key, I don’t consider him a lead singer. He can hit the notes, but, he doesn’t always hit them cleanly. The break between his chest voice and falsetto is very obvious. They are doing octave jumps, which are hard, vocally speaking, but you can hit them cleanly without causing the break in your voice. Taemin surprisingly hits the octave jump the most cleanly. Other than those octave jumps, I do enjoy this song. In comparison to every other dance track on this alum, this is my least favorite thus far.
You & I:
Okay, SHINee ballads, I hate to say this are not the same without Jonghyun. Ballads are where he truly excelled vocally, and you can really feel the absence of his voice here. Simply put, the ballad doesn’t have the level of emotion that I typically love. As such, this track doesn’t do it for me. I do love the lyrics, and they did very well vocally though. This song is written by Key, and the lyrics are very touching.
K-Points: 452/5
As a big Shawol, I am very happy to see that SHINee is back, and that they are getting through everything together. All five of them just have such a bright energy, and it really came out in this album. For that reason, I am touched. That being said, I enjoy the music, and will continue to listen to it, but I wasn’t absolutely blown away. I want an album to give me all of the feels. This one didn’t do that.
Should you listen to this album? Absolutely. The group worked their butts off, and it shows. Should you buy a copy? I am going to say that streaming it will be fine. There are 2 more parts to this album, and ten bucks says they do a release with all 3 parts after all parts are out with all 3 mini albums in one. They have done it before with Misconceptions of Us, and I wouldn’t put it past them to do it again. So, hold off. I will still buy all 3 parts separately, simply because I love to collect albums, but save your wallet for a little bit.
What track on this mini-album is your favorite? Let me know down below, K-Nuggets.
사랑합니다!
–Rachel
