Though he has yet to release a mini album, the holy quintet of SHINee solos is now complete with the arrival of Minho’s I’m Home (그래). The track comes only days before his enlistment, which will leave Taemin as the group’s only actively promoting member. It’s crazy how time flies. Even five years ago, it would have been hard to imagine a K-pop industry without SHINee.

Minho’s always been underrated as a vocalist, and I’m Home capitalizes on his calming tone and unassuming delivery. Like most SM Entertainment solo tracks released this time of year, the song is a blend of mid-tempo and ballad. For longtime readers, I don’t think I need to explain why this particular sound isn’t to my liking, but Home winds up being slightly less dull than what I would have expected.

With that said, I wish I could rave about this track. I’ve always loved Minho as a performer and personality, and it would have been cool to send him off with a song that better harnessed his individual quirks. Instead, I’m Home is perfectly pleasant springtime fodder. Delicate guitar combines with laid-back percussion and a whistling hook to create a calming atmosphere that captures Minho’s warm vocals well. He even gets to do a little rapping during the second verse. None of this really goes anywhere, and the end product comes off as more of a vibe than a song, but something is better than nothing. At least we finally get to hear his voice drive a track on its own.

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