Woodz has quickly become an artist whose work I anticipate. His blending of different genres feels fresh within the idol world, and I love when he moves in a more rock-influenced direction. His last single could have done with a sung chorus, but its blazing guitar continued to develop Woodz’s unique sound. In comparison, new track Waiting feels more fleshed out but not quite as idiosyncratic.
Listening to the album preview, there were other songs that stuck out to me more. I assume Waiting was chosen for its vibe and emotion, and it succeeds in both of these aspects. Despite a generally upbeat sound, it’s somewhat understated. Like so many current pop tracks, Waiting thrives on groove. Woodz’s slinky vocal matches this approach perfectly, and he occasionally breaks from the rhythm to deliver punches of climax. I prefer these moments to the hushed delivery of the chorus, but the contrast works well either way.
Despite embracing global trends, Waiting still makes room for rock influence. The verses pulse on guitar-led rhythm and the percussion has a live concert feel. Occasional flourishes of electric guitar further develop this sound. I wish the song opted for a more fiery arrangement, but that would be asking for a different sentiment entirely. For what it is, Waiting is another solid entry in Woodz’s strong discography, with just enough personality to free it from its more generic leanings.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 9 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8.25 |
I feel exhausted even reading Seungyoun’s Wikipedia page: soccer player in Brazil, international school in the Philippines, Uniq, Show Me The Money, songwriter, Produce X, X1, Woodz. And he’s only TWENTY-FIVE. He makes me feel old as the hills and lazy as hell.
I LOVE Woodz’ shift towards blues-rock-influenced work. Although those influences shone through more clearly in Feel Like, this is a really, really strong song and I am so excited for where he goes next with this sound. There’s no one like him.
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Not for nothin’ but he did some solo work pre-WOODZ too, under the stage name “Luizy” 🙂
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This is what I love to hear from WOODZ! Hopefully, the album is as great as the preview suggested 🙂
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WOODZ is really an impressive soloist and definitely one of my favourite soloists!
I definitely do agree some of the other bsides (“Sour Candy” and “Chaser” say hi) in the mini sounded a lot more interesting, but like you I understand why “WAITING” was picked. “WAITING” is still a nice song though!
Between the dual title tracks, I much prefer “Kiss of fire” mainly because how much more intense it is.
The Equal mini is still one of the more diverse minis from him. But this mini album, Only Lovers Left, is definitely my favorite WOODZ mini from him!
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Oof, I needed a trigger warning for that MV. But if dude wanted to get into acting, he’s got a hell of an audition reel. Going to save the EP for tomorrow, because I didn’t absorb any of that.
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Same here on the MV. The ending, I mean, cmon.
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Ah, it was so crazy, I can only imagine that it was triggering for him especially. Casual listeners probably don’t know this but Seungyoun has been really, really open about his past struggles with suicidal ideation. So I just hope that the MV concept was his idea and everything, and that he’s alright.
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I don’t usually get into much bts content for soloists, but the YT algorithm suggested WOODZ’ “Welcome to my Baverse” episode because PENTAGON’s Kino and VICTON’s Seungwoo are both in it, and it’s both refreshing and gutting to hear him talking about his mental health struggles. Visibility is so important but I know from personal experience how hard it is, and it doesn’t always get easier either. I’ve been glad to see idols being supported to take time off when they need it, but there’s this accompanying narrative that when they come back from hiatus they’re “cured” and I worry that’s going to bite someone in the ass eventually.
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Ah the Baverse video was so good….. but I had concerns about that too. I admire him so much but sometimes I worry that his openness, frankness, candid nature, whatever we wanna call it, it’s being exploited. Like, the company that made the Baverse video released merch to promote it, including NFTs. NFTs!!!!!!!
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Oof, yeah, I didn’t know about that. I mean, that’s always the problem with artists trying to be open with personal stuff – the personal becomes part of the product. I never thought about it before, but maybe that’s something I appreciate about the artificial nature of a lot of kpop. I’ve watched a couple of interviews where American interviewers ask what inspired a song or whatever, and the idols just kind of mumble something but really, most of the time nothing inspired anything other than someone in an office deciding it looked like a possible hit. The artist isn’t pouring their heart out on the table, they’re just giving the best performance they can.
Anyhow, hopefully he’s got good people around him helping him keep his head on straight.
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He has Seungwoo and Kino at the very least 🙂 He and Kino seem to be very close, it’s super sweet.
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I’m pretty biased, but Kino seems like a good guy to have as a friend.
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Ngl I was fine with the MV up until the last few seconds and that sound just actually really messed me up. I’m not sure I can listen to this again even on Spotify without thinking of it for the time being.
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Are you doing okay? *hugs* That kind of thing can hit out of nowhere and really mess up one’s day. I will never not be a proponent of trigger warnings, no matter how much people want to whine about them.
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I’m good thank you ❤ it just made a reverb through my whole body if that makes sense.
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Yeah.. definitely wasn’ t expecting that ending especially.
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Woodz is definitely one of my favourite soloists right now and I was really looking forward to this ep. Kiss of fire is great and so is Waiting with the rock influenced sound. However, a few of the b-sides were too chill for me, though that isn’t a let down. Listening more only makes it grow on me.
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So many goodies in this song!
I lost my own bet that Nick would say “layered vocals”, because this song has layered vocals in spades, both sung and crafted. In fact, most of the “instrumental” in the verse is really layered vocals with a light instrumental of strummed guitar buried deeper in the mix. Then as the song progresses the guitar adds its own layers and intensity until most dramatically switching to the classic rock electric guitar sound. Its one a few examples where adding more, adds more.
I love it. Plus it is growing better even within a day.
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Love this betting on words Nick will use. Just hope he doesn’ t aggressively start finding synonyms now..
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I’m thinking we double dare him to use all synonyms for whatever he is feeling when the next Universe App release comes out. Just a list of words.
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Ha! A word cloud!
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welp, woodz is finally out of the woods and into my radar
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“Waiting” didn’t make much of an impression on me initially, and there are some b sides I might have preferred as a title track– as another commenter mentioned, “Sour Candy” and “Chaser” are standouts. I think you and your readership tend to prefer upbeat tracks as well, and I would imagine you’d choose one of these two for a buried treasure 🙂
That being said, I’m a huge fan of Seungyoun and as usual, when he drops a new release I’m just so happy to read everyone praising him. Although I preferred his 2020 releases overall, I am always impressed with his versatility and dynamism as a musician and performer, and I appreciate how he is always bringing something new and different. Each release is vastly different from the last and it always leaves me looking forward to what he’ll put out next. Let’s goooo 🙂
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Feel like I should leave a positive comment as well today, so here it is.
Woodz is one of those performers who is just really solid. His songs to me never feel extraordinarily unique or exciting, but they are good pieces of music that hold up over time. I always enjoy his releases.
Because it’ s not a comment of mine without a random comparison: his general musical style reminds me of Nissy for no particular reason I can think of.
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Finally got around to giving this a listen on the good headphones. I like “Sour candy”, “Kiss of fire” and “Chaser”, but I prefer the more rock-heavy sound from “Feel Like” or “Love Me Harder”.
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Just give me all the Woodz all the time.
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Kiss of Fire + Chaser + Waiting is a breathtaking sequence of songs.
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I wasn’t expecting anything in particular from the stages, seeing as there wasn’t any dance in the MV, but I actually really liked yesterday’s CB stage. A little bit of the musical theater feel, and I appreciate a good chair dance. https://youtu.be/RNJD-IEMGJc
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