It goes without saying that I adore Taemin and his music, but my biggest frustration with his solo output is how often it tends to favor murky atmosphere and sluggish arrangements. He clearly enjoys this subdued tempo, and it allows for great spotlight on his choreography in a fluid, artistic way. But being a huge fan since his solo debut in 2014, I can’t help but long for the aggressive beats found on songs like Danger.
Because of this, I was happy when Taemin’s new album announced double title tracks. Sexy In The Air fits the more subdued, atmospheric brief and executes this wonderfully… at least across the first half of its running time. Meanwhile, the synthwave-charged Horizon lets us experience a more forceful performance style. Apart from a brief slowdown after the first chorus (why are up-tempo K-pop songs still doing this in 2024?), Horizon takes flight immediately and never lets up. It’s a coiled spring of a pop song, wrapping Taemin’s slippery vocals around a punchy electro instrumental. This contrast makes the track more than a generic genre exercise.
Where other artists might simply let their production do the heavy lifting, Taemin has the uncanny ability to imbue upbeat material with his own rhythm and cadence. His knack for performance elevates so much of Horizon, much as it did during 2020’s showstopping Criminal. I’m especially enamored with the second half of verse two, when the melody takes a more aggressive, insistent turn and Taemin’s vocals become sharp and vigorous. It’s the sound of an artist and song matching each other’s intensity and the result is so satisfying.
| Hooks | 9 |
| Production | 9 |
| Longevity | 9 |
| Bias | 9 |
| RATING | 9 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
We did it, people. The first K-Pop song to get a 9+ rating in 2 months! And it’s deserved
Love the song, wish there was a bridge (my usual complaint for like… 75% of K-Pop songs nowadays). But I still enjoyed it.
9 for me as well.
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AHHHH Nick finally got to post his review for Horizon!
For me, I love everything about the song; Taemin doing synthwave is really my weakness. Even I didn’t mind the brief half-time break in the second verse; I like how the pitch shifts down a bit which, in a way, gives me some nostalgia.
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Who doesn’t love a good synth pop son in this blog? We can agree on this 🤣
here is to hoping that Key’s album serves the club bangers with its promised house style and Minho’s gives us the date night OST for a great SHINee 2024 round-up 🥂
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Oh, I don’t know.
The performance is great. Taemin fully owns it, and sells the shit out of it.
As a child of the 80’s, the instrumental sounds like something straight out of a mid-80’s movie soundtrack b-side. Top Gun crossed with Flashdance. Danger Zone x Maniac. All Giorgio Moroder x Harold Faltermeyer adjacent interpolations in the flare of Blinding Lights.
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Taeeeeeeeeemmmmmmmmmmmmmmmin.
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I love it.
Agree with the rating.
80s synthwave + Taemin = True
If only it had a bridge and went a little bit harder.
Still, amazing work.
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Yeah, this works for me. Taemin is known so much for his grit and determination in actually become a vocalist that it is nice to see attention focused on I guess what I will call vocal performance. He emotes.
Album wise, I like Eternal quite a bit. For me Guilty album was the dessert equivalent of flan. Not bad but not anything I would get excited for.
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It’s a hit. Love the song and the video is a plus. I’m in love with the new direction Taemin and Onew have taken with the label changes.
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Ohh this sounds like it would be in Future Nostalgia, the first verse especially reminds me of Physical by Dua Lipa. But I think I like it, it sounds good 😮
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It’s a good song, but the vocals and mixing in particular don’t really do it for me.
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*skipping up and down in my room yelling tearfully* OH BETTER DAYS, OH BETTER DAYS, OH, OH BETTER DAYS, OH BETTER DAYS, OOOH
(hey uuuuhm do you know about the corset)
(you deserve to know about the corset) (I think it deserves its own spot in the credits)
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