DAY6 solo projects have largely left me cold, and that’s actually true for a lot of bands. Unless a member strikes out on their own with a vastly different sound, solo work can often feel like a lesser version of what the full band provides. I haven’t written about a solo track from keyboardist Wonpil since 2022, but in the back of my mind I still want him to release something that takes full advantage of those keyboard skills.
Highs And Lows (사랑병동) opens with some crunchy electronics, but mostly sounds like a DAY6 song. I happen to enjoy Wonpil’s vocal, so a DAY6 song with only his voice is a fine proposition, and there are moments in the track that give him brief chances to noodle around on the keys. However, as a whole Highs And Lows sticks firmly within a rock template. It’s big, cathartic and bolstered by plenty of guitar. To his credit, this doesn’t feel like some hollow, cut-and-paste Imagine Dragons riff. Despite lacking his bandmates, it feels like a collaborative work with every element in place and turned up to ’10’.
The anthemic chorus works pretty well. It’s not among DAY6’s most stirring works, but has a sense of lift that offers plenty of satisfaction. I’m more intrigued by the keyboards that come in just after this segment and wish the entire track could fashion itself around this more idiosyncratic production. But if we’re not going to get that, I’m pleased enough to enjoy Highs And Lows‘ emotional heft and bombastic execution.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8 |
Grade: B-
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
It’s really solid. Reminds me of Woodz. I’m eager to check out the full album now.
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I enjoyed this song more than I thought I would . Quite different from his debut album and he harnessed this sound so well alone that i have no complains . Love the subtle chanting part towards the end of the song before it gets to the short instrumental outro . I did not even realise that this song is less than 3 minutes but it offered me so much that I did not notice it .
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I adore this song. The hook while not perfect is good enough to be a 9 for me and he sounds fantastic. I’d give it an 8.5 and I think it’ll have great longevity for me.
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Hi Nick,
Recent subscriber to your blog here! I’ve noticed your distaste for Imagine Dragons lol, as they’re my favorite artist I figured I might as well try to change your mind (or anyone else’s!) on the off chance you see this and are willing to hear me out. I’m not as in touch with music as you are, but with my 257k minutes of listening last year (40k from Imagine Dragons) and my decently diverse music taste, I think my opinion is at least informed enough to take seriously. I know that everyone has a different music taste and that’s ok of course, but I’ve noticed that your music taste is actually quite similar to mine (more than most people I know), which is why I have some hope here.
The other reason I’m hopeful that people who dislike Imagine Dragons have the potential to change their minds is that in my opinion, the best of their songs and their most popular songs have almost no overlap – most of their most popular ones are towards the middle of their discography in terms of how good I think they are, while the ones I like most are mostly significantly lesser known songs. This is why I think the impression most people initially get of Imagine Dragons is severely misleading.
To give a sense of why I love them – I’ve never really tried to boil it down, but I guess I’d say 1. their nostalgic sound, 2. their amazing choruses – often either massive or emotional, but so many are memorable. Also, to pre-empt some common criticisms: 1. They’re sellouts. Yeah they are lol, but I don’t think this matters, especially with their earlier material – I don’t think that affected their early music at all, whether or not that was the case (being a “sellout” doesn’t automatically mean the music is bad!) Similarly, I think a lot of this stems from people thinking of them as a rock band, and being disappointed that their songs aren’t very “rock” at all – in my opinion they’re basically a pop/alternate artist using rock instrumentation, rather than a rock artist. 2. They sound empty; they sound like nothing. I’ve never understood this argument, but I strongly disagree – I think their songs have a lot of personality and a lot of emotion, which is why I love them.
Anyway, here’s my pitch: ten songs, in no particular order. I both consider these among their best, and also think you’d have a decent chance of liking (or even loving!) based on the impression I have of your music taste.
I even made a Spotify playlist just for this lol: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3NruvXu7DIhrcMOffqlnpb?si=0fb3c30511854ecc&pt=37211452c1d41ebadbfb3a506d0a18ef
If it turns out you are willing to take the time to listen to some or all of these – just keep an open mind! I genuinely think that based on the music taste I’ve observed from you, you’ll probably like at least some of these!
P.S. is this comment ok or is it too off topic? I know you occasionally talk about global pop so I figured it was ok – this is actually one of the first times I’ve posted anything publicly on the internet, so idk all the rules and what’s appropriate or not. If this was out of line, I swear it wasn’t my intent! And I hope I didn’t come off as too annoying or overzealous, but I figured the point of this blog was to share our passion about music:)
One last thing, I swear I’m a kpop fan too (obviously, since I follow you)! Favorite groups: Dreamcatcher, Ateez, TVXQ, After School (plus Younha if you count all Korean pop). If I ever comment in the future it’ll actually be kpop related! Just had to get this out of my system I guess lol. Huge fan of your blog:)
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