A K-pop act’s title track isn’t always the best song on their album, even if it’s the one most people will hear. Sometimes, b-sides deserve recognition too. In the singles-oriented world of K-pop, I want to spotlight some of these buried treasures and give them the props they deserve.
This will be a weird “buried treasure” post because there’s going to be as much ranting as raving. If performed by a different group, NCT Wish’s Ode To Love would probably be my favorite album of the year. The songs (most of them, at least) are super solid and nod back to SM Entertainment sounds I love. However, longtime readers know my ears have an aversion to higher-pitched sounds (ie: my struggle with trap percussion) and it’s so hard for me to get past the arrangement of Wish’s vocals. I don’t even think it’s the fault of the guys themselves because when they sing solo they frequently sound quite good. However, the producers often stack their vocals together and — rather than create depth and harmony — it comes across as shrill, flat and compressed. I just can’t listen to these songs without imagining SHINee’s mighty blend — or even RIIZE, honestly.
Rant over. As pure pop songwriting, there’s plenty to love on this album. A handful of tracks stuck out to me, but the late album highlight Everglow keeps pulling me back. The vocal arrangement is particularly frustrating here, but if I force myself to get past that I’m thrilled by the bold electro-funk sound and dynamic structure. The chorus pulses with 2013-era SHINee bombast, which is one the highest compliments I can give to K-pop. This is the sound I want all over SM’s music, but I also want it full-bodied with a sense of depth and space. If Everglow were tangible like putty, I Iong to pull and stretch it out, removing the incessant compression and letting the music fully flourish.
| Hooks | 9 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 9 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8.5 |
Grade: B
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
This feels a bit like Songbird upgraded. What other highlights could you point out? Mine would be the run from Feel the Beat to Crush.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Feel The Beat, 2.0 and Crush. I also like Glow Up because the vocals don’t bother me in that one lol
LikeLiked by 1 person
I feel like I am listening to a long lost SHINee song in the Married to the Music – Dream Girl era. But the production is just so off, so flat. The production is so compressed that it does not allow the music to breathe, build tension, release tension, repeat. Have the quiet parts so that the louder parts just pop, then release to the quieter parts.
Also, though NCT Wish might be good vocalists, SHINee are exceptional vocalists who know their parts so well they can carve into the lines adding color and depth when that is needed but then play it completely straight on the line when that is needed. NCT Wish either aren’t that or aren’t allowed to be that.
SHINee “Dream Girl” for the kids here – I like this version, because it is live live (about half), the live mics are the headsets but they still use the prop mics as if they are the live mics (mostly). Back in “mics as dance props” era – ZEA had one, Super Junior had another. Also the set is back in the era of elaborate frameworks as set – qv various Super Junior f(x) Girls’ Generation mv’s. I think SM must have had a warehouse full of moving frames and blocks and box lights and just swapped them all around.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZh355py1Kw
LikeLiked by 1 person
This song is great, definitely the best on the album, but my complaint is the same as Nick’s–the shrill vocal arrangement :’) I especially like the ascending chords in the prechorus, though I’m sure I’ve heard that exact same chord sequence in a Shinee song (Heart Attack or Married to the Music? Which happen to be two of my favorite Shinee songs lol, so I’m not complaining). Also the chorus melody sounds almost identical to Wish’s Songbird, interestingly
LikeLiked by 1 person