1. Atmos // 2. Hours // 3. Possibility // 4. Anti Believer // 5. Still Raining // 6. Thousand Miles Away

STILL RAINING

We’ve now reached the portion of the album where things slow down. SHINee are on my very short list of K-pop groups with great ballads, so a slower song is nothing to fear from them. With that said, Still Raining is my least favorite track on ATMOS.

I wouldn’t call this a ballad. It’s more like a pensive mid-tempo, underlined by muted production and a subdued beat. This provides space for SHINee to flex their vocals, but let’s be honest they flex their vocals on up-tempo tracks too so that’s not really a defining factor.

The song itself is quite pretty, bringing a delicate energy to punctuate the nonstop party we’ve been enjoying up to this point. But when I place this in the pantheon of similar-sounding SHINee songs, there’s nothing Still Raining does that’s particularly unique or essential. It’s simply a nice change of pace that works well on the second half of an album. My highlight is the Onew-led power note that sweeps us into the final chorus. You know I love some good musical drama!

Grade: C