Earlier this year, Taemin debuted a suite of new songs during his Coachella set, teasing fans’ expectations for a new era. We had to wait a few months for that era to materialize, but he’s back today with a full album. Two title tracks are promised from Soft Violence, with Float leading the pack.
When it comes to Taemin’s solo work, I often feel that his material struggles to match his presence and skill as a performer. He certainly has his fair share of highlights, but there are plenty of songs (some of them title tracks!) that lack the ambition I know he’s capable of. Sadly, Float fits within this category. For a performer as dynamic as Taemin, the song’s laidback nature feels like a waste.
Float is built upon a dreamy bed of synths and a subdued garage beat. In other words, it fits right within K-pop’s trends of the moment. But here’s the thing: someone like Taemin doesn’t follow trends — he sets them. Perhaps this is too much expectation to put upon one artist, but I only do that with artists I genuinely love. And with this in mind, Float is a whole lot of nothing. It’s not unpleasant, but it’s quite underwhelming in both sound and execution.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 7 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.25 |
Grade: C
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
It’s nice. As nice as any other song of this style can be. Come on Taemin, give us some MJ-esque thrilling bangers! You did that with Danger 12 years ago!
7.75 (8, 7, 8, 8) for me.
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It’s pleasant, easy to listen to. Pleasant is not what I listen to Taemin for, though. Rating is about right. Album definitely has some highlights, i wonder which song will be the second title track?
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I suspect that he is in the phase known as “I make songs that I want to make” and no one at the agency is giving him any honest advice.
Song is fine, but could be almost anyone. Tbh sounds like a b-side to me.
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1. Float
Final Rating: 8
Analysis: This brings to mind a NewJeans track, featuring airy vocals and a drum-and-bass beat alongside some lovely layers in the chorus. However, the production remains quite monotone overall, failing to develop or build toward a satisfying climax like a great Taemin song typically would. I was also quite surprised to find that the track is entirely in English. All in all, it is a decent effort—nothing extraordinary, but far from bad.
2. Gooey
Final Rating: 7.5 (7, 8, 7, 8)
Analysis: This track reminds me a bit of Taemin’s “Idea” and SHINee’s Hard album. Unfortunately, the beat feels a bit too scrambled to form a clear sonic picture, and the chorus ends up feeling quite lacking.
3. Let Me Be the One
Final Rating: 8.75 (8, 9, 9, 9)
Analysis: This would have made a phenomenal single! It channels Michael Jackson and Shinhwa in the absolute best way, and the New Jack Swing style suits Taemin wonderfully. I love the harmonies sprinkled throughout the track. Once again, this is an entirely English-language song, which makes me wonder if K-pop artists and companies are beginning to lean toward more globally focused albums over Korean releases. Also, for some reason, Taemin’s vocals sound just a touch digitized or AI-like at points. Even so, the song is fantastic—let’s see if it receives official promotions!
4. Sober
Final Rating: 8.5 (8, 9, 8, 9)
Analysis: Now the project really starts picking up steam! This evokes SHINee’s atmospheric sound or ZEROBASEONE’s “Zero to Hundred” from a few months ago, feeling like a late-night motorcycle ride down a highway. I am also starting to keep a tally of just how many full English songs are on this album!
5. 1004
Final Rating: 8.5 (8, 9, 8, 9)
Analysis: Another fully English track! I could easily picture Wendy or Taeyeon singing this, but in Taemin’s hands, it is still a very pleasant listen. The production is open and spacious, allowing Taemin to pour plenty of emotion into his performance. While his signature airy delivery isn’t bad by any means, this particular genre usually calls for a powerhouse vocalist like Kelly Clarkson, Ailee, or Solar, and at times he sounds a bit uncomfortable tackling these notes. That said, the instrumental break during the bridge is simply gorgeous!
6. Easy Loving You
Final Rating: 8.25 (8, 8, 8, 9)
Analysis: This album is giving me a serious case of déjà vu! It sounds very much like a Stephen Sanchez or d4vd track. While anyone who knows my taste knows how much I love a good retro song, every track—regardless of genre—needs strong dynamics and a daring performance to truly shine. For this 1960s-inspired style, dynamic range is entirely achievable, but it requires sharp ears and creative arrangement. Ultimately, it ends up sounding very similar to “Until I Found You” by Stephen Sanchez—both tracks are pleasant, but ultimately remain just that.
7. Skin
Final Rating: 7.25 (7, 7, 7, 8)
Analysis: The beat here feels unsettling in a less-than-ideal way, echoing that slightly awkward interpretation K-pop sometimes takes on what a dark concept should sound like. The whispered breathing sound effects come across as more eerie than genuinely alluring. However, this could easily find a home on a Halloween-themed release (and we all know Taemin is always eager to channel his inner “Thriller”). Nothing about this track truly resonates with me personally, but it is alright.
8. Parasite
Final Rating: 8 (8, 8, 8, 8)
Analysis: Another all-English track! I can see Taemin attempting to spark an early Halloween revolution here, though he would need much stronger material to fully pull it off. This feels like a step up from “Skin,” but incorporating more dramatic elements—such as sweeping open choir arrangements, rich strings, or wonderfully warped vocals—could have elevated the track immensely. The quirky trap breakdown, unfortunately, didn’t work very well for me.
9. Frankenstein
Final Rating: 8.5 (8, 9, 8, 9)
Analysis: I feel that this softer track suits his vocal tone much better than several of the other songs on the album. He sounds completely in his element, highly alluring, and fully in control of the track. I especially love the high note!
10. This Is the End
Final Rating: N/A
Analysis: I see what you did here, Taemin! This might actually be setting the stage for a grand, eerie, anthemic single for his next project. I know Taemin is always up for a creative challenge, and I have complete faith in both him and the SHINee members (OT5 forever!).
Final Thoughts and Album Rating
Overall Album Rating: Low 8 (8.133)
Conclusion: Throughout the course of the album, Taemin shapeshifts across a wide variety of different sounds, which unfortunately makes the overall project feel somewhat disjointed and incohesive. I completely understand wanting to showcase different sides of his artistry and explore fresh sonic territory, but he leaned toward fairly safe, radio-friendly dance tracks for the majority of the record. On top of that, a significant portion of the tracklist is in English (four full songs to be exact). I don’t mind English-language releases as long as the lyrics are natural, make sense, and maintain the creativity and theatrical drama that makes his music so brilliant. In my opinion, “Let Me Be the One” stood out as the absolute best track and truly deserves a full music video with choreography. I am very interested to see what Phase 2 has in store!
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If I remember correctly, Taemin has spoken of this era as his push into the global market, which would explain the majority of the lyrics being in English!
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Makes sense. Hopefully, we don’t lose the Taemin we know and love!
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TBH if there is one song on the album that I think was shoehorned in by someone other than him, it’s Float. Maybe also Gooey for the memes. Without those two, the rest is honestly quite cohesive, Artsy TM for sure but at least it’s the sense of drama I expect from him. Float just feels like they needed a title track and it was lying around somewhere as a remnant of 2024 trends so they said “Good Enough”. I think everything besides Gooey and Float is going into my 2026 Favorites though; I’m not a big ballad enjoyer but all three of them are emotional/energetic enough to stick. Well, aside from Easy Loving You but it gives me Arctic Monkeys “No 1 Party Anthem” vibes and I love that song way too much. I hope they take all the drama of the b-sides, turn it up to 11 and distill into the title track of the next release first and foremost. Please, I need another banger like Want or Criminal, nobody does dramatic sensual songs like him and I miss those dearly in the age of idols under 20 T_T
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Let Me Be The One was right there. Or Sober. Instead they went with this very almost good track. Sigh. The rest of the album is shaping up to be actually good.
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knowing him, he’s gonna roll out a part 2 so I’m debating spiff to purchase.
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#$&* it’s if. If i buy it now.
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