Here are my credentials (again): If you couldn’t tell by the blog name, I’m a Shawol (I’ve been one for three years or so, and a casual fan longer), and SHINee are my ult group. I love all of the members’ work, and Taemin is tied for my favorite soloist of the five. As much as I make an attempt to remain unbiased in my reviews, I’m kind of going into this knowing that I’m going to love this discography, and any criticisms I’ll have will likely be very nitpicky because it’s hard for me to be objective. So, that being said, please ignore the fangirl squealing and let’s get into it.

(Part One)

Album #3: Never Gonna Dance Again; Part 1

2 Kids is a pre-release for the first part of Never Gonna Dance Again, and, as a good pre-release should, it acts as a balance for the title. It feels a bit like one of his b-sides, in terms of the gentler, more nostalgic sound, the vulnerability and genuine apology, and in general how…young it sounds? It’s one of those songs that in and of itself isn’t groundbreaking but the performance given is what elevates it to great, and Taemin, as always, gives one hell of a performance.

Criminal sparkles with the kind of charisma that can only be achieved after so long performing, and is a little different than his previous tracks for the sole reason that for once, he isn’t the agent of seduction himself but instead the one being seduced and, in a way, corrupted. It’s dark and hypnotic, and while the verses are slight, the chorus is incredibly compelling (especially the key change in the last one). The bridge is good too, and the almost frizzy news reports in the background add an extra layer of sound that brings the song from great to almost perfect.

Never Gonna Dance Again; Part 1, is probably the stronger of the two halves of the album. I loved the expansive string section and the many layers of beautiful vocalizing in Black Rose, the ticking clocks and very segmented intonation in Clockwork, and the surprisingly sweet lyrics and brightly rising instrumentation of Just Me and You (which I think was my favorite).

Album #4: Never Gonna Dance Again; Part 2

IDEA begins with an almost ethereal, wistful sound, and explores the idea of heaven and hell that he’s played with for a while the most explicitly of any of his titles. There’s white smoke, pale blue skies, cozy sweaters, and blank rooms full of chess boards versus red forests, black suits, and wooden backdrops lit on fire. The song is a slow burn (no pun intended), as the first chorus is very slight but each one after builds and builds until the final one begins to spin out of control. It’s a bizarre structure for a song, but it honestly works quite well.

From the second part of the Never Gonna Dance Again album, it should be no surprise that I loved Be Your Enemy. Wendy’s voice is one of my absolute favorites in k-pop and while Taemin and Seulgi’s match well for the more R & B focused side of his discography, hers and Taemin’s work beautifully together in such a sweet song. The only thing I would change is to add her in more. It’s a very comforting ballad, and feels like a good friend taking your hands and telling you it’ll be okay. Think Of You is also quite sweet, which wasn’t what I expected from such a harsh title, but it’s a pleasant surprise, and I was happy to find that he wrote it and Pansy himself. I also enjoyed I Think It’s Love.

EP #4: Advice

Advice starts with quite a lovely piano and this contrasts nicely with the distortion (which is cleaner than that in Danger). It then devolves into a more hip-hop sound mixed with light electro, which is tied together through Taemin’s voice. I have to confess that I don’t enjoy this song as much as his other singles, because, while it’s a good song, I don’t think that what makes the rest of his discography great (vocals, R & B, drama, etc) is as present here. I do enjoy the lyrics, especially the connection in the choruses with his tattoo (“destroying the torso you were chasing after”)

From Advice (the album), my hidden gem was definitely Sad Kids. It’s similar in terms of vibe, instrumentation, and even title to 2 Kids, but I definitely like this one more. Where 2 Kids is good but not that distinguishable, Sad Kids taps deeply into that nostalgia with its chirping crickets and quiet vocalizations and connects not just to those who have made a mistake and lost someone they love, but any teenager (or even twenty-something) who has ever felt at heart, like they’re “just sad kids, getting lost.” I also enjoyed hearing Taeyeon and Taemin’s voices together in If I Could Tell You; they make such a lovely combination.

EP #5: Guilty

Guilty just came out this morning, to much excitement from both me and other fans whose standards are high after a two-year-long hiatus for mandatory military service. But the moment we get to the creeping falsetto and the atmospheric violins of the beginning of the first verse, my worries were assuaged. Like the best of his work, that control is so evident, but here he it feels like it’s being wrestled from him just a little bit more as the song goes on. I love the creepy chanting under the pre-chorus and that explosion in the bridge and last chorus was perfection and I couldn’t have asked for a better catharsis.

That choreography is both so stunning and so unsettling, the way it contorts and mimics puppetry. I can’t decide on which interpretation I agree with; there’s cases to be made for abuse (“make you addicted, you can’t tell pain from love”), military service (“walk like this, talk like this, play like this”), or queerness (“loving you’s a crime”), although I have no idea what the intention was. tried to keep my expectations low but let’s be real, I didn’t. And he totally delivered! The more I listen to this, the more I love it, and it’s honestly one of my favorites of his.

My hidden gem from the EP is probably either She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not or Blue. The former has a great mix of melodic chanting, some vulnerability (and gasp! even a bit of sing talk), and the latter is so peaceful and dreamy that it feels like floating, and it makes a great album closer.

EP #6: Eternal

Sexy In The Air is Taemin’s first release after leaving SM Entertainment, and is very him right off the bat. There’s the distorted opening, creeping yet smooth vocals, and this indescribable feeling of danger that he’s so good at. The hook is a bit too understated, in my opinion, but I understand that this isn’t a song that’s made to be flashy. Also, obviously, it was made to sound like “sex is in the air”, which is a clever way to get around the censors and feels like a wink at the audience.

From the EP, I enjoyed the lovely vocals in acoustic The Unknown Sea, the synthpop of Crush, and the dreamy nostalgia of Say Less. My hidden gem was the confident, disco-influenced Horizon (Key would be so proud of this track). Also, it’s lovely to see how involved he was with the writing and composing of the album!

Verdict: TL;DR

As always, I’m glad I did this! It didn’t change my mind since I don’t really think I could be a bigger fan of SHINee, but I definitely found some new b-sides to enjoy and I’m having a good time listening to his interviews today. I’d say Taemin’s right up there with Sunmi in terms of my favorite soloists. And I’d also say that after listening to all of that I need to bathe in some holy water, stat.

My Top 5 songs are Move, Under My Skin, Monologue, Pretty Boy, and Criminal, with Shadow and Guilty as honorable mentions. Taemin gets a 9.25 out of 10 from me, no surprise there. I’ve never claimed not to be biased here, so there you go. I had a lot of fun and, as if I haven’t been enough of a sap in my reviews so far, this made me even more grateful that he’s back home. For the next two weeks, we’ll be having another longer one broken into parts with two shorter supplementals, which wasn’t originally the plan but someone’s making a comeback very soon and I got so excited that I decided “screw it, I’ve got to write about this”.

So, I’ll see you next time, for a Leviathan of a girl group. Tschüss!

(SHINee Deep Dive)

(Part One)