Here are my credentials (again): I actually don’t know much about Monsta X, but they’ve been on my list to cover for a while. I know a bit about the members—having covered Joohoney in my solo rankings series-–but pretty surface level things. I also have a friend who’s a huge fan of them (love you, Faith!), and so I elbowed her into letting me include some of her thoughts too. Let’s get into it!

(Part One) (Part Three)

Album #1 (Repackage): Shine Forever

Even though the song is titled Shine Forever, I wasn’t expecting something so…idk, soft? Don’t get me wrong, they’ve done lighter styles like this before, in b-sides like White Love, but I’d assumed that their titles were going to stay in the hard-hitting, “boy-group-music” category. I don’t know whether I’m happy to be wrong or not, but I did quite like this song. It’s synthy and a little distorted in places, but the two parts work pretty well together, all things considered. My one gripe is that I wish the chorus went less in the instrumental anti-drop direction, but it was remedied in the final rendition, which I liked. I also liked the music video, though I admit I laughed a few times when it got into its more dramatic moments. (Not the blindfolds and the crying in the car!)

“Shine Forever, or as I call it, Beautiful 2.0,” Faith said, “it flows like water, ebbing up and down until it pours over into a rushing current…[and] was filmed in Jejū and has gorgeous scenes. It’s a pretty clear cut storyline, a group of friends on vacation meet with tragedy and redemption. The running joke is who was dumb enough to let the only member of the group without a driver’s license operate a van.”

EP #5: The Code

Dramarama is one of those kpop songs that I’d heard of, maybe vis-a-vis a friend or in some compilation video on in the background, but for some reason hadn’t connected it with Monsta X. Like seeing someone at work but not knowing their name, if you know what I mean. “It was their first win,” Faith informed me, “and well deserved.” The song itself is a bit more subdued than I was expecting; while it has its hard-hitting parts and doesn’t shy away from its more noise-music esque aspects, it doesn’t feel over-the-top.

The same cannot be said for the music video, which starts with a newspaper reading TIME TRAVELER SKIPS TOWN, for the love of god, and then goes onto hip thrust heavy choreo and gratuitous shots of Wonho shirtless in a shower for…reasons? Ok. Seriously, though, for all its time travel (“or as I call it, the ‘sexy Dr. Who storyline”, Faith interjected), there are parts that are honestly quite affecting. You find yourself getting invested even when you don’t expect it, caught up in watching people try to prevent something that’s inevitable—-but hasn’t happened quite yet.

From the EP, I enjoyed the gentle guitar of In Time, the bombastic hooks of both Now Or Never and X, and the incredibly tense intro of Deja Vu.

EP #6: The Connect; Dejavu

I really liked the intro of Jealousy, and was pleasantly surprised by how smoothly it led into the body of the song, mixing a synth underlying beat with a harsher instrumental at points and of course, the great vocals. This is another case where I didn’t realize until the chorus that I’d actually heard the song before; or at least the “JEALOUSYYYYYY” hook. It’s interesting, because I feel like this song is the most cohesive of their titles so far, the most technically “good”, and I’m surprised that I don’t think it’s going to end up being my favorite, because somehow Beautiful and its ilk have won me over.

(Can you hear Faith crowing in the background that her master plan has worked?)

From the EP, I enjoyed the expansive, cinematic feeling of Destroyer (which remains Faith’s favorite to this day), as well as the almost tropical-sounding EDM of Fallin’. My hidden gem was easily Lost In The Dream, which I didn’t pay much attention to the first time I heard it, but eventually couldn’t stop replaying. Its buildup is something special, and the bridge leading to the final chorus is just perfection. I hope they use that sound for a single. “The album holds a special place in my heart,” Faith said to me. “I think it does for [Monsta X] too.”

Album #2: Take.1 Are You There

I admit, I was wary of Shoot Out just from the title, anticipating another song like Trespass, that takes the imagery of hip-hop and African-American struggles and gang violence and turns it into an aesthetic. And overall, I’m happy that it seems like that wasn’t the case. I’m going to say tentatively that I’m glad they seem to have learned. Actually, I really liked this MV overall, from the focus on the minute movements of the choreo to the pops of color in what’s a lot of black, white, and tan.

Joohoney starts out the song rapping a mile-a-minute, which is impressive, and the verses…all I’ll say is if you want noise music, well, here you go. They’re not for me. The choruses are smoother, besides the repeated “walker walker” hook afterward, that I have mixed feelings about. “In Shoot Out they climb the steps to redemption and are free from the dark obsession and cycle of pain,” Faith said. “There’s a lot of subtle symbolism that links it with Alligator…but that’s for another Ted Talk.”

With Take.1 we have another full album, and I liked it much more than Shine Forever. First there’s the intro, which does a pretty good job of blending MX’s different sounds and influences, and then there’s the ethereal, almost floaty feeling of Underwater, the surprisingly gentle trop-pop of I Do Love You, and the light-footed vocals of Myself. It’s a difficult album to choose a hidden gem for, but if I’m being pressed, I’d say it’s Mohae, which, like the intro, brings together several of Monsta X’s sounds, and turns them into a synthy song that seems tailor-made for summer.

Album #3: Take.2 We Are Here

Alligator dives even further into the category of “noise music” than Shoot Out does, but manages to teeter just on the edge of taking it too far, melding the expected hallmarks of that sound with a synthier, more melodic chorus and more focus on the vocals. I could probably do without the chanty post-chorus hook and Joohoney’s “Hello I’m an alligator” line, though, despite the latter making me fall out of my chair laughing. I’m sorry, Faith, I tried. I really tried. Besides that, I liked this song a lot more than I was expecting. It’s a very MX song. from all I’ve seen so far; it feels true to their identity as a band.

“In Shoot Out they sacrifice themselves to be free [of the timeline the corrupted],” Faith said. “In Alligator they succumb to the darkness and rule as an evil version of the Clan…it basically represents the two very different paths they could take, and where that’ll lead them.”

Imagine my surprise (and delight!) when I realized Take.2 was also a full album. This intro includes talking, but is equally good at bringing you into the world, leading directly into Alligator. Besides it, I enjoyed the impressive falsetto hook of No Reason, the synthiness of Stealer, and the insistent beat and chanty chorus of Rodeo, my hidden gem. I still preferred Take.1 but this is quite a good one too.

Next time, we’re onto Part 2, which was originally supposed to be the last part, but…yeah, Faith and I are incapable of shutting up. Tschüss!