Here are my credentials (again): I would consider myself a casual fan of &TEAM, in that I liked one singular post about them and they haven’t stop invading my feed since. So I finally decided to listen to the universe and cover them. Then I opened Kprofiles and immediately went: “what do you mean werewolf concept?”. Yeah. They have a werewolf concept. Let’s get into it!

(Part One)

Single #5: 青嵐 (Aoarashi)

Aoarashi, like Maybe and Samidare before it, wastes no time establishing a thundering, sunny beat complete with soaring vocals and a dreamy disposition that makes you feel like floating. Really, there can never be enough pretty boys in crop tops telling you to embrace life and chase your dreams, can there? I also loved the little nods to Japanese culture with the yukata, fans, and (what I assume is) tanghulu in the MV. This may be my favorite of their Japanese-titled single series, not in the least because its palpable sense of nostalgia and magic reminded me a lot of Gfriend’s Time For The Moon Night. It’s definitely the opening of a show. I feel like I should be going on a quest now. Anyone have a spare one lying around, or should I ask my local DM?

From the single, I enjoyed the jazzy, big brass sound of Imprinted.

Single #6: 十五夜 (Jyuugoya)

While it shares some things in common with &TEAM’s other recent singles—the great vocals and the joyful lyrics especially—Jyuugoya’s also different in a lot of ways. For starters, while the last songs were far more tailored towards spring, Jyuugoya feels like summer, pairing its driving beat with a rock guitar and pops of funk that heighten its sound. For another thing, its music video is all animated, showing the members as a group of (frankly adorable) cartoon bunnies who make a wish upon a star to become human and stay together forever. It’s genuinely one of the most delightful things I’ve ever seen, and it only made me like the song more.

Album #2: 雪明かり (Yukiakari)

With Yukiakari comes not only a return to live-action music video but another change of season, this time to winter. And it really does feel like snowfall turned into music, capturing a sense of magic to it that’s difficult to express in song. The way the beat rushes forward is something special too; I sat open mouthed and replayed the chorus, and that doesn’t happen often. But the song doesn’t stop there either, building and building until it explodes. It’s damn near perfect.

Like the first album, this one is mainly a compilation of &Team’s previous work, which is why it’s a somewhat bewildering twenty-something tracks. But from the new music, I enjoyed the creeping, sinister Deer Hunter, the magical Illumination, and the rock-driven Feel The Pulse.

EP #3: 月狼 (Go In Blind)

If ever there was a 180 in sound and image, Go In Blind is probably it. Gone is the falling snow and the gentle bonds of friendship; no, now we’re storming the castle. Unsurprisingly, it’s both a return to &TEAM’s werewolf concept (with style) and their heftier rock sound, which let it be know I’m here for. Until the chorus hit I still had some trepidation that it would go for an anti-drop, but thankfully it aced the payoff perfectly. I feel like I’m about to go into battle (though I’m still not sure what it is we’re supposed to be fighting). But does it matter, when the song’s this good? Probably not.

From the EP, I enjoyed the little nod to their werewolf concept in Wolf Type (I laughed; I’m sorry), and the fun, poppy sound of Extraordinary Day

Verdict: TL;DR

I’m glad I did this! I watched &TEAM on Cosmopolitan Korea, their behind the scenes gift exchange, and so many performance videos that I ended up losing track of time. It’s rare that a group I really don’t know catches my attention, and even rarer that I can consider myself a fan after completing a deep dive, but here we are. I guess I’m a Luné now. (Do I capitalize Luné? I don’t even know yet, but I’m sure I’ll find out.). I had so much fun with this review, honestly, and I’m so excited to see where it goes next.

My Top 5 songs were Yukiakare, Go In Blind, Firework, Scar To Scar, and Dropkick, with Jyuugoya and Illumination as honorable mentions. &TEAM gets a 9 out of 10 from me, the highest score I’ve given a boy group in quite a while. I absolutely couldn’t have predicted how much I ended up loving them when I first began this review, but I’m not complaining. One of my absolute greatest loves in music is songs that feel like they’re embracing life, and make you want to embrace it too, and &TEAM has that in spades.

Yet again, I’m making Gfriend comparisons, but it’s difficult not to, from the sense of magic they create in their music to the swirling instrumentation to their emphasis on friendship and nostalgia. The best way I can describe it is that their discography feels like a polaroid you’d keep pinned to a cork board, of a long-lost friend, taken just before they slipped away.

Next time, we’re onto another boy group, and back to Korea (kind of?). Tschüss!