Here are my credentials (again): To be honest with you, I don’t know that much about ONEUS. I became a fan of ONEWE through a review I did of them last year, and ONEUS has been on my list to cover since. I’ve heard a handful of their songs through recommendations, but I moved this review up after seeing some very impressive clips of their performances on the competition show Road To Kingdom, and I’m excited to see more. So, let’s get into it!

(Part One)

EP #4: Lived

As a certified Shakespeare nerd, I was excited to see what ONEUS would get up to with To Be Or Not To Be, which, if you don’t know, is a quote from his play Hamlet. (*heroically resisting the urge to um actually her own readers*). The pre-chorus’ build is one of their best, a net of tension that slowly closes in around the audience as the chorus draws ever closer. And the work isn’t in vain; the chorus makes good on its promises, with a payoff that feels earned. With its black, white, and red color palette, dystopian visuals, and clear inspiration from other Shakespeare works like Macbeth and King Lear, its MV may be my favorite so far. The drama is turned up to 11, and that’s exactly how I like my title tracks.

From the EP, I liked the pulsing beat and the tidal wave of background sound in Dead Or Alive, the chant-out final chorus of Dizzy, and the abject glorious drama of Come Back Home.

Album #1: Devil

After a spate of singles inspired by works of great fiction, No Diggity is somewhat of an odd choice for a single. There are parts that are very ONEUS—like that excellent build-up in the pre-chorus, which I honestly think is one of their best—but to see them go for an anti-drop after how solid all the way through their tracks have been thus far is disappointing. Overall, this is a very different sound from their other songs too. It’s probably most similar to Lit with the color palette and the heavy EDM, but it’s much more in-your-face, incredibly non-subtle, and joined by a bunch of words that make no sense. I guess I just don’t get the reasoning here.

From the album, I enjoyed the soaring chorus of Incomplete, the off-kilter, blasting brass of Bbusyeo (a very Seventeen song), and the bombastic sound of Lion Heart.

EP #5: Binary Code

While songs like Valkyrie are notable for sounding very different than the popular soundscape of the time, Black Mirror is notable to me for the other reason. Which is not to say it’s bad, not at all—as noted by my reviews on Taemin and my love of Haechan, I’m a huge fan of the Michael Jackson–meets-disco sound, and I especially like the build-up here. I’m not the biggest fan of the chorus, but as anti-drops go, I think it innovates on the formula, getting better as it goes along, not feeling like a cop-out. It’s pretty good as a whole, and it would be a highlight in basically anyone else’s discography. Here, it just feels like a “not quite”.

From the EP, while I enjoyed the solid beat of Polarity and out-and-out adored the rock version of Valkyrie (that guitar riff, I’m in love), I thought that it was as a whole weaker than ONEUS’ other collections. The first album—mini or otherwise—not to have an intro; I’m not sure how I feel about that.

EP #6: Blood Moon

Life Is Beautiful, especially after a spate of more “mature” tracks is so much sunnier and lighter than I was expecting. It could be a DAY6 side, or, honestly even a TWS song, at its brightest moments. I’m a bit surprised by the direction but I’m not mad at it; it’s a good song, and it’s one of those songs that makes you giddy. Life is so beautiful that ONEUS had to take a break from Hamlet and Michael Jackson and let us know, I guess.

Luna is actually one of the few ONEUS songs I knew before this deep dive, and as a linguist (pushes up glasses obnoxiously), I love songs that meld tradition and modernity together, especially those that showcase folk music. Luna is a masterclass in that, from the choreography to the styling to the way the beat combines Korean strings, flutes, and drums with a distinctly EDM sound. It’s both very ONEUS and also stands apart from their past songs; I’m not sure how they did it. It was my favorite the first time I heard it, and it remains my favorite now, taking all the part I loved from LIT and making them its focal point. The MV too is gorgeous, playing with fire and ice, clothing, and instrumentation, and tying it all together with meticulous fan choreography and a simple yet stunning color palette. Hats off.

The intro of this EP is beautiful, and very dramatic, leaning deeply into the traditional Korean influences. I also enjoyed the surprisingly jaunty piano of Shut Up 받고 Crazy Hot, and especially the sparkling joy of We’re In Love.

EP #7: Trickster

Bring It On brings with it both a continuation of Luna and Lit’s traditional elements as background instrumentation and the interesting setting of a haunted (?) carnival. (Honestly, I have no idea what’s going on at this carnival, besides Leedo being shirtless and very angry about it, but it’s clearly not good). I confess that after the EDM-heavy opening, I was a bit worried the chorus would go for an anti-drop but I was pleasantly surprised.  The whole song was more trap heavy than I’d prefer, but I’m not mad at it. I’d put it in the same category as Lit: I respect the cleverness, I think it’s got good ideas, but I’m not going to choose to listen to it.

From the EP, I honestly thought each track was stronger than the title. I loved the rock-driven intro of Who Got The Joker, Skydiving has a really fun drive to it, and I think Firebomb’s use of tradition instrumentation is more unique than the title too. I guess I’m not sure why Bring It On was chosen.

EP #8: Malus

Say what you will about the rest of Same Scent, but “my body wants you bare” is a crazy way to begin a song, especially when it’s sung so nonchalantly. Screw the demon carnival and the dystopian murder-, this is the song that surprised me most. As befitting a song of its time, Same Scent is based on a tropical beat, with laid-back verses and an instrumental-driven chorus, not unlike A Song Written Easily. It mostly hinges on the strength of its performances and its final chorus, but that’s not some great insult. This song is squarely in the center of Oneus’ discography, in my opinion, not quite among their greats like Luna but well deserving of a place.

From the EP, I thought the strongest songs were the intro and Stupid Love, which has a chorus that just makes you want to sing along.

Next time, we’re onto the third and final part. Tschüss!