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Review: Enhypen - Given-Taken
I know, I said I won't review this. But, since I-Land was the first debut show I ever watched, I kind of wanted to write about the guys I know, I have been a K-Pop fan since 2011 at least, but I only saw a survival debut show this year, I just wanted to check out a group for their music, not their story. But since I knew this group would probably be big, and I had an upcoming blog, I followed the show. The end result, my anticipation of the group was between two worlds. On one hand, I am so happy Heesung made it in but equally sad that K did not. In fact, K was my favorite trainee across the whole show (no offense, but I just browsed, 95% of the show was boring filler). Also, their pre-debut material was so underwhelming. Oh, and the song's concept is about vampires, so...... okay?
The haunting vibe through the song is due to the concept, and I love it when a song sticks to a vibe. Still, 'Given-Taken' makes the hilarious mistake of not being sure if its vibe will work, thus, the producers do not stick to the vibe too much. This is the song's biggest issue. BTS and TXT debuted with styles and vibes which you could put a finger on, the accompanying mini-albums kept the vibe. For Enhypen's debut, I do not see any signature style or vibe.
The first verse is especially guilty of this conceptual cowardice, as it feels like it is from any other boy group track this year. The chorus pulls things together. The heavy vocal processing should not work, but it does during the chorus's second phase. The weird deep voice is a song highlight, working surprisingly well. The first half of the second verse looks like it has learned the lesson, moving the conceptual style forward, though the second half pulls things back. The chorus hits strong, as always. The bridge is a highlight, though the autotune threatens to derail the track once again.
When it gets good, 'Given-Taken' is excellent. It just needs to know when to reduce the vocal-processing, and maybe to keep a constant concept.
Wow! I'm impressed that you really kind of liked it. I-LAND was also my 1st survival show, and it is gonna be my last. Given-Taken has many strengths, but the vocal processing is still a blow there. The song is very nice tho, compared to the horrendous MCND and CRAVITY plus nonchalantly TREASURE. Very strong compared to those but it isn't the best. Although I would expect them and TXT to go Hardstyle (please Big Hit I BEG YOU) that will be the demise of mine.
ReplyDeleteI actually enjoyed some MCND tracks (I am a bit of a fan of all top media groups), and some Cravity b-sides appealed to me a lot. As for Treasure, they really need to go back to their pre-debut sound.
DeleteYa, let us hope TXT do not go hardstyle...
tbf, at first I hated Ice Age but loved their album. Now I'm ok with Ice Age, CRAVITY was also a problem but I loved the album. Probably amongst the best of the rookies. For the hardstyle part, I meant I wish they would to it, before you ramble at me, A.C.E, DREAMCATCHER, ATEEZ, Stray Kids, TVXQ have done Hardstyle but Big Hit seeing as how many call them "generic" (not really, but more like much cohesive). I might like it better than some of the releases previously.
DeleteInteresting thoughts, but I do not consider A.C.E, Dreamcatcher, and TVXQ hardstyle. They incorporate heavy melody into their tracks, with strong instrumentals. Rather than hardstyle, they are doing what I like to call 'Melodic Mixing', meaning they throw everything in small doses through their careers with melody as a guide. Of course, Ateez and Stray Kids have went hardstyle before, and it worked due to their producers and the members' talents being appropriately used.
DeleteI think Enhypen could do a good hardstyle some day, but I do not want TXT to go that route. The members' vocals would not fit hardstyle, and I do not think it will fit their style well. I am all for career diversity, but you first have to build signature elements, something which TXT is still in the middle of.
Sorry for the rant :)
Oh it is fine! I agree. I failed to see how uncannily weird and awkward it might sound. Coupled with the horrendous vocal processing. NOPE! Good point making there! ENHYPEN is maybe going there but who knows.
DeleteI actually hope Enhypen get out of this route soon and go into an interesting career path. I see them doing a VIXX sound after Given-Taken, and I would love to see the do that!
Deleteas long as they abandon the vocal processing...
By this route I mean the generic trend following that they seem postured to go towards, if I was not clear :)
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