Review: ATEEZ - Take Me Home

ATEEZ's new single has generated a mixed response. While no one has really hated it, the consensus online seems to be that the b-side Take Me Home is the best song on the new EP. I have not seen so much support over a b-side compared to the title track since LOONA's Star and Gfriend's Labyrinth from last year in the K-Pop industry. That may not seem like much, but in a crowded industry, it is.

Something interesting is that various culture's 80's pop music styles have independently returned to popularity over the last few years. Japanese City Pop returned in 2017, and has shown no signs of slowing down. Trot returned in 2019, and synthpop in 2020. Now we just need Indian Disco to return, and we have the golden quartet back.

Despite its trendy structure, and synthpop beat, Take Me Home, at its very beating heart, is a modern, aggressive update on city pop. This is what I love the most about ATEEZ and Edenary. They take a trend and adapt it to their music, they don't adapt their music to trends.

Lyrically, Take Me Home is about fears, and the growth one must face through loneliness. A classic theme, but especially effective in the lockdown.

Throughout its every second, Take Me Home is ambitious. The beat merges The Weeknd's synthwave revival with more classic retro themes. Edenary also keep their trademark style throughout, and that is why this is so good.

The pre-chorus sung by Mingi is truly the song coming to life. Since Mingi is going through personal struggles, the lyrics are sung personally, and I am glad they stay Korean even in the English version (which actually does not suck).

Then we get the claustrophobic chorus. The melody surges, and we get some strong saxophone. assists to, err, take the song, home. Remember the autotune used on Jongho in Fireworks? It is gone and we see Jongho's voice in its full glory.

Hongjoong's inverted rap in the second verse is just great, with the bouncing the instrumental assisting. The autotune in the new pre-chorus is annoying, but does not kill the whole experience.

Once again, Jongho shows what he does best in the bridge, assisted by the rappers in their peak. If there is one thing ATEEZ can do, it is close a song greatly. This time, we get a saxophone riff to close the song out. I love a classic sax riff, and this is a great one, only slightly weaker than January's Fight Dub Club one. Sax is a classic city pop (and sometimes synthpop) move, and I get strong recollections of songs like I Love You So by Junko Ohashi (couldn't we have also got the flute?) and George Michael's Careless Whisper (as many have already pointed out). I am hopeful this will be promoted as a follow-up single, as in the single-oriented K-Pop world, this song deserves much more than just being a b-side.

Rating: 8.75/10

Image Source: Metro