Review: Shaun - Closed Ending
Korean artist Shaun is dangerously close to being remembered as the Way Back Home artist. Don't get me wrong, I love Way Back Home, it is so comforting, and really one of the best songs from Korea's tropical trend, but Shaun is much more than that (See: Bad Habits), and he is immensely talented and deserves to be more than a one-hit-wonder.
After his military service, Shaun released double singles Blue and Closed Ending. Blue is okay, not bad but far from memorable. Thus, today I will talk about Closed Ending.
Closed Ending comes really close to being a Way Back Home retread. Sure, the tropical arrangement is gone, but the basic melody is very, very similar. Still, it has been enough time since Way Back Home, and the arrangement separates the song enough that repeating oneself should not be too big of a criticism.
Production-wise, the song is driven by a calming acoustic guitar. At the same time, it is adventurous enough that it feels like an oceanic surf guitar. It is assisted by a piano and some simple percussion. This is simple but provides just enough groove.
The central melody is provided by Shaun himself. His voice is used whimsically, almost dreamlike, with childlike innocence. Sometimes, it is too whimsical, and the extended percussion in the pre-chorus does assist quite a bit.
The chorus initially is a simple segment, with nothing more than the guitar and Shaun. It then switches from a vocal segment to an instrumental, to a vocal. This flip is done naturally and succeeds greatly.
Some may call Closed Ending too similar to Shaun's most famous work, but I love how it re-interprets a similar melody. While not Shaun's greatest success, Closed Ending has gotten me once again engaged in Shaun's career.
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