4/9/22
Dedicated to Hilary-21
I have this weird relationship with Enhypen. Sure, I like the members, and Dimension : Dilemma is a strong album, but a lot of their other albums are very hit or miss. I don’t know why I chose this album, out of their discography, because it’s not one I regularly return to. I actually think it’s one of my least favourites. However, I wanna review Drunk-Dazed so here we are!
Like any 4th gen group, Enhypen does not have a signature sound. This isn’t inherently bad (I don’t think my ults have one either), but what differs with signature or no signature is that one comeback can make me believe that the single is the sound they are pushing for. Take Golden Child, they came back with Pump It Up in October 2020, and back then I thought they were going to take a more funk pop route. They didn’t, but I thought they had changed their signature sound. What’s frustrating about Enhypen is that when they debuted, I didn’t think the sound of Given-Taken would last. It didn’t, but I wanted to believe it did. I don’t feel confident in thinking the genres the group’s good with will stay.
If you need a TLDR on my review, here it is: Drunk-Dazed is great, the rest is okay. The albums I have last reviewed all had something in common; Be it genre, emotions, mood or uniqueness. There’s nothing which ties all the songs together. I mean, I could explain the album as dark, but most 4th gen releases this year can be described as that. I apologise if this isn’t an sufficient intro/summary, I legitimately don’t have much thoughts on the album as a whole. Might as well get into the actual tracks ey?
Tracklist:
Intro : The Invitation (mini review)
Drunk-Dazed (single)
FEVER
Not For Sale
Mixed Up
Outro : The Wormhole (mini review)
Intro : The Invitation
Written by: WonderKid, CA$HCOW
Produced by: WonderKid
Explicitly intro/outro/interlude tracks will not get a rating, however I feel like I should still talk about them.
The dream-pop production of The Invitation is too good to be on an intro track. It’s just so euphoric, so light in the vocals used but dense in its percussion. However, the talking is just horrible and takes out all the dreams from dream-pop. As someone who doesn’t care about the lore, there is nothing connective about the exposition, and there’s nothing fun about stopping an awesome ass song in its track for fucking lore. I couldn’t care less. TLDR: Get rid of the talking, make it into a pop song please!
Drunk-Dazed
Written by: Wonderkid, LIL 27 CLUB, “hitman” Bang, Melanie Joy Fontana, Michel “Lindgren” Schulz
Produced by: Wonderkid, “hitman” Bang
The only criticism I have of this song is the vocal processing: They all sound the same! The only member that I’m kinda confident in identifying is Jay, the rest all are identical. This isn’t the members’ fault (unless I haven't heard them sing enough), it’s the mixing of Drunk-Dazed which makes the track almost amazing. It could be a styling choice, but it’s a horrible styling choice if so. However, the edm nature of Drunk-Dazed and the writing itself keeps me going through the song.
I love the first verse of the record. It’s great execution in arrangement with the use of the percussion kicking in the second part of the verse. Drunk-dazed already starts with an exciting rhythm, and verse 1 already builds up the momentum, so I can understand why the pre-chorus is so rapid. Then after the uncanny quietness of the pre-chorus, the chorus opens up loudly throwing out edm chords and thumping drums. I love loud ass songs that’ll deafen me if I play them once with earphones, so I’m already sold on the production of Drunk-Dazed. Genius states that it’s an electro-pop song with hip-pop and rock influences; I don’t hear the hip-pop influences, I think I can hear the rock influences in the chorus though with electric guitars(maybe? They could be distorted). The lyricism also suits the song: Having Enhypen restrained throughout much of the track, using their low voices, then having some of the members use their head voices for some notes in the chorus is pretty good stuff, though standard. I like the writing of the track as well. I didn’t know that many of their singles were about idol life, Drunk-Dazed is no exception. For me, I like to think this record has a double meaning: One of a party where the atmosphere is so intoxicating that you don’t want to leave: Or one where the idol life is so new and exciting that you fall into a daze. In this sense, Enhypen’s like meta idols if that makes sense: They are singing about themselves. I like that, I see them in a different light now. Nevertheless, the use of a carnival is a nice metaphor to adopt.
Hooks: 9
Production: 9
Longevity: 10
Bias: 8
Total: 9
FEVER
Written by: Wonderkid, CA$HCOW, Cazzi Opeia, Alexander Karlsson, (January 8th, danke (lalala studio), “hitman” Bang
Produced by: Wonderkid, CA$HCOW
You guys are gonna hate me for this one.
I find FEVER boring. Like, really boring, so let’s get the good bits out of the way first. I like the bass, it’s a very sexy bass. And at least I know who’s singing now. And the lyricism of the verses are pretty good. They're both simple but it executes well. But…the chorus…it sucks. I don’t think the production suits Enhypen's voices. This is a song for people with a lower register; Hearing teenagers sing in front of a seductive RnB production is not uncomfortable, but there’s a different word. Awkward, that’s the word. That’s a good way to describe this track, it’s awkward to listen to after the party banger of Drunk-Dazed. I wish the production of Fever got me wanting more. I read some thoughts about this song, saying there’s no tension to the track, and I agree; The only build is the pre-chorus, and there’s no bridge of momentum to the final chorus (what’s with K-pop songs and no bridges? Add bridges!). So yeah, I don’t like it unfortunately.
Also, forgot to mention: I don’t know what it is, but I don’t like the music video. I just can’t put my finger on why.
Hooks: 7
Production: 6
Longevity: 6
Bias: 8
Total: 7
Not For Sale
Written by: Wyatt Sanders, Sermstyle, Jake Torrey, “hitman” Bang, danke (lalala studio), Kang Eun Jeong
Produced by: Wyatt Sanders, Sermstyle
I remember liking this track when it first came out. I haven’t revisited til now though.
The production’s okay. The percussion is nice, as well as the rhythm. There isn’t much flavour and mood given to the composition though. It just feels empty; I think that’s the word. I wish there was more going on in the background instead of sparkles in the chorus. Also, I just need a bridge. Please Enhypen, just a bridge. This is the second time in a row, third if Drunk-Dazed’s bridge is just a bad excuse. I hope pop music picks up the bridge again; It’s not a K-pop problem that I mentioned during FEVER. Lyrically, the writing’s good. Enhypen’s Sunoo talked about the track on NME, stating it holds a realistic message to Generation Z. I understand the meaning as I’m reading the translation, but there are other songs who share a similar message to Generation Z but used a different way of showcasing it through their writing and’ve done it better. Maybe it’s because I don’t understand Korean that makes the metaphor of a price tag not work for me. Overall, the song's okay; the longevity scores good because it is catchy and simple to understand.
Hooks: 7
Production: 7
Longevity: 8
Bias: 8
Total: 7.5
Mixed Up
Written by: Wonderkid, Shin Kung, Cazzi Opeia, Alexander Karlsson, Lee Seu Ran, Yi Yi Jin, Denzil “DR” Remedios, Kang Eun Jeong, January 8th, Cho Yoon Kyung
Produced by: Wonderkid, Shin Kung
The pre chorus goes off. Like really goes off, I wish it was the entire song of building up rather than having the chorus not going to lie. Oh boy, that electric guitar during the segment is great. So I hate how restrained the chorus is with its production; A lousy hip-hop beat with the same guitar but restrained. I hear Mixed Up as a better punk pop song than a hip-hop song. I think unleashing the guitar, letting it go off, would’ve made a more gifted production instead of barely showcasing it off in the pre chorus and the bridge. That and the drums during both segments as well, having both of those instruments show themselves during the choruses of the track would’ve made the production pretty solid. The writing of Mixed Up is alright, there’s nothing special about it. The chorus fails to deliver something good, or at least addictive. There isn’t much to say about Mixed Up, it’s a normal b-side that I expect 4th gen bgs to have in their discography.
Hooks: 7
Production: 7
Longevity: 7
Bias: 8
Total: 7.25
Outro: The Wormhole
Written and Produced by: Wonderkid
As I’ve stated in my intro review, I don’t like talking. However, it’s bearable here; I think it’s because the music eventually overrides Jake(???????????????????????). I’ve grown up with songs building up until it can’t take anymore, so something like The Wormhole is quite nice. I would love to hear a song like this in K-pop, like actual singing over a progressively chaotic like this outro. I think the closest K-pop song we’ve got to that is Timelapse by Taeyeon. If you want to hear something like The Wormhole but a more fleshed out version, this is a song I recommend*. The track is a taste of something I’d love to hear in K-pop. I hope a producer starts to work on something as euphoric as this.
Total: 7.7/10
Credit to TheBiasList for rating system.
* It's a different song but the intro and outro is what reminded me of The Wormhole
I'm gonna read it first!
but since I have heard their voices a lot, I know now 
