'no labels: part 02' final review ⭐️!
vanilla: the chorus is catchy. one of my favorite parts instrumentally is the explosion of guitar and drum in the chorus bits. the short beat changes namely during the second verse (or they might count it as a bridge) and outro were nice too. the song would've been better w an actual/longer bridge. the verses sounded a bit choppy and disordered to me on the first listen.
ice cream: the "yj" whisper is hot. how he elongates "understand" and "master plan"(??? that's what it sounds like to me) is hot too idk, the way he finishes those lines just compliments his voice well and scratches my ears right lol. the (prominent ass) bass in this is good. the subtle way they layered more instruments and sounds towards the last refrain(s) was a nice touch too ig, but yeah nothing crazy. too short and anticlimactic, but it also has a pleasant smoothness to it and the instruments are good.
조금 서툴러도 다시 (baby wassup?): the mix for this was nice (2000s-inspired r&b/hip-hop with lots of light/flirty, electric touches). the vocal direction for this track is the best on this album so far to me (basically yeonjun sounds verrrrry good). this unexpectedly had a lot of parts to love/enjoy, i was surprised! certain parts really do sound like sounds from 2009-2012, specifically the boy group/boy idol serenades with hiphop elements/twists of that time. the pre-chorus is my fav part, but the chorus and post-chorus is so good too!!
no more disco: not crazy about the autotune. like at all. yeah. just had to get that outta the way. "she told the DJ no more discoooo" LMAO for some reason the way he sings this is so meme-worthy in a good way. that just might be my favorite line/part of this track. the synth in this went crazy.
fxxking star: the beginning guitar intrigued me. oh my godddd, i can hear duckwrth all over this 😂 like the lyrics and cadence are SOOO him especially how he sounded on his spiderman: into the spider-verse track "start a riot." jajajaja this is so funny anywaysssss.
"i always knew that i would be somebody, ahhh, i could never relate to these nobodies, ahhh" he sounds so cute here awww. i don't care for the chorus but he sounds cute as hell there too. the bridge to the outro is awesome and so cinematic??? like the music swells and the bass had such a strong finish. this track has a strong beginning, a meh middle, and a strong end i'll say.
long way long ride: the moodiness and mellowness of this is very good and a sound i wanted yeonjun to explore a lot more and i'm glad he did here, and that this track means a lot to him. "you've been chasing highs in all different cities" and the fact that he refers to himself as "jun-ah" on here really solidifies that this track is a letter / comfort to himself. it's personal and very sweet, and i like that a lot for yeonjun. i'm a very big fan and supporter of the "last track of a musical work should be either resounding, sentimental, introspective, or all three" and this track came through on that - i think this was just the right way to end the ep.
OVERALL, it's why-jaeeeee so i liked this ep quite a bit and i'm very biased and mind your businessssss 🤩🤩‼️‼️
nah, nah fr though: this album still has the no labels brand of experimental with very solid production. even though i have my reservations about certain things across the tracks, there's enough good parts - enough ear-scratching parts - that i'll just say i like the whole thing overall in advance. i'll give it a 6/10, sure. like even the parts i don't care for have a huuuuge chance of growing on me later, of this my ass is sure.
the most cohesive, therefore, yeah, the best, tracks to me were "baby wassup?" & "long way long ride" haaaaands mfing down.