Okay so after listening to SHINee's album multiple times over the past couple of days I'm actually not super pleased. I like the songs individually, but as an album I feel like this is one of their weaker releases since the 2012 renaissance. I find it glaringly incohesive.
I have thoughts.
The title track is great, as are Don't Let Me Go and You Need Me, which all go together well enough, but then we have Prism, Feel Good, and Shift - the 3 lowkey EDM songs that are...kind of...interchangeable. I love Shift and Prism but I find myself singing the choruses over one another because the songs are so similarly produced, and Feel Good, despite being very polished, is a bit boring to me. I don't dislike any of them - I think they're all great, but they don't belong on one album. And on a personal note, I don't really like the "soft EDM" sound for SHINee. Prism and Shift are at least a little punchy, if somewhat muted, but Feel Good just completely slides in one ear and out the other. I find View more ear-catching than all of them, and it was considered shockingly lowkey for them when it came out, so there you go.
The whole tracklist is especially jarring because the title track is a completely different sound that isn't matched by the majority of the album. 1of1 is different from the EDM trio which is completely different from DLMG which is nothing like You Need Me which is completely different from Lipstick and Don't Stop which sound like Odd leftovers and are different from So Amazing which is a less interesting version of Colorful. 1of1 the song is great and definitely signifies a forward movement in sound for SHINee, a feat they've managed every era since Sherlock, but this time the rest of the album doesn't match.
It just seems like they were all pulled from different eras and genres. (And, truthfully, different quality levels. Lipstick, to me, is like...one of their blandest songs ever, and So Amazing just sounds old.) That in itself doesn't mean the album couldn't be cohesive, but it's too short. Nine songs aren't enough to weave all the different influences together and the whole thing ends up sounding disconnected. I realize the same might be said about Odd but Odd had a much clearer theme in production and more room to play since it was almost twice as long. 1of1 as a whole is just lackluster to me, especially following Odd, which I loved. Individually the songs are good, but I can't help but feel like they don't belong together.
That being said, I'd rank my favorites:
1of1
Don't Let Me Go
Shift
You Need Me
Prism
Feel Good
Don't Stop
So Amazing
Lipstick
And really, I like everything except Lipstick and So Amazing. I'm at about a B+ for the album as a whole, which is the least I've liked a (Korean) body of work from them since Lucifer. I hope they get repackage cause honestly I'm just gonna be sad otherwise.
Aw I'm kinda sad you don't like the album that much, but I'm happy to see your review and your thoughts about the album!
For me the only track that kinda feels out of place when listening to the album is U Need Me, and I actually love the way the album goes. I mean, 1of1 with the new jack swing genre and the 90's feel, following by Don't Let Me Go which fits a bit the 90's sound too imo (especially with the sound in the beginning)
The transition between Don't Stop and Shift is very smooth and lowkey my favorite thing in this album
I see we are the quite opposites because my main problem with Odd is that I like the songs individually but not really as an album as a whole, but with 1of1 its the opposite.
I still don't like 1 of 1, first Shinee title track I haven't been able to enjoy since becoming a stan Although Everybody aged like milk so I guess that counts too
Thankfully I'm loving Prism, Feel Good, Don't Stop, Shift & U Need Me so its all good.
Quote:
Originally posted by jongshic
same since Hello and AMIGO were buzz singles
I thought at first that 1of1 is kinda meh (especially from the teasers), but its such a grower and now I absolutely love it and its stuck in my head
In all seriousness, did GFriend really end APink? I lowkey feel bad for them. Didn't they get 17 wins for LUV and a few wins with their last comeback?
Time ended Apink. It's their 6th year. Idol groups staying "hot" after 5 years just isn't natural and mostly a product of that k-wave thing outside of Korea. Also, the time they spent in Japan only really helps them in Japan. The recent move from Cube to Loen/Kakao probably means it's time for the girls to get whatever they can on their own before their contracts run out.
In all seriousness, did GFriend really end APink? I lowkey feel bad for them. Didn't they get 17 wins for LUV and a few wins with their last comeback?
We honestly need another Apink comeback to determine something like that, groups can have their own one time flop era
They are #17 on melon and even sold 145K already, its not that bad but its kinda bad for Apink's standards
The thing with girl groups is that the female fans are the most important, since they are way more devoted and loyal. I remember an article that explains this because it was about the fact SM is targeting their girl groups more towards female fans and that's why they have longetivity.
I'm pretty sure Apink's fandom mainly consists of male fans, and when they saw a newer and maybe a better version (Gfriend) they jumped ship fast. But like I said earlier we should wait and see what happens in the next comeback
I like the songs individually, but as an album I feel like this is one of their weaker releases since the 2012 renaissance. I find it glaringly incohesive.
I have thoughts.
Although Everybody aged like milk so I guess that counts too 
