Ateez are back for hot girl summer with a twerk inducing title track. They also had their comeback on my birthday.

Yeosang did that for me. Thanks sweetie, I really appreciate it. No really, it felt like a birthday gift (pun unintended).

The concept photos for the EP and the way they talked about it had me thinking we were going to get a melancholy EP. I fully was ready for angst and ballads galore but we got the opposite?

With that in mind let’s jump right in.

Golden Hour

I actually really like this track. I see it as more of an intro so I wouldn’t include it in a favourite songs list because it’s not really a song. However, as far as intros go it is one of my favourites from Ateez so far. It has competition from The World EP.1: Movement intro.

I like the low melodic humming as the narrator talks about our life’s golden hour. Way to make something awesome sound depressing narrator!

I could do with the song without the narration, I just like the vibes and the sound of the instrumental with the humming. However, the melancholy vibes of the narration can also be felt in the instrumental. Somehow, I don’t mind the melancholy when there are no words.

Blind

This is a fun fiesta song. They are really leaning into Latin music and I’m loving it. It’s a win for Latin Atinys. Also, the Wooyoung is Latino agenda lives on and I love it. The song, melodically, gives me Central American vibes if I had to be specific.

I love the dance breaks that encourage salsa dancing in the song. I love when songs do that, where they stop singing and let you dance for a bit before getting back to it. Another example of a song doing that that I can think of is Mblaq’s Smokey Girl.

Thus, I also love the dance break at the end. I like when Ateez end a song with a bang. The Edenary team are really good at making songs that end on a high.

The lyrics are about them being blinded by love… or lust. I think it’s lust personally. I mean:

“When I see you a fire spreads and I can’t quench the thirst”

“I’ll whisper to you all night” (!)

“It tickles… let’s go straight to Busan” (!!!)

Is it just me or are those innuendos?

They talk about how they can’t resist being drawn in, and then Mingi (MINGI!):

“I don’t care about the front or back, good motion, a secret arises…”

WHAT SECRET MINGI??!!

Is dancing in Ateez songs what driving is to Monsta X? To that end is performing? They talk a lot about performing all night… by singing or dancing.

This queen of the night has them in a choke hold.

Now for the negative…

*Yeosang rant incoming*

I was going to do this before getting into the positives of the song but I started typing and typing and I was like this is long. So I’ll put it at the bottom so you can skip to Work if you want.

I’ll just say this once and move on. KQ moves weird. I don’t understand why they give Yeosang so little when it comes to line distribution… and this, Blind, was meant to be a title track? Are we in 2022? I thought with The World series we had left that all behind.

They ban him from working out, he can’t have long hair because more than one member can’t have long hair (what?), he can’t have the character doll that is supposed to represent him that he wants… and I don’t understand why. Do KQ think we, as fans, are that fickle that a little bit of muscle will have us unstanning? Do they really believe someone can’t be beautiful with muscles? Do they really think people are so one dimensional? Honestly, this feeds in to a post I want to make on how we view kpop idols.

Also, when he was in his muscle hot girl summer (Bouncy was an era) moment, he was pulling fans left, right and centre… so their logic doesn’t make sense. He was attracting interest, is that not what you want as a company? Why are you shooting yourself in the foot?

I feel the same way about how fans sometimes treat Yeosang. He has explicitly said he wants to sing more, to be given important parts, he released a beautiful cover on his birthday (Hug Me) to show his voice and also, he’s not a  baby nor is he stupid. I get that he’s ditzy but please.

However, back to the main enemy KQ, fans have been saying all this. I am not the first nor will I be the last. There is no way they don’t know and yet they carry on knowing the backlash they will receive. So that tells me they don’t care.

There’s really nothing I can do about it so I just wish him the best. I also love that no matter what, even when he’s in the back or barely gets screen time there are still people who notice him and recognise his hard work. I am thankful that he has such strong determination because honestly, all this could have broken him but it hasn’t. I don’t get why they fought five other companies just to keep him in the basement but thankfully his talent continues to shine no matter what.

The same can be said for Wooyoung because after Yeosang he has the least amount of lines and also gets the short end of the stick. However… you know what got to me. That anniversary video where Yeosang was like Yunho and Wooyoung have dancing, and Jongho has singing etc… what is my special talent. That’s messed up that they have man doubting what his skills are. *cue that Kendrick song*

*end of rant*

Work

Let’s move on to the title track. I’m glad they went with it as a title track.

They talk about how they work hard and they are seeing the fruits of their labour. Their hard work is paying off. They are the golden egg that the goose, or in this case chicken, lays… is how I interpreted the MV and lyrics.

They also fight capitalism…? That giant wad of cash Mingi and Hongjoong fight. I’m not sure how that fits in. Unless, that’s them fighting the system to make it work for them.

I liked this song from the moment we heard a snippet of it. I was surprised but it sounded really good so I was excited.  Like I said the concept photos gave a totally different vibe. It kind of gave me the feeling of they rushed the photos. They didn’t feel as deliberately put together as other comebacks and they don’t match the vibe of the songs, not completely anyway.

I love that the song is twerkalicious. It has already been added to the Ateez Twerk Anthems playlist on Spotify. It is pretty chill as a song so it’s more like relaxed twerking.

I wish I could twerk.

Who knew Ateez would be the twerk kings of kpop.

Oh! San choreographed a bit for this song. It was the ending part that he choreographed right? I love that he got that opportunity! I mean look at what hard work can do. He went from being a member who couldn’t dance to being a main dancer and choreographing,

Empty Box

This song comes with a vastly different vibe. This, and Golden Hour, is the kind of song I expected from the concept photos. It matches their vibe perfectly. The melancholy and the emptiness mixed in with a little bit of hope.

The song is a break up song, only the break up has already happened. They’re getting rid of the lingering traces of the person so that they can move on. I love the analogy, in Wooyoung’s part, of opening a window to air out a room.

They’re saying they won’t miss the person but it’s a good thing because they’re finally letting go. They encourage the person, wherever they are, to let go too.

In terms of lore this song confuses me a bit but perhaps it’ll make sense when I read all the diary versions. Or maybe it’s not meant to be strictly within the lore but like loosely based on it.

I say that because usually they talk about a love where they don’t let go and they fight to remain connected. This song is the opposite of that.

It is a soft and calm ballad, and it reflects the calmness of their minds as they are sure in their decision.

I am not a fan of ballads but objectively as a song, it is good. I like the message also.

Shaboom

This is another song about partying, Ateez said enough of the melancholy let’s turn up!

I saw a theory online that in this EP they are blowing off steam after their adventures  and hardships in Z Land. I second that theory, having looked at the lyrics of the songs on the EP and also the vibe of the songs… it fits.

What they describe is like the feeling of getting lost in a song as you dance at a party or in the club. You know I love dance montages where characters get lost in the feels in a crowded place.

They are encouraging people to join them and to get turnt too. I mean Yeosang offers to buy rounds, Hongjoong instructs us to shake that ass and Jongho warns us not to kill the vibe. If they sing this song at a concert we WILL have to dance otherwise they may fight us.

The verses of the song give reggae whilst the chorus gives club banger. They do work together and the transition is not as jarring as it can be in songs like this sometimes.

I love the falsettos in verse 2.

Siren

Siren feels like Ateez’ warning call, like a bird of paradise in the rainforest warning danger to back off or how animals are red to warn predators not to mess with them. They have come from Z Land and they’re like don’t mess with us!

I also feel the song has real world applications in that they are warning not to underestimate them or to look down on them.

They have the waves, they have the moves!

I like falling sound effect at the beginning of the song, that was fun, and Seonghwa and Yeosang parts when they are next to each other. Their voices compliment each other well.

I also like the bridge where they sing: “Take me higher, now it’s time yeah, make it louder, this is our siren”. The way it goes from Yunho to San to Wooyoung to Yeosang and the way that they sing it…! It’s sexy.

So that’s it for their tenth EP, the beginning of a new series. As you have read there are things that I have liked and things that very much disappointed me. It’s been interesting.

However, overall the songs are good. I just wish KQ was better at managing certain things. It’s so interesting because there are things KQ excel at and have done very well. They are one of the better companies. But then, also, they can’t seem to escape the toxic troupes of the kpop industry.

I don’t think this EP is that much of a deviation from their usual sound. I have heard that criticism but to me this EP still sounds like Ateez. They talked about wanting to show new sides of themselves so I was expecting something new. In fact, I thought they were going to go even more extreme with their newness so this was tame to me.

However, it doesn’t beat The World series for me. I know, Golden Hour has just started but The World was so good! From Movement to Outlaw to Will… I can’t get over it!

If I were to rank my favourite EPs and albums it would be: The World: Movement, Treasure Ep. Fin: All to Action, Treasure Ep.3: One To All, Zero: Fever Part 3 and The World: Outlaw. Those are my favourites. So that kind of gives a feel of what my taste is.

Having said that Work is one of my favourite title tracks of Ateez. It’s in the top 10.

In conclusion, it’s a good start to the series but there is room for improvement.

Oh P.S.: the gendering lyrics thing. That is new. They do it in Work, Blind, because of the whole queen of the night lyric, and in Shaboom (I find it funny that in two of those three it’s Wooyoung’s lines). I was surprised but also not, I mean maybe they just wanted to.

Also, bisexuality exists. There are people who are straight, then there are people who are gay but people rarely consider people who are bi. Let’s not erase bisexuality in pride month ey.

Also, they’ve never stated why they did not gender their lyrics. We can make assumptions based on what they say about fashion, but they’ve never talked about why their lyrics are like that. There is Good lil Boy but that’s a self-referential song so it makes sense why it’s gendered. There is also Eternal Sunshine but wow that one was hotly debated. The comma really stopped that song from being a kpop gay anthem. If I missed them talking about it then correct me but for now as they haven’t said anything we only have assumptions. So let’s wait and see before jumping the gun.

In general, I think Ateez are an open and accepting band. In the same album we got gendered lyrics we also got Seonghwa and Wooyoung in heels. Honestly, if people considered bisexuality more I feel like there’d be less commotion.

Disclaimer: not saying they’re bisexual, not saying they’re straight either… they’ve never publicly dated so right now we don’t know (and that’s ok). They could be anything. Love is an open door.

I really shouldn’t write when I’m sleepy, I just ramble on.