Why So Serious - The Misconceptions of Me

First, lets deal with the title track. Why so Serious is another example of Korean prog-pop, a trend that has been infecting composition in the industry with often uneven results. Typically, and Shinee is no exception, all this mixology makes the songs confusing - without clear choruses, verses, structure etc. Unfortunately, Why so Serious has the added onus of hair band bombast as a touch point (is David Lee Roth the next full circle?) But on the other hand, that's exactly what makes the song so sonically distinctive and sets it apart from all the other prog-pop out there.

The rest of the album is just as "experimental" (at least in the Shinee world). None of the tracks really utilize the minor/major formula that is leveraged to the max in the first album. Instead, in terms of production and direction, the tracks reward with detail if not the big hits of Dream Girl. Plus, the album sounds clean and the vocals compliment the music in a balanced way. The producers really took some pains to blow through current trends and past hits while still making the overall feel very Shinee.

Stylistically unusual, Nightmare and Evil seem to reflect different facets of the group - the former with a Big Bang brattiness tempered by orchestral chorus via Thriller, the latter a typical boy band swag song with a beautiful harmonic segue into the chorus and a swath of atmospheric cloud that softens the attitude.

The bubbly arpeggio bridge of Medusa I, though unobtrusive, and the minimalist funk of Medusa II, infectious and very charming, stand out for what I can only describe as a kind of Shinee specificity.

While sleazy slow jams aren't really my thing, Orgel - with a xylophone rainbowing over spare beats and a meandering melody - really seduced me with the swoony daydreaming of a rainy day. Innocent, but not quite.

Excuse me Miss is a classic Excuse me Miss kind of r&b song, but wet chopstick snares and tiny organ riffs transform this most banally obvious of tropes into a gentle come on.

Sleepless Night, I admit, is the kind of song I always have on repeat, but that's not a free pass. The improved vocal abilities of all the boys really get to shine here and they do it with perfect arrangement. Again I'm surprised though. Where did Taemin's big, golden, warbling color come from all of a sudden?

Definitely, Misconceptions of Me is the most grown up and delicately layered Shinee album thus far, and quite probably, the one that will sound even better with age. While they have harder hitting singles, this might be my favorite album in the discography.


Boys Meet U

I don't have high expectations for Korean pop in Japan, but in some ways Shinee is ready-made for the market. All that natural pink and teal fits right in.

Though, I'm taking an immediate liking to the first track - which reminds me of the jrock lite with a little 90's Seal thrown in - perhaps not the most apropos reference - speaking very generously. The second track, Breaking News, has a typical minor to major Shinee structure, but an uncharacteristically abrupt transition from break to chorus. Compared to better offerings earlier this year, this song is relatively passable. Several songs on the album were released as singles previously - no surprises - but they feel at home in the requisite clutch of Japanese ballads. Last on the album, I love you, is uneven, crowded, and maybe overly compressed. Also, the boys are not ideally distributed through the verses. What the song does have going is a christmas-meets-indie r&b sound that feels like good memories for me.

However, Kiss Yo makes up for all the lukewarm with a fun-fun-stupid kind of giddiness. Spun out on rawkus punk and peppered with hollabacks, Kiss Yo is quintessentially Japanese rockabilly with some gabba and a jarring rock/dubstep breakdown. Super fun and unexpected, I always enjoy these left field songs, like 2am's I love you. And... how does Onew manage to sound great in everything?

By far, not my favorite album of the trilogy, but there is a pleasant "bubblegum" lining.