~ SHINee's BACK! ~

*Minho whispering* shinee’s back, shinee’s back, shinee’s back back back back back! The great, the superb, the genius, the supreme, the LEGENDS ARE BACK!

On February 22^nd, 2021, SHINee, also known as the pioneers of the second generation, came back with their 7^th full-length album entitled “Don’t Call Me” and the title track of the same name. It was their first comeback since 2018 and since three of the members enlisted in the military. This comeback was highly anticipated by the whole Kpop community, and they honestly didn’t disappoint.

If you’re still unfamiliar with SHINee, I invite you to read the article I wrote about them (click here) before getting into this comeback dissection. 

Without any further due, let’s get started! 

PART 1: The “Teasing”

On February 5, SHINee held a show called “The Ringtone: SHINee’s back” where they performed previous songs, and where they clearly teased their comeback. They broke down their schedule and gave away some clues about the song and the MV. They also performed “Marry You”, a b-side track of the album which has KILLER vocals. The high-pitched notes Onew hit, the harmonies, they truly are vocal kinds. Then, they literally gave the pre-chorus and the chorus away on Knowing Bros. I usually don’t like it when they give away the whole song before it’s released (like they did with CIX’s cinema for example), but I couldn’t resist because it’s SHINee you know. I also know they did a couple of Vlives with some of the members chatting and giving away some hints but I didn’t keep up on those.

PART 2: Everything about the title track 

The song

To me who knows SHINee’s discography almost by heart, I don’t think they ever tried this badass/grungy concept before. How they always manage to do something new (while still being themselves) is still a mystery to me.

The whole pre-chorus and chorus section is really catchy, especially that “Don’t call me, don’t call me” part in the pre-chorus. The vocals are undeniably perfect, especially Onew’s lines and Taemin’s high note in the first part of the bridge.

Then, the second part of the bridge kicks in, right after Key’s line saying “Sorry the number you’ve dialed has been disconnected”. THAT PART, with the piano kicking in, is a masterpiece on its own. Hearing that drove me crazy, who would’ve thought about introducing such piano chords in a song like this? Obviously, they did, they dared, and they won.

The MV

First of all, let’s talk about the outfits and the hairstyles. Minho with red hair is… fire? He just looks FINE with red hair. Add the cowboy hat and the open leather jacket and you got the jackpot. They also opted for the bandana which is a powerful reminder of the early 2000s and which they rocked. Finally, Key’s crazy black thing on his hair. I don’t know if that’s a wig or just a hair accessory, but only him can pull this off. It would look terrible on anyone else but on him it just looks normal.

Second, the sets. Onew’s set with the umbrella and the rain is just stunning. But then there’s also Minho’s set which is totally in sync with his hot red hair and … objects floating in the air? I don’t know what was that but it looked cool.

Finally, the color scheme. There’s a pretty strong contrast between cold and warm colors. The main scenes have a yellow/orange/red dominant, but the outfits always brough a touch of blue. I have to admit that it’s not my favorite combination of colors, but we also have monochromatic scenes like Minho’s and Onew’s sets.

The performance

Nowadays the Kpop industry tends to privilege the performance over live vocals, which is why what Angelina (check her YouTube channel here) would call L.A.R is becoming more and more common. L.A.R (a.k.a live all recorded) is a pre-recorded "live" track idols will lip-sync over when performing a song. This track is not the studio version, it has more imperfections in it (such as breaths), but that is still pre-recorded. I'm not mad at SHINee at all for doing this and I'm nowhere near insulting them because if they want to dance like they did there's no way their vocals could sound that flawless. What gives it away is that you clearly can't hear any movement in their voices. When they're popping, their voice sounds just like they weren't. Try to make your voice sound flawless while moving like this, it's simply impossible. 

So I won't judge their vocals here but rather the dance and the staging. The way they move around the stage is pretty clever, giving every member an even close-up time. Minho's really going hard with his facial expressions, as well as Taemin. But what really surprised me is Taemin playing the piano right before the bridge comes in. That was just ... perfect *chef's kiss*. The outfits are pretty good too, especially Onew's. I'm just not a fan of the gloves...

PART 3: Breaking down the full “Don’t Call Me” album

The album has 9 tracks in total: Don’t Call Me, Heart Attack, Marry You, CØDE, I really want you, Kiss Kiss, Body Rhythm, Attention, and Kind. 

Marry You:

This song really is a straight up confession. The way they pronounce the “I” in the chorus is so sensual and jazzy at the same time, and how they switch between major and minor fascinates me. I won’t comment on the harmonies because we all know they’re perfect.

CØDE:

This song is my favorite b-side of the album. That heavy synth in the first verse reminds me daft punk a little bit. I know this comparison sounds weird but that synth hits hard, even in the second part of the chorus. And here again the way they switch harmonies is pretty amazing. 

I Really Want You:

I can’t pin point what this riff at the beginning reminds me of and that’s so frustrating!!! I could picture this song as an opening for a comic movie or something like this, it’s so playful and cheerful and is probably a close second right behind CØDE. 

Body Rhythm:

That intro reminded me of Astro’s blue flame mixed with a little bit of Mamamoo. I would be really curious to see the dance for this song, I picture something sensual and groovy at the same time, just like the song.

Kind:

As soon as the song started, I knew I would feel nostalgic. I don’t mind the voice modifiers at the beginning since it adds to this nostalgic feeling. Of course, the piano in the instrumental made me feel even more nostalgic if that’s even possible, but yeah whenever there’s melancholic piano chords I’m in for an emotional ride folks. And what’s worse is that I’m torturing myself by imagining shawols singing this live in a concert. I can’t wait for this pandemic to be over…

As for Heart Attack, Kiss Kiss, and Attention, they didn’t really stand out to me, but they still are great songs. 

That’s it guys! I hope you enjoyed reading this article. Feel free to share your thoughts on the comeback and the album below, and tell us what is your favorite song on the album.

Take care and I’ll see you all soon!

Love, Swan