TAEMIN — ADVICE — The Third Korean EP

Taemin’s Advice is Genius and Definitely Worth the Listen.

As an artist, Taemin has developed a very unique style that is best described as a moody, dance-heavy R&B melody, that often incorporates very classical motifs. He began with Danger and swiftly moved to Press Your Number, thus keeping the darker elements on his sound but transitioning to more fluid melodies. From there, Taemin shows us a mature sound with Move that helped really harness his musical abilities. Want felt like the keystone for Taemin’s theatrical style choice that was even more pronounced in his Japanese releases, including Sayonara Hitori, Flame of Love, and Famous. Finally, we had his most recent releases, 2Kids, Criminal, and Idea, all of which were all exquisite tracks.

Now, Taemin has released Advice, which, as he put it, is to be the bridge that connects his past and future concepts as he embarks on the next part of his musical journey. Let’s see if that is the case:

Skip to a Specific Track: Advice, Light, If I could tell you, Strings, Sad Kids

1. Advice

Opening with a sped-up and higher variation of piano, Advice swiftly moves on to a heavy trap beat. This song relies on the piano melody to keep it going because otherwise, the beat itself remains quite stagnant. But Taemin makes up for this repetition by not only using the piano as an ostinato throughout the song subtly in the background but also shifting it into an organ and high synth at times, and even layering it!

Interestingly, the piano melody itself is quite intricate and seems to be a mixture or reference to various classical pieces. The ones I currently hear are Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, 1st Movement: Adagio Sostenuto, Mozart’s Piano Sonata No. 8 in A Minor III. Presto, or Bach’s Invention 13 in A Minor.

Then again, this song is also written by Daniel Davidsen and Peter Wallevik of PhD, who have been behind some of my favorite songs, including EXO-CBX’s Monday Blues and SHINee’s Area, so maybe I should have expected this level of delicate intricacy in the arrangement.

With the addition of the falsetto vocals and choir arrangement, Taemin nails this song. Advice truly feels like a perfect rendition of the moody and vibe-focused style that Taemin has been using lately, but with a slight nuance with the more sing-rap style that he utilizes here. It’s different, unique, but somehow also really just “Taemin”.

As for the music video? I loved it. As strange as this might be, as their music style is so vastly different, the music video also actually gave me slight early G-Dragon memories as well. But, I think I’ll let my videographer friends and aficionados take that analysis. I’ll just stick to the music here.

2. Light

With a bass that is dark and heavy, quite ironic in comparison to the title, there seems to be a possible trend for this album. Extremely insistent, the percussion is almost reminiscent of labelmate BoA’s Better.

But suddenly, the instrumental opens up with the chorus, funky and perfect for a night out. A steady reverb follows the slightly sparse percussion that is offset by various synths. And if the chorus brought us closer to the “light”, the bridge is absolutely illuminating.

Closing with a final chorus that continues the style of the song, but builds the vocals up a bit more, Light is a solid song to follow Advice, even though it is not extremely unique in its sound.

Light is clean and simple, focusing on the dance groove that Taemin is known for and helping to move the album towards a potentially lighter feel.

3. If I Could Tell You

The lighter sound does indeed come with If I Could Tell You, a duet between Taemin and labelmate Girl’s Generation’s Taeyeon. Before getting deep into this song, let me just say that I could write a full essay extolling the virtues of Taeyeon’s voice. The level of control and skill she has is impeccable, and that is key here. Taeyeon and Taemin can both belt if they want to. But here, they don’t. Both keep their voices sweet and tender, soft and emotional.

That tenderness is what sells this song. Realistically, the instrumental is light and spacious allowing the duo to be the key aspect of the song. The synths are purposefully soft and the electronic piano is kept relatively moderate, never veering too high into an overly attention-catching melody. Once again, such understanding of how useful space and light instrumentals are should not surprise me when the music is done by PhD, and yet here we are again! This composing team is just stunning, truly.

The lyrics here fit perfectly with this dreamy style. The song focuses on a feeling and the possibility of sharing it or confessing and what that might change in a relationship. It’s simple and encapsulates the times of uncertainty and doubt, the back and forth that goes through the mind, and the continuous questioning that occurs to the “what ifs” that might happen. A wonderful job and just beautifully sung.

4. Strings

Could this be my favorite song on this EP? Strings starts acoustic with the strums of a guitar, adding Taemin’s vocals on top soon after. Even afterward when we get a beat, it mostly echoes and compliments the guitar.

Interestingly, the only time the guitar is not the focus of the song is during the chorus. There, as Taemin asks the other person to stay with him, he also gives them permission to play him and there is a musical suggestion there that the other person has the power here to pluck the various strings of the heart, body, and soul, and yet stops during the chorus every time.

This song is just beyond sensual and seductive. Taemin’s voice is effortless and the musical arrangement is perfection. Ryan S. Jhun does a masterful job here, just as he did for SHINee’s Lucifer, View, and Married to the Music, and other previous Taemin tracks like One by One, Sexuality, and Mystery Lover. Jhun is a creative beast when it comes to songs, having worked on more modern hits like NCT 127’s Kick It and Punch or Victon’s What I said, IU’s Celebrity, and Kang Daniel’s Touchin’. With such a master behind this song alongside Taemin’s innate genius, it is no wonder that Strings is a superb track.

5. Sad Kids

The continuation of 2Kids from his previous album, Sad Kids takes the melodic line of 2Kids and twists it into a minor key with an acoustic guitar focus. It’s bittersweet and reminiscent. With echoes of the 2Kids chorus initially, Taemin enters the song with a rhythm that is clearly meant to copy that of 2Kids but still creates melancholy.

With the knowledge that this is his final EP before his enlistment into the South Korean military, Sad Kids feels exceptionally poignant. The music feels like a soft send-off as we let go for a while. Yet, as we approach the end of the chorus, the instrumental truly expands into a full song that allows for you to forget for a moment and simply live in the moment alongside Taemin. Once again, Ryan S. Jhun delivers a perfect song to close out this album alongside the Blur team.

Thus, we close this EP with a touching track. Advice as his final EP before enlistment truly does feel like a culmination of Taemin’s previous work. We see a well-honed artist who knows where he wants to go in terms of his music. His EP is cohesive and strong, with each song building a feeling and leading to an artfully done closure, while still standing independent.

With Advice, Taemin has shown us that he has so much to offer the world with his music, as seen in previous albums as well, but also that there is ever so much more to come. Best of luck on your enlistment Taemin, and we fans will for sure be waiting for your safe return and subsequent new adventure into the music world again.