Two weeks ago, ATEEZ made their comeback with two music videos. The first was for WAVE, which I reviewed on the day of release. The second music video is for ILLUSION, which I said I would review at a later date. Fast forward two weeks, we find ourselves looking a little closer at ATEEZ’s ILLUSION. In other related news, ATEEZ won their first weekly music chart with WAVE on MCountdown last week.

To me, ILLUSION sounds like the song that you would expect if we were to put all ATEEZ’s title tracks onto a spectrum. The song isn’t as upbeat and bright like how WAVE turned out, while it isn’t as intense as Say My Name (from earlier this year). However, there was a level of energy that makes it quite suitable to follow off WAVE and a level of fierceness in their vocal and rapping delivery that brings it in line with their past tracks. It isn’t a track that stands out within the first listen. There isn’t anything ‘new’ offered in this track that adds a layer of uniqueness to the group (as I had already established).  So, it took me a good few listens to get into the track. I personally find the rappers to stand out the most in this track, with it feeling like a dominant component. Even the rappers filtered onto the vocal sections, which I thought gave off a decent effect. There some good hooks in the track but it could have been better if they were more profound to make the song feel more blastable.

Based on the ending of ILLUSION’s music video, it might be the prequel to the fun that existed in the WAVE music video. The location they end up in the final sections of the song is those which we find them in during WAVE. Using this mentality, the group would be in dream-land for this video, which makes sense given the different backgrounds, flying pirate ship, floating objects and the purple island they end up exploring. But it is another fun-filled video to enjoy. The only thing that confuses me is the ‘Open Your Eyes‘ whisper we get at the end. It doesn’t seem to connect to WAVE, so my guess it is hinting towards something larger.

What I think the performance for ILLUSION could have benefited from are freestyle moments. Moments that are more like on stage improvisations. If these were embedded in these routine, the performance could have been more lively and fun, fitting in with the atmosphere of the song. But what we got is already quite energetic and upbeat, so it is good enough.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 8/10