Despite the departure of their leader just prior to their original comeback date, AB6IX has managed to adapt well to the sudden change in their lineup. While they did delay the album release to re-record their songs and alter their choreography to fit the current four member lineup, the group pulled through this comeback without any issues. It looks like they have wrapped up their promotions already, but it is never too late to have a deeper drive into their album. Today, in addition to talking about each VIVID side track individually, I will be discussing the promotional potential of other tracks. What do I mean? Keep on reading to find out!

1. Red Up – Kicking off the album is the hip-hop influenced Red Up. During my initial listen of the song, the hip-hop influence during the verses and the inclining buildup we get in the pre-chorus gave me an impression of a really strong and impactful drop when it came to the chorus. But I was caught by surprised once we reach the chorus. Rather than being a hard drop, I found Red Up’s chorus to be sleek and trendy, thanks to the subtle impact brought on by the horns. It is very unexpecting, but I liked it quite a lot. I would have enjoyed the ending more they have incorporated something to add a little excitement and resolved the ‘repetitive’ issue that hindered the song’s appeal. The song itself was quite rap heavy, all of which was delivered by Woojin. He had big shoes to fill and he managed to do it all quite well. (8/10)

2. VIVID – If I had my way, VIVID would have been promoted on stage and potentially have taken over Surreal’s position as secondary promotional track. I really liked the whispers at the start. It was memorable and definitely got me intrigued to continue listening to the song. The song is quite punchy and had a decent level of excitement to it. VIVID answers one of my desire for the title track. It isn’t a direct continuation of that house sound we got from their earlier works, but I would say it is still in the vicinity. Each member also shined, which makes complete sense to promote the song. Woojin’s deep raps, Dae Hwi’s vocals, Woong and Donghyun’s falsetto in the chorus are just prime examples of them shining in this song. (9/10)

3. THE ANSWER (답을 줘) (Title Track) – Click here to read the full review for THE ANSWER. (8/10)

4. Surreal (초현실) – Under my imaginative plan for AB6IX’s promotions, Surreal would have served as the title track for VIVID (the album). Overall, it was a smoldering song which would have suited a mature look. And I believe that AB6IX really had that potential to nail such a concept and song. I really like the pounding nature of the instrumental. It is unique and very refreshing. I liked how they didn’t lose the song’s intensity, keeping it going throughout the entire song. I like the huskier and raspier vocals that the members had to bring to the song. This really compliments the darker atmosphere of the song. I would have liked the song to have a little more to it towards the end. It lacks a powerful climax to really bring the song to a close. It just continued going with the momentum from the start and to me, it just doesn’t feel finished. (9/10)

5. Midnight Blue – The song starts and ends with some acoustic guitars in the background. But the instrumental for everything in between just went with a pop sound and lost that acoustic guitar touch. It does peek through the instrumental at times, but it wasn’t the prominent feature to give that song a ‘dynamic’. I would have liked for the song to continue with that acoustic touch. It would have been an interesting appeal and Midnight Blue could have played with some cool dynamics. I did like the vocals and rapping in this song. Each member really shined in this song, like the rest of the songs on this album. (8.5/10)

6. Hold Tight (끈) – Hold Tight feels like it is the most typical track on this album by today’s standards. But this doesn’t mean I didn’t like it. I didn’t necessary get any special feelings towards the song. But there was a really good energy that makes it suitable for a dance club or party like environment. There was some decent intensity throughout, and I felt that the song really fits into AB6IX’s discography. Vocals and rapping were pretty good as well. I just found the song to lack that uniqueness that separates it from the rest of the pack of side-track releases from other artists. (7.5/10)

Overall Album Rating – 8.3/10