[Album Review] ; [Semicolon] (2nd Special Album) – SEVENTEEN

Teaser Image featuring all 13 Seventeen members for Semicolon album promotions.

SEVENTEEN has been nominated for Best Male Group, Best Male Group Performance and Best International Release by a Korean Artist in the 2020 KPOPREVIEWED Awards. Click here to vote for SEVENTEEN and your other favourite artists!

Prepare yourselves for the influx of really overdued album reviews coming your way over the next few weekends. SEVENTEEN’s ; [Semicolon] was released back at the end of October and features HOME;RUN as the lead title track. The album also features five other tracks, four of which are actually ‘unit’ tracks based on the members age groups. I found this to be an interesting way to split up their tracks, given that SEVENTEEN already has dedicated units for vocals, performance and hip-hop. However, I am glad that they did do this, as it gives us a bit more variety with their music – some of which just doesn’t fall into the vocal, performance or hip-hop categories. Keep on reading to find out what styles they opted for with these age-based groups.

; [Semicolon] Album Cover

1. HOME;RUN (Title Track) Click here to read the full review for HOME;RUN. (9/10)

2. Do Re Mi (도레미)Do Re Mi is performed by the maknae (or ‘youngest’) line (i.e. Seungkwan. Vernon and Dino). It is a nice mid-tempo pop track. Do Re Mi is subtly playful and very colourful, which I find suitable for their personality. The vibrancy of the pop instrumental in this song matches their youthfulness, as well. The chorus was catchy and had a pleasant vibe to it. The vocal work from all three members was quite good and Vernon’s rap had a nice oomph to it which made it stand out for me. Personally, I am not a fan of the change in the instrumental when it came to the bridge. I didn’t like the mild choppiness that it brought into the song, which disrupted the feel of the song’s consistency. (8/10)

3. Hey BuddyHey Buddy has that retro fanfare that reminds me of Bruno Mar’s Uptown Funk. This is thanks to the use of the brassy synths and trumpets in the instrumental. It is fun and upbeat throughout, making it another consistent track. I am digging the energy of the instrumental, particularly the end sequence that just keeps on coming. Hey Buddy features DK, Mingyu and The8. Each member brings a different element to the song, all of which I have never really picked up before in SEVENTEEN’s releases. DK has this musical-like delivery style of his vocals that makes his part so much punchier. Mingyu’s raps is quite sleek, while his vocals have this really cool nasally texture to them, while The8’s vocals have this freshness to them that I like. Altogether, Hey Buddy is a banger. (10/10)

4. Light A Flame (마음에 불을 지펴) – For some odd reason when I saw the title of this song, I thought we would be getting some edgy. But Light A Flame opts for a Latin influence. It is a bit more subdued and held back than the Latin releases that we are used to in KPOP. But this allows for a more sensual nature that makes Light A Flame feel unique. To me, the song is mature and well-thought out. Jun, Hoshi, Wonwoo and Woozi bring amazing vocals to this piece, with a mixture of standard vocals, deep tones (for the rapping and ending of this song) and falsettos throughout. I particularly like jazzy style instrumental bridge we got. It fitted in nicely and worked well with the rest of the song. (9/10)

6. Ah! Love Ah! Love is performed by S.Coups, Jeonghan and Joshua. To fit their status as the hyung-line (or eldest line) of the group, Ah! Love is actually quite mature sounding. That being said, the song does manage to develop into something along the lines of a R&B pop track. The acoustic guitars dominated the instrumental and helped the song grow its refined style. The song’s ‘Ah! Love You, Ah! Love Me’ hook was surprisingly quite catchy and enjoyable. It also happens to be the group’s most memorable hook from this album. (9/10)

7. All My Love (겨우) – The final song features the regrouping of Seventeen. It is soft pop balladry track that is enjoyable. There are nice melodies in the song and an impressive display of vocals and rapping throughout the song. I am not exactly a fan of the synthetic nature of the instrumental. It felt a little too distorted for my liking. But I do admit that when paired with Seventeen’s vocals, All My Love’s instrumental actually comes off as warm and inviting. Overall, a pleasant ending to the album. (8/10)

Overall Album Rating – 8.8/10

; [Semicolon] Teaser Image

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