I have returned with another album review. I made a list of albums I want to review and I still have a lot to catch up on – 17 to be exact. So I will return with another intensive album review weekend in a couple of weeks to help knock off some more album reviews (and it will be more intensive this time around)! But that doesn’t mean I will hold onto any until then, as it is back to the usual transmission of reviews. In this post, I will be reviewing ONEUS’ fifth mini-album, BINARY CODE, which features the title track BLACK MIRROR. It was released mid-May of this year, over two months ago (sorry once again for the long delays). This is the group’s first comeback since the release of their first studio album DEVIL and the track No Diggity at the start of this year.

1. BLACK MIRROR (Title Track) – Click here to read the full review of BLACK MIRROR. (8.5/10)

2. Connect With US – Connect With US is the extended version of the outro of the same name from the group’s first studio album. It doesn’t offer anything more than what we heard in the outro. And so my comments from that album review stands (i.e. pop-aligned, flowy and melodic). Regarding its placement on this mini-album, it feels like a step back. We got a strong and dynamic track to open the album. But following that track, I felt the album could have continued the momentum of the opener, and not with Connect With US (which should have been lower down on the tracklist). (8/10)

3. Polarity (울과 기름) – I think an up-tempo track would have a nice follow-up to the title track. And I feel that Polarity would have been a good contender. It bridges the space between the first two songs on the spectrum. It has a decent mid-tempo pop pace that brings down the energy from BLACK MIRROR, but also suits the pleasantry of the Connect With US. But I did think the start of the song was rather flat. But once we reach the chorus, the song had picked up and the ball was rolling, Polarity was a decent track. Nice vocals and rapping in the song, as well. (8/10)

4. Happy Birthday – Happy Birthday doesn’t make me feel like I have aged a year (which is a good thing – I feel old now, especially as I see groups with members born after 2000). I liked how this song turned out. I have a big thing for being unique and I feel that Happy Birthday fits that brief. It isn’t a straight-forward song, with the instrumentation taking you on a wild ride with the synths and textures that make up its background. It isn’t a consistent mix like most instrumentals, so there is always something different around every corner of this song. When it comes to the rapping, I liked how dynamic those sections felt. For the vocals, I really like the vocalists delivered the song’s title. The elongation of the title, and the tiniest tinge of vibration was quite cool and memorable. Personally, my favourite side track on this album. (10/10)

5. Valkyrie (발키리) (Rock Version) – I always had a feeling that a rock version of the track would appear. Just surprised it took over 2 years. Click here to read my full review of Valkyrie. (9/10)

Overall Album Rating – 8.7/10