Heads up. I will be posting one album review each day throughout the Easter long weekend – starting today and ending on next Tuesday. Song reviews will be back from Wednesday next day.

First up on this album review long weekend is VICTON’s CHOICE, the group’s 8th mini-album release since debut. The mini-album dropped mid-November 2022. and features the title track Virus and 4 sidetracks. This album release is the group’s first release as a five member group, following the departure of Chan from the group and the continued hiatus (at the time) of Seungwoo (who was serving his miltary enlistment). It also appears like CHOICE might the group’s final release for while, after two additional (Seungsik and Senjun) enlisted earlier this year. But who knows, there might be plans for a four member lineup comeback on the cards for VICTON. For now, here are my thoughts on the song’s on the CHOICE mini-album.

1. Virus (Title Track) – Click here to read the full review for Virus. (7/10)

2. Boy Who Chases Time (시간을 달리는 소년) – I personally quite enjoyed the subdued nature of Boys Who Chases Time. There is something alluring from this energy that makes the song quite enticing and captivating. It might be the weighty feel of the song or even possible the delivery of the entire track, which the members nailed. The chorus on takes on a punkish pop vibe, which I thought sounded very cool. The guitar work in this song is superb. A strong sidetrack, indeed. (9/10)

3. Alive – Funky vibes peek through in Alive. This comes about from the presence of lo-fi beats in the verses, which keeps the subdued profile that the preceding song had. But the song progresses, Alive does becomes relatively bolder and this help creates a more riveting listen. Hanse’s rapping really stands out in Alive and infuses such a cool vibe to the verses. He brings so much character to quite an empty set of verses. Sejun and Seungsik’s vocals in the choruses were also a captivating element to the song. Another strong song from the group. (8/10)

4. Better Place – Bringing a much brighter and uplifting tone to the mini-album is Better Place. The retro electronic nature of the instrumental gives off a childish yet cute vibe. It does become quite repetitive towards the end, but that isn’t too much of a deal breaker for me. The members help overcome this by driving the song forward with their vocals/raps. I also enjoyed how the members effortlessly moulded themselves to fit the brighter style, especially since I associate the group with weightier and mature songs. (8/10)

5. Feels Good – Feels Good continues the brighter and uplifting tone. All the members had a hand in writing in this, which makes this a notable release for fans of VICTON. To me, Feels Good is a bit more standard and doesn’t evoke the same reaction that Better Place did. It is still an enjoyable listen, however. The track does feel a lot inclusive, with the members all coming together to do the cheers in the background at the end. The melodies also give off a warm vibe. (7/10)

Overall Album Rating – 7.8/10