The newly debuted seven member male group, The Wind, made their first comeback last week with the single WE GO. Usually, I go ahead and review WE GO. But have been wanting to review ISLAND for a while now. So, today, I will reviewing their debut single ISLAND and shall return to review WE DO soon. ISLAND dropped mid-May as part of the group’s first mini-album, Beginning : The Wind Page. It kicks off the careers of Shin Jae Won, Kim Hee Soo, Thanatorn, Choi Han Bin, Park Hayuchan, An Chan Won and Jang Hyoun Joon, all of whom are signed under With US Entertainment.

While ISLAND doesn’t bring anything necessarily new to the table, the debut single does offer some relief from the current sound that male groups are putting out. ISLAND is a simple yet bright and bubbly pop dance track, reminiscent of something that GFriend would have put out during earlier on in their careers. You could say some of the instrumentation could have been lifted out of GFriend’s discography, such as the synths used in the background. There is also a youthful tone of the song that just makes such songs so blissful to listen to. ISLAND is also quite melodic, which I found to be a huge driver in ISLAND sounding pleasant and enjoyable. This also helps bring a smile to my face whenever I hear the song. The melodies, however, could have been punchier in some areas, just to give that extra memorable element to the song. I did enjoy the more chanty lines you hear at the end of the choruses that all the members contribute to. This style of delivery in ISLAND just add extra oomph alongside the vocals, and makes ISLAND more than just a melodic track. With this in mind, I do think ISLAND could have incorporated a more substantial rapping department without breaking the song and ruining the pleasantness that we got. There was definite room for more in ISLAND to go that extra mile. But as it stands, ISLAND is a very strong debut track and successfully launches the group’s career by attracting attention towards the group.

Just like GFriend’s debut single, the group’s music video highlights their youthful visuals and tone by opting for a schoolboy concept. To me, this is highly expected and doesn’t come as any surprise. In the lyrics, the group sings about wanting to meet and explore the unknown with their special someone. And in the video, we see the additional elements of the group getting ready for an adventure at a train station and that curiosity to see what is beyond school. One thing that I really appreciated from the video is that it takes on that cutesy and sweet concept that tends to come with the school-aged concept. But it does so without feeling cringy or overly saturated, which I find helps makes the video much more appealing to watch, as a result. I also like the emphasis on the colour blue in the video. A bit traditional, but it does feel refreshing.

While the choreography of ISLAND doesn’t stand out, I do like how breezy and energetic it feels. It works extremely well with the song and the group’s youthful charms, without a doubt. I do also want to applaud The Wind in their efforts on pulling off a live performance with stable vocals in each performance I have watched of them. It just makes the performance more worthwhile to watch.

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