merriweathering

before i start this, i would just like to say that it felt quite intimidating to make this post? i love talking about music (growing up with it + almost 14 years of choir and still counting have conditioned me) but this isn't really like a twitter thread where i have to shorten my thoughts to fit into a few tweets, so it's a little daunting to express this side of myself like this, and i guess that's why it's took me this long. but we're here now!

buckle up friends, this is quite a long one ヽ(°〇°)ﾉ

- overall thoughts about the album

as far as albums go, i would say phantom does its job well? it doesn't feel as grand as their previous works (besides kick back, she's a mild one too), but the emotional effect of having new music after almost two years overpowers the mildness of it for me.

i mentioned it in my first listen thread about how the two bonus tracks that were previously released as singles don't feel too jarring in terms of the flow of the album, but now that i've listened to the album a lot, i'd say that's got to do with the fact that try my luck (technically the last song of the album) is my least favorite of the tracks lol

vocals wise, i enjoy this album a lot for two reasons; 1) the contrast and 2) the language, let me elaborate why:

1) it felt refreshing to hear so many parts with that deep range, it made a good impression on me when paired with the higher parts and it reminds me of choir dynamics so it's pretty obvious that i'd enjoy that lol

2) there's just something different about hearing them singing in chinese to me? could be either because they're more proficient in the language and it flows better for them or the fact that they usually don't get big parts in group releases but yeah

- member by member

(this will be in age order for no other reason besides making it easier on my brain)

kun

if you had told me two years ago that i'd be down this bad for this man i probably would've been like "that's funny haha" but look at me now 🤡 i should've known better but we move!

i think that one of his strongest suits as a vocalist, generally speaking, is his adaptability? his technique is great (love love his use of vibrato and his mixed range), but being able to adjust your voice depending on what the song requires is a special skill, and one i can hear whenever he's singing. we have heard him sing in other releases besides kick back, like in back to you, the universe album, rain day (beloved <333) and most recently the sm album (his adlibs in the cure <333), but like i mentioned above, something about him singing in chinese just hits different and i'm very happy to hear it again. something i can't forget to mention is how stable his voice feels? mostly in the choruses, but if i were to use an analogy to explain it, it's like his voice is the ground to let the other two vocalists run wild with the adlibs. it's just always there. a few moments that i particularly enjoyed and that i want to highlight:

- his parts in broken love, specially the ones in 2:04 and 3:26 (the octave drop and subtle changes in the ends of the phrases are beautiful)

- good life as a whole, but the outro deserves her flowers! feels like the ending of a movie? in a really nice way?

ten

this man... bruh. being a fan for as long as i have (almost seven years now?), it still blows my mind how much he has grown and solidified himself as a vocalist? his dancing skills and stage presence are unquestionable, but i think his voice deserves to have a moment to shine as well. as far as technique goes, i'd say his is pretty straightforward? his tone and delivery come across like that to me, and paired up with the ensemble of vocalists we have, it's a good match with kun's stability and dejun's theatricality (i'll elaborate more on that when i get to him). this album felt like a perfect fit with him? he's done so well in every track that it's hard to pick what to point out, but here it goes:

- diamonds only is HIS SONG. this part at 0:39, the harmony at 1:45, the part from 2:26 onwards? YEAH

- i honestly feel like i could write a whole essay on bounce back but 0:34 and 1:36 (the "without you i'm better" bit are so catered to me i love it here

winwin

if you've been here (in ncity) for a while, you know that winwin has never really gotten that much spotlight or lines. it feels like i had never gotten to know his voice that well before he joined wayv? and yeah, he doesn't get that many lines in wayv either, but little lines is better than no lines at all imo jhfdjh and this also applies to this current album for me, he hasn't gotten many lines but he's got more than usual, and the smart thing about his parts in certain tracks is that those parts are meant to have some sort of an impact? the deeper-than-usual tone aligned with some smart arranging made a pretty interesting combo to hear, and i'll point out some of these lines below:

- phantom is quite obvious to point out but the cave voice (1:30) just works well with the song

- english king taking over at 2:16 of bounce back (and now that i say it, most of his lines in this album seem to be in english? idk if it's always been like this tbh)

xiaojun

i'll just say it off the bat in all caps to make my point clear: XIAO DEJUN IS TOO GOOD TO BE KEPT IN A GODDAMN BASEMENT. i could end it like this and just point out the bits i like but would i really be a choir nerd who happens to be stuck in weishenville if i didn't talk about him properly? absolutely not! i mentioned his theatricality a few paraghaphs ago, and what i meant by that is that he's very expressive? his words feel very articulated and purposeful, almost dramatic in a way, and it's perfect for wayv's usual sound and their most recent adventure into a more theatrical route. his agility (to put it very simply, his ability to change from note to note quickly) is unmatched. i'll point just two right below but honestly, this whole album back to back has his adlibs all over and it's too good pls bless yourselves anyway:

- if i don't mention that phantom high note at 3:06 like??? literally perfect with a little bit of rasp at the end for an extra flair, king

- the sprinkle of sass at 3:09 onwards of bounce back is just too good!!

hendery

i feel like from all the members, he may have had the hardest task this album? we know they've had to readjust and rerecord a lot of stuff, and you may ask, why am i singling him out? because to me, he's the one with the range closest to what they probably had in mind originally, and from the amount of lines he's gotten this time around, i'd assume he got most of the parts that were supposed to go to someone else.

makes sense considering how before the album dropped, the boys talked about how much hendery has shown himself this time? and i honestly have to agree with them. i've always enjoyed him as a rapper in their songs, but my inner complaint has always been that i couldn't really hear him? his parts have always either been too short or shared with someone else, and i felt like the first time i truly heard his flow in a title track was in turn back time, but in this album i heard him and i heard him well. let me give examples of what i'm on about:

- the entirety of diamonds only honestly, but respectfully listening to 2:39

- try my luck's first mention!!! i really like how he starts the song at 0:20, strong cpop vibes here

yangyang

i'm gonna try not to be too mushy because My Baby but don't hold it against me if i end up being sappy at some point jfhdjf no but in all seriousness, and considering the absolute nerd he shows himself to be, i think he's incredibly talented. and the works he's been a part of between kick back and phantom (like low low, rain day, new axis, zoo, and it goes on) have actually proved me that the thing i mentioned about the language in the first paragraph doesn't quite apply to him, at least not now that he's gotten a bit more familiar with korean. which is not surprising at all, considering the amount of languages going through his brain jfhdj it does feel like his cadence flows better in mandarin, but it's not bad in any of the other languages he sings/raps in either. let's get into the highlights:

- whenever he taps a little into his singing voice i get all !!!! so good life's perfect to me in that sense

- i also believe in ICY ICY ICY ICY ICY supremacy thank you diamonds only for your services

- final thoughts: