The boys from OnlyOneOf are back with their new mini-album ‘Instinct, Pt.1’. Let’s see what they’re treating us with this time.
Instinct, Pt. 1
We start off with the track ‘libidO’ which is the title track of this release. The song itself is all about teenage libido and how often it is seen as something bad and something that should be oppressed. The song itself is a total bop and the electronic vibe to it is awesome.
The video, while aesthetically pleasing and with great acting, feels like problematic queerbaiting to me. The comparison between ‘forbidden lust’ and gayness feels like it would propagate queer stereotypes. When you read the lyrics as well, it’s a bit weird that they specifically mention the word ‘girl’ so the song itself wouldn’t be seen as gay.
As per the description in the video: “tear of gOd” tells a story of the boy, who has indulged himself in impulse, having a conversation with god. Through this music, all members expressed the boy making an effort to reach the voice of god by singing in female singers’ vocal range. The voice of god is presented through the melody created by a synthesizer.”
In context of the title track it feels like a level of religious shame as well. On Spotify the song ‘tear of gOd’ is written as ‘tear of gOld’.
I think, for me I’ll stick to watching the Mnet Countdown Stage so that I can still support the boys’ comeback.
Next up
‘Instinct’ is the second song of the mini-album. It’s the shortest track out of four, clocking in at a bit under two and a half minutes. It’s groovy and has some great layering to it.
We follow that up with the lo-fi electronic ‘byredO’. The whistle in the instrumentation is dope and when the rapping starts with the jazz piano I was in awe. Haeil and Xydo wrote the lyrics. Members Nine and Kyubin are credited as composers together with Haeil, Xydo and Napler.
The last track is ‘Tear of gOd’. It’s a solid song with great vocals and catchy synths. The rap is dope and fits so well into the track.
There are a couple of extra songs; ‘Boys Wearing Comme des Garçons’, ‘If you can’t feel it, then you can touch it’, ‘Holy Week’ and ‘I called you, but actually I…’ but those are album exclusives.
You can find ‘Instinct, Pt.1’ by OnlyOneOf on Spotify here. If you want to read about their previous comeback, you can find it here.
