GUILTY of loving Taemin and his 4th Mini Album

Starting off with the Title-track "Guilty": Taemin was robbed of an impactful opening because his intro was filled with too many adlibs. Had he turned it down a notch to only 2 adlibs before his first lyric "poison apple", his opening would have had a larger impact especially with his orchestral instrumental in the background but nonetheless, we're off to a solid start. Also, these are just my opinions so don't judge too hard.

Moving on to Verse 1, Taemin did an amazing job in creating a suspenseful build up to his chorus, some artists aren't able to create a solid structure for their song so instead of it being one whole song it becomes more like a set of lyrics mixed together and blended through instrumentals. However, Taemin actually has an amazing build up :) I'm splitting up his verse into 2 sections since his verse consists of generally 2 different rhythms. The 1st section (Poison apple to that's all it takes) is honestly as perfect as it can be. Something cool is that he sang his lyrics in way that is sounds so breathless? not complaining though, it fits the meaning behind his song. Taemin's breathy vocals echo the weariness of a toxic relationship, and the subtle vibrato during "more" and "takes" adds an extra layer of emotional resonance.

In the 2nd section, the rhythm change gave this song the little something many songs lack. While the song follows the so-called rollercoaster structure, the increase in pitch in the 1st line gradually decreasing until right before the pre-chorus keeps listeners hooked onto the song.

Something I found amazing in the pre-chorus is that while it has a similar rhythm to the chorus, the distinction between the two is clear and it's all thanks to the orchestral background. For the pre-chorus, the orchestral music is slowed down and focused more on the bass. In the chorus, the same slow bass is present but the melody of the strings (violin or something) makes the chorus so much more emotional and impactful, Taemin's instrumentals created such a haunting atmosphere that it's almost hypnotizing to listen to. This paired with Taemin's vocals is literally jaw-dropping. Two things to take note off from Taemin's vocals in the chorus is that at one point, he clearly enunciates each syllable and that strengthened the impact of his lyrics and their meaning. The second thing is that when he holds a note, the vibe of the song suddenly becomes so much more painful.

For Verse 2 (or even the whole song), the instrumentals of Guilty is so well made that it never overpowers Taemin's vocals but instead supports it. I highly suggest taking a listen to the instrumentals alone because that in itself is another experience. In the rap, the strings instead of being drawn with the bow, are being plucked which created a chilling atmosphere that suited the song. This dark vibe is further enforced with the lower pitched harmonies in the rap and THAT destroyed me (maybe because I'm a sucker for rap). Lastly, Taemin's vocals and vibrato just complimented this song perfectly.

I'll be combining the bridge and chorus together because the main thing that caught my attention in both parts are Taemin's adlibs and high notes which emerge as standout elements, providing a necessary and impactful conclusion to the song. The final chorus introduced some higher-pitched strings which intensified the song's melancholy and eerie essence.

Anyways, I was going to review the other songs in the album but I kind of went overboard with just Guilty so his other songs will be reviewed in a separate post. It's an amazing song, please listen to the instrumentals separately it's literally beautiful. Guilty as charged, love this song hehe.