I've became interested with these beautiful boys earlier this year. They were part of a survival/reality program for aspiring idols, No. Mercy. It was late 2014, when I first heard about No Mercy, but unfortunately didn't paid enough attention to them coz during that time, I was still spazzing to both Winner and iKon. But when I saw this beautiful boy while searching for perfect eyeliner styles (Yes! I was looking for random eyeliner tutorials on Google, and suddenly I saw this gif/thumbnail out of nowhere:
Bam! It was love at first sight, and I automatically became a fan. I started to back tracked everything about these boys and fell more in love with all of them. Now that they are all geared up to conquer the kpop scene with their interstellar hip hop sound and a new name as Monsta X, there is no better way to show my support but to make a review of their first EP, Trespass.
Monsta X came in with a powerful and invading entry track, Trespass. When I first saw the teaser video of the song, it immediately reminded me of 2 of my other favorite kpop groups mainly, BAP (Warrior) for its powerful sound, BTS (No More Dream), for the angst driven and boasting raps. It also reminded me of Teentop with their Miss Right video because of the prison concept of the video, thus giving a good impression and expectation of the whole album. Gladly when the full MV was released as well as the album, the boys did not disappoint my waiting heart. This powerful and addictive Mad Clown written track, sure knows how to trespass anyone's ear and make someone listen to it constantly on repeat. (I was one of them.) Though some thought it was a Jooheon feat. Monsta X track, because he sang/rapped almost half the track, I really think this Jooheon-filled arrangement created greater impact among the listeners. I am a Wonho stan, and yes, I am a little disappointed for he only had like 1 or 2 lines, but the beat and the feel of the song really screams for more angst and raps rather than soft vocals. Plus Shownu and Kihyun also showed amazing and powerful vocals to balance everything on this track, so I think everything turned out to be perfect for their debut track.
Next up, No Exit, written by Jooheon, IM and Kihyun and was featured and performed during their No Mercy days. Honestly, I'm not a fan of this track when they first performed it on No Mercy; to my senses, it was just messy and so out of place, so I was a little bit puzzled when I saw the album's official tracklist, and I'm sorry but I even removed this track off my Monsta X playlist. Thankfully, my sister was constantly jamming to this track on her phone, and now with a few changes on the arrangement, it seems like everything was in its perfect place. Their vocal tones were more controlled and the choreography was way better than the first, but I'm still hooked on the "eh eh eh oh eh oh" choreography in their first performance tho. And yeah, this track is now permanently included in my Monsta X playlist.
After two booming power tracks, Monsta X turned things down with a seductively sexy track One Love. With lyrics written by rappers IM and Jooheon, its sexy laid back beat and powerful yet seductive vocals, this track somehow awakened the inner vixen in me. Whenever I listen to this track, I feel like I am being serenaded by 7 sexy men in my bed or maybe in a dim lit lounge or any place with a romantic and sexy ambiance and yeah, with topless Wonho of course. (Oh my! Im really sorry for my 19+ imagines, I just can't help it guys, the feels was too sexy for me to handle. Hahaha) Anywho, back to reality, IM's rapping tone/voice really suits the song, it sounded very manly and sexy. Jooheon sounded very Lil Wayne-y for me tho. Again, since I didn't heard much of Wonho's sexy vocals, I think Shownu and Kihyun showed impressive vocals especially during the bridge part. I just wished they let Wonho sing more parts, I really think his vocals would do good with this kind of track/beat just like what he did during their Hug Me performance in No Mercy.
If One Love, sounded manly and sexy, Monsta X continues to show their manliness but this time with a touch of sensitivity, with this oddly interesting track, Honestly featuring Sistar's Dasom (only for narration). Compared to the previous tracks, this has a light acoustic vibe, that makes me want to sing with them all day long. But what made this track interesting and my favorite was because of the contrast between the song's fell good acoustic vibe and the song lyrics. At first, I really thought the lyrics were sweet, romantic and full of love, like a boy confessing his love towards a girl he likes, but when I looked for its english translation, the lyrics were a bit sad and painful yet it is also relatable, The boys were torn between being completely honest to themselves and their girl thus wanting to end things between them and/or keeling everything to himself, pretending until he fully understands the reason why he suddenly lost interest towards her. Though not everyone will agree with me, but based on my personal experience, no matter how deeply and madly in love you are to your partner, it is inevitable for some (I said SOME, not everyone) to experience waking up in the morning and falling completely out of love to your partner and its up to you whether you stay and make thing work or just let go of everything and move on. Indeed love was never that simple, but also not so complicated. It is always up to us to either make it or break it.
Monsta X picked things up a little with Steal Your Heart. Okay wait, the first few seconds of the track immediately reminded me of EXO's Transformer which by the way was never my EXO jam. The song follows the same flow of Trespass and No Exit; it was upbeat, full of angst and yeah, overly confident (in terms of stealing girl's hearts). A little trivia, Wonho contributed in writing the lyrics along with Jooheon and IM. Way to go bae!
If you're an international fan like me whose knowledge to korean language is limited to annyeong and saranghe, then you are in for a nice treat with Blue Moon. With almost half of the song written and sang in english thanks to Monsta X's resident english man and dictionary IM. The boys takes us to a new yet nostalgic feel with this track. Whenever this song plays, I feel like I'm chilling inside an old jazz bar on a rainy afternoon sipping my favorite cocktail drink. The beat was calming and the piano keys gives off a very nostalgic vibe. The raps were very smooth and it really matches the relaxing tones of the vocal line. This track also reminds me of Vixx's Only U and BAP's Coffee Shop for some weird unknown reason.
Interstellar feat. Yella Diamond with only Jooheon, Hyungwon and IM. Like No Exit, this track was also first featured and performed during their No Mercy days. Honestly this song was the reason that made me saw IM's potential as a member of Monsta X. I have admit, aside from Wonho and Kihyun, I am also a fan of #Gun, and even prefer him over Jooheon, but IM's rapping skills and writing ability in this track was also no joke and he really proved his potential when he first performed it on No Mercy. I remember for a slight moment, I was so into his rapping skills that I really can't focus to #Gun or even my ultimate bias, Wonho. He really did leave a great impact to me because of this performance. This track also showed Hyungwon's confident side, his vocals and dance were on point plus his expressions and gazes were fiery and amazing. And yeah it was "Yella" catchy, especially the "Let's Ride" part.
In summary, I'm giving this EP an 8/10. The album was pretty strong, thinking that they were only formed as one group last February and just debuted for like 2 weeks ago. The song choices were also great, as they showcased Monsta X's great potential as super rookie idols or even record breaking idols in the future. But the song parts/line distribution in this EP disappointed me a little. I know Kihyun and Shownu has great vocal ranges and skills, but I think this EP somehow underestimated Minhyuk, Hyungwon and Wonho's singing abilities. I may be a bit bias here, but I really think Wonho deserves more lines, he may not have the best vocals in the group, but I know and feel that he can also sing some of Kihyun's parts very well. With this EP, I feel like he only became a part of Monsta X because of his pretty face not his talent, which totally pains me. He really can sing, Starship Ent, you've seen him perform and do great during their No Mercy days so why did this happened? Please consider him as well as Minhyuk and Hyungwon in their next EP. Anywho, I am really glad on their debut track, Trespass. It was really good especially for a rookie group like them. They really did great and left a good impression among kpop fanatics. I hope they continue to work hard and do greater things in the future. I'm wishing them luck for the future and I also promise to continuously keep my eye to these boys. I'm really glad these boys didn't disappoint me but rather they made me love and support them even more. Once again, Congratulations to your successful debut and Fighting!
A's recommended tracks: "Trespass", "Honestly", "Blue Moon"
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