On October 24th, 2018, the K-pop Group ATEEZ debuted with eight members captain Kim Hongjoong, vocalist Park Seonghwa, dancer Jeong Yunho, vocalist Kang Yeosang, dancer Choi San, rapper Song Mingi, dancer Jung Wooyoung, and vocalist Choi Jongho. Since 2018, ATEEZ has released 11 studio albums with their most recent one being ‘Golden Hour Part 2’ which was released on November 15th.
This album ended up being my third top album of 2024 and also helped ATEEZ secure their second-ever number-one debut on Billboard’s Top 200. It is an addicting listen and it will make you want to keep it on repeat. Much like ATEEZ’s eighth studio album, these six tracks use heavily synthesized sounds.
“Deep dive”
“Deep Dive” is the first song on the album and is the perfect opening. This song has a deep bubbly synth-like sound. Mingi and Yeonsang’s deep vocals and inflection of lyrics enhance the sound and tie it all together.
“Scene 1: Value”
The second track of the album is “Scene 1: Value.” This song is more of an interlude/introduction to the title track of the album. This instrumental starts with a smooth violin to an accordion finally fading into the backing track of “Ice on My Teeth.”
“Ice on my teeth”
“Ice on My Teeth” is the Title Track of the album. The video of this song has a mafia family concept and the song does a really good job of projecting this through its sound. This song starts immediately with a catchy beat and an even catchier chorus. One thing this song does that I don’t really agree with is the fact they rhyme Tennis with Tennis in the main chorus in the line “I got diamonds at my dentist/ I be playing like Tennis/ grand slam like tennis.” However, the delivery of the line makes up for it. Throughout the whole song, it continues with this smooth, villain-esque beat that finally slows down into the perfect ending.
“Man on Fire”
The fourth track and my second favorite is “Man on Fire.” This song is primarily sung by Yunho and my personal favorite member Seonghwa. The song perfectly encapsulates the feeling of yearning. Mingi’s rap in the pre-chorus makes a perfect build-up and listening to the chorus and bridge with headphones on makes you want to acsend.
“Selfish Waltz”
The fifth track of this album is “Selfish Waltz.” This song is my personal favorite due to the variation in sound and tone in which the members sing their individual lines. If you thought “Man on Fire” was ascending worthy then you’re in for a treat on this one. The song overall has a magical feeling. The instrumental break after the chorus and Jongho’s High note after the third chorus seal the deal. The instrumental alone is good enough to keep on repeat for weeks let alone the whole song. I feel as if this song is the sister to previous ATEEZ songs like ‘Silver Light’ and ‘Dune’ but unlike those two I don’t think I could ever let this one go.
“Enough”
The final song of the album is called “Enough.” The song is an uplifting slow song that has the same energy as their previous song ‘Empty Box.’ This song mainly focuses on the message that you are enough no matter what others or yourself may think. Though this song is much slower than the rest, it is still an amazing song and message to leave off on.
To listen to any one of these songs for yourself, look up Golden Hour Part 2 by ATEEZ wherever you get your music. If you are interested in purchasing this album, check out Hello82, Target, Walmart, or Barnes and Noble.
