Although The Wind debuted in May 2023, the six-member group has kept busy throughout their one-and-a-half-year career as K-pop idols. The group is managed by With Us Entertainment, a subsidiary of Around Us Entertainment, and has already released two EPs, five singles, and six music videos. On October 7, 2023, The Wind added one more EP to their already robust body of work. Hello: My First Love, as well as its eponymous title track, serves as a reintroduction to The Wind that regales new fans and old fans alike with their signature bright sound. However, in a market currently inundated with monster rookie boy groups, The Wind simply meet expectations, and Hello: My First Love does little to present anything outside of the box to stand out.
Several aspects of title track “Hello, My First Love” support the idea that it is intended to serve as a reintroduction to The Wind. First, the Korean title is “반가워, 나의 첫사랑,” in which the first word, 반갑다, can also be used in first meetings to signify, “nice to meet you.” The lyrics (including the chorus’s “Do you want to come inside? Do you want to join me?”) mirror TWS’s “Plot Twist,” which cleverly utilizes the lyrics of their debut song to express the nervous feelings of a first meeting to fans they are facing for the first time.
Additionally, The Wind experienced a surge in popularity at the end of 2023, when their song “With US” gained attention as the song used by many karaoke institutions at the conclusion of a karaoke session — likely due to the lyrics, which include, “We greet each other with a smile and go home” and “We’ll meet again, we’ll meet again soon”. For the new fans gained from “With US”‘s rise in streams, “Hello, My First Love” is the perfect introduction to the other types of tracks the group is capable of. “Hello, My First Love” shifts from the melody and instrumentals of a slow, emotional ballad to the fast-paced beat and joyous vocals of a J-pop track, all in a way that keeps listeners engaged throughout the entire duration of the song.
Still, though the title track is a strong, catchy start to the EP, the remaining songs blur together. In this case, The Wind’s sound is consistent to a fault. “Hello, My First Love” bleeds straight into “Whoo” with little change to the beat and tone of the previous song. The only reason “I Don’t Thing” is more identifiable from the first two tracks is due to the chorus’s resemblance to Infinite’s 2013 title song, “Man in Love”.
It certainly doesn’t help that the lyrics in Hello: My First Love are all centered around the same topic as well. The first love concept is threaded through the EP so thoroughly that the second track’s lyrics, “I want to convey all my feelings to you”, is indistinguishable from the fourth track’s “I’m here, I want to confess to you now”. Still, this doesn’t mean the lyrics are bad; “I Don’t Thing” marks rapper Choi Han Bin’s first lyrics to be published in one of The Wind’s songs. Nevertheless, the songs are just too similar to belong on the same EP, especially without more exploration behind the contrasting feelings involved in first love.
This return to a more generic sound is a disappointment after the dynamic music production explored in their February EP, Our: YouthTeen. The title track, “H!TEEN” — as well as the whole EP — includes multiple tonal shifts, chord modulations, and genre shifts. These music techniques are highly characteristic of K-pop and are often attributed to what makes K-pop — as well as Our: YouthTeen — so interesting. Unfortunately, these characteristics are exactly what Hello: My First Love lacks.
Nonetheless, the album concludes on a high note with “Way To Home,” which immediately sets itself apart from the rest of the EP with the intro melody alone. The harmonious chorus recalls Starto Entertainment‘s greatest J-pop songs, and the chorus lyrics (i.e., “Black Night / On my way home alone / The stars in the evening sky after the sun has set”) indicate a progression to the close of the night that mirrors the close of the album.
There is one particular difference in the song credits — which may or may not play into this song’s distinct characteristics — that sets “Way To Home” apart from the other tracks on the EP. The songwriting credits include danke, a group made up of three women who have written extensively for groups like Enhypen, Tomorrow X Together, Red Velvet, and Le Serrafim. Without further insight from producers and songwriters, it is difficult to truly know if, or how, this song was made differently from the others. However, through conjecture, it is possible that working with new producers and songwriters might be the key to diversifying and distinguishing The Wind’s sound.
That being said, at the end of the day, having a consistent sound can also be seen as The Wind’s strength. Some K-pop companies like Hybe work with so many different songwriters and producers that their groups garner criticism for changing sound over time. Moreover, Whiz who fell in love with The Wind’s distinct, bright sound from debut are likely perfectly content to have another EP that aligns so well with The Wind’s first EP. After all, The Wind is still a young group with plenty of room to evolve their sound to reflect growth and maturity further in the following EPs. There is no better time for them to embrace the youthful, boyish sound they are known for than now. Seoulbeats will be tuning in to their next release!
(Instagram, Youtube [1][2]. Images via With Us Entertainment.)
