In a press release for Shinee’s latest EP Atmos, SM Entertainment described the album as the “most Shinee-like.” This claim largely rings true. Over the years, Shinee have experimented with various styles, including the hip-hop title track to their most recent full album Hard. With Atmos, however, Shinee has returned to a number of their signatures: layered vocals over a blend of electronic beats and contemporary R&B. In that sense, Atmos is not an album that aims to set trends. What it does is solidify Shinee’s legacy, with some of the most well-produced music this year.
Even on first listen, Atmos feels like returning to the best Shinee has to offer. The title track “Atmos” revisits deep house, which they popularized in K-pop with 2015’s “View.” One might feel nostalgia listening to it, but its glitchy synths make it feel modern and distinct, rather than from another era. “Atmos” also distinguishes itself with its dynamic composition, from its anti-drop chorus to its octave-climbing post-chorus.
“Atmos,” along with every other track on the album, also showcases each member’s distinct vocal color (Onew’s smooth and rich tenor, Key’s bright and brassy one, Minho’s warm baritone, and Taemin’s breathy yet versatile voice). At the same time, with stacked vocals in every chorus, the members harmonize beautifully and mesh as one layered voice.
“Atmos” is short for “atmosphere,” which the album reflects in a number of ways. The album features appealing, atmospheric textures, with the production creating immersive soundscapes. The closing ballad “Thousand Miles Away” feels particularly expansive, layering its vocal harmonies, orchestral strings, and percussion with some reverb.
In addition to its atmospheric production and lush harmonies, Atmos draws upon our associations with weather (and not merely with titles such as “Atmos” or “Still Raining”). As a symbol, weather mirrors human emotions, and how our conditions are subject to change.
The mid-tempo R&B track “Still Raining,” for instance, compares a relationship to a sudden shower that is powerful for a short while, but ends just as quickly as it began. Yet the song is not called “sonagi”, or sudden shower, but “Still Raining”, suggesting that the speaker clings to the memory of the relationship.
The funk-pop “Hours” similarly focuses on the hope to revive a past relationship by alternating between slower and faster tempos. The song is built on contrasts, such as in the bridge, starting with Minho’s deep rap over snare, then transitioning to Taemin’s airy vocals over a spare instrumental. These contrasts reflect a push and pull of the relationship dynamic. Ultimately, though, the smooth groove of the song makes a convincing appeal for another chance.
It is not only relationships that change over time.Taken together, “Possibility” and “Anti-Believer” illustrate how people’s outlooks on life, particularly their coping mechanisms, transform. The UK garage-driven “Possibility” embraces optimism, encouraging the listener, “When you fall down / Gotta keep running.” The layered chorus ascends until it peaks with “You’ll finally believe in possibility.”
As the fourth track, “Anti-Believer” maintains the synths and dance beats of the previous three songs, but seems to portray the loss of optimism from “Possibility”. The song’s minor key creates a hint of melancholy that matches the lyrics, in which the speaker laments his cold heart that grew as an emotional defense from people breaking his trust. However, the song ends with a semblance of hope. As Key sings in the bridge:
Inside the void where everything is lost
I see you shining brightly
Always breathing right by my side
Who made me an anti-believer?
Despite feeling guarded, the speaker still sees the potential to trust again with steadfast support.
In line with the themes of the rest of the album, “Thousand Miles Away” reflects on how the past, filled both with “overwhelming happiness” and “unforgettable pain,” shapes the present and the future. Each member delivers his most emotive performance, conveying the complexity of the song’s lyrics. Onew effectively captures the song’s central message, singing in his soaring head voice, “Nothing has ever faded away without a meaning.” A fitting album closer, “Thousand Miles Away” finds significance in every experience.
Atmos exemplifies perseverance amidst change, which resonates with Shinee’s own 18-year journey filled with successes and challenges, joy and deep loss. The album dramatizes how human emotions and relationships change, while the sonic palette feels upbeat yet harmonious and comforting. If Atmos is the most Shinee-like album, it is due to this musical richness and emotional depth.
(YouTube. SM Entertainment. Lyrics via Genius [1][2] and Lyrics Translate. Images via SM Entertainment.)
