Hello! Nostalgia in Album Form (Reviewing every SHINee Album Part 3)

In July 2010, we received SHINee's second full-length album, Lucifer. It took several months for the repackage to come out, and it represented a huge shift in tone. In October, SHINee unveiled Hello. While Lucifer had a alternative, cyber-punk vibe, Hello brought us right back to that familiar boy next door image. For me, this album resonated deeply. It fully embraced the trendy auto-tune sounds that were so popular at the time, featuring many upbeat and exciting songs in addition to those classic SHINee ballads that they always pulled off so well. So let's jump in, song by song.

1. Lucifer - This song is so iconic to me. The fan chant was so legendary, that even when I listen to the studio version, I can hear young women crying out their names and singing along to the hypnotic words. The harmony on the chorus is incredibly impressive, burying itself into your ears like an electric drill. The electronica inspired sound was totally complimented by SHINee's vocal tone. I'm not a huge fan of the "Loverholic, Robotronic," refrain, since it makes so sense, but for a banger like this, we allow it.

2. Hello - Still heavily leaning on an 80s electronic sound, Hello shifts tone from edgy to sweet and sappy. The vocals are super cutesy sounding, soft and romantic. The synth oscillates pleasantly between your ears in the background. The vocals are solid, but not as impressive as in Lucifer. Jonghyun doesn't disappoint, though, with some lovely long notes. Key provides some heart-filled adlibs. Minho's rap verse is obscured by vocals layered over him, which is not my preference. The song is adorable, overall.

3. ONE - We have in this song a classic SHINee ballad, which would fit in well with the style of the ballads on the first album. Taemin is noticeably more present in the line distribution as time progresses, but in this album, he's still leaning on a sweet sort of vocal quality, even though his skills have improved by leaps and bounds. Minho's rap in this is almost half-whispered, which is very sensual and enjoyable, especially with headphones. Onew and Jonghyun belt out the bridge passionately. My favorite part of the song comes at around 2:38. I can't explain it, but the group singing together sounds incredibly beautiful to my ears.

4. Get It - Shifting gears completely from the last song, Get It has a super heavy beat and sexy sound. The song opens with a chant, then leads into raps from Minho and Key. There are several rap lines sprinkled through the song. Onew sings a line "let me be your lover," which back in 2010 left me absolutely stunned. He doesn't have the reputation for being the sexiest member, but his vocals in this song would have most people believing otherwise. Taemin brings a cute sensuality with his lines. Jonghyun's voice doesn't need auto tune by any means, but the use of auto tune on his lines in this song was so expertly used that it almost sounded natural. A fun, sexy song!

5. UP&DOWN - This song is very upbeat, peppy, and cute sounding. The lyrics feature the words "UP" and "DOWN" and "roller coaster ride," which are repeated through the chorus and make it very easy to remember what song you're listening to. Taemin's voice really suits this song. This is a rare song in which I don't really enjoy the rap verse; it almost feels out of place. The rap later that is overlaid with vocals is actually more seamless, violating my usual preferences. The auto-tuned final note from Jonghyun is particularly fun!

6. Electric Heart - It has that latin guitar feeling, with something a acoustic drum beat. The vocals are breathy, almost like a whisper, especially in the chorus. I remember in an interview the boys gave at the time, Key said that this was his favorite song on the album. That does color my enjoyment of the song. The backing vocal "oooh"s are a theme through the song, which are a nice contrast to the hushed voices of the melody.

7. A-Yo - This is one of my favorite SHINee songs of all time, so I cannot be unbiased about. The song is very upbeat, electronic sounding with a heavy bass. It has those classic "ay"s chanted in the background, which were emblematic of pop songs of the era, activating nostalgia like no other. The vocals are not over the top at all and very natural sounding. It's an easy song to sing along with while still having a very heartfelt feeling.

8. Obsession - A heavy sounding song, with an electronic backing like an 8-bit boss battle and a powerful club beat, the title suits the vibe incredibly well. I have no idea what the lyrics mean, but it sounds intense! The vocals are passionate and emotive; Jonghyun is wailing on the chorus. The auto-tune is mostly reserved for the background vocals. Minho's rap at the end is an impactful way to end the song as it is, but then they really finish it off with an electric guitar riff. Very cool!

9. Quasimodo - The opening vocal "ooo"s sound like gospel music. Otherwise, the song is just like all the other SHINee ballads. It's not overly memorable, but still very pretty. Minho demonstrates that he, too, can carry a tune. I notice that he's given more and more opportunities to sing, not just rap. Jonghyun's adlibs at the end are some of my favorites of all time from him, I will note. I love the way the song builds, then releases, settling down for a very relaxed and somber outro.

10. Shout Out - I don't know where the monkeys are coming from, but it certainly is a bold way to begin a song! Onew's "ow"s in the background are funny, but they add a lot. The song has a heavy beat and a "hard" sound. Minho's raps sound aggressive. I love the hypnotic vocals from the other members, which are lightly autotuned. The song goes fast and hard and doesn't really relent at any point, but the bridge is slightly more melodic than the rest of the song. The song ends with thunder and barking dogs.

11. WOWOWOW - A funky sounding song with cute vocals and perhaps the most prevalent auto-tune, this is another favorite of mine. I love these kinds of happy, upbeat sounding songs! I love the choppy sound of Key's line delivery in particular. This song just puts me in a good mood!

12. Your Name - The harmonic "lalalala"s in the opening and closing of the song are perhaps the most memorable part of the song. It's not quite a ballad, leaning a bit more into R&B. I believe Onew wrote the lyrics to this one, so I enjoy it for that reason if nothing else. The song is very pretty and stands out, in some ways, for its sweet sound that isn't very electronic sounding at all, either vocally or in the backtrack. Of course, it's still using electronic beats, but in a more 2000s way than in a 2010s way.

13. Life - Another classic SHINee ballad! Featuring a slow, dramatic piano, it focuses really heavily on the vocals. It's a very organic song, feeling like something that you could hear live with all the instruments present and being played by a talented musician. For some reason, my Spotify loves this song and plays it all the time, even though I have all of SHINee's discography in the shuffle. I think the song isn't the most memorable, even as it builds to a powerful crescendo, but I remember it because I hear it quite frequently. I think it's a perfect exemplar of SHINee's ballad sound, though.

14. Ready or Not - The song is bombastic, with Minho practically shouting the opening lyrics. He and Key continue in a fast paced rap before handing it off to Jonghyun for more rapid-fire notes. The chorus asks "are you Ready or Not?" which sounds more like, "are you Radio Nut?" Either way, it's very fun, though the chants of "gurl, gurl" in the background are kind of annoying.

15. Love Pain - This song is very synth-heavy, but slow with an R&B sound. I think it has an old-school sound, but with a more 2010s twist. The vocals feature classic SHINee harmony and Jonghyun adlibs, but I don't think it really stands out amongst the album.

16. Love Still Goes On. - This is a sort of sequel to Love Should Go On from the first album, and it has a sort of similar sound, though much more electronic and upbeat sounding. The rap is more aggressive, the vocals more powerful, the overall feeling more upbeat. There are so many throwbacks to the original song, it feels like SHINee has come a long way from then, even though it's only been a little more than two years!

I feel like there are so many fun, upbeat, silly, or catchy songs on this album! SHINee hadn't fully developed their unique sound by this point, but they were definitely honing in on their style. I love this album from front to back, but I'm excited to continue the journey through their discography to listen to each member polish their skills and truly come into their own!