It has been a great pleasure to witness ENHYPEN’s growth ever since I-LAND up to now, and their latest flirtation through their OST album ‘MEMORABILIA’ only does wonders to keep up my good will. Even DARK BLOOD, which was initially the most disappointing album they put out, has grown into one of my favourites. Hence, I would like to preface my review by establishing that I have some form of bias and ‘history’ with ENHYPEN, which will definitely inflate my scores compared to perhaps other groups that I am not as familiar with. With that in mind, I’ll proceed to discuss the title track of ‘MEMORABILIA’- “Fatal Trouble”.
“Fatal Trouble”, though definitely not boundary-breaking, is an utterly convincing display of ENHYPEN’s ability to integrate themselves into the songs they sing. This point, I have to admit, has been a notable weakness they had particularly in their earlier works. They have moreorless relied on the strong production that their producers (usually) give them to maintain their excellent string of releases that have never really missed (at least in my opinion, though there are dips here and there). But in “Fatal Trouble”, I am proud to call it as an “ENHYPEN” song. It has the member’s special something stamped all over it, especially Jay, and most especially, Heeseung, who has given one of his best vocal performances in his entire career within this song. Both have realised their appeal and strengths of their vocal techniques amidst their limitations, and have milked the most of it to deliver the song’s message. I couldn’t be prouder.
As for the melodies, they do sound quite typical in the sense that it can be compared to a quintessential movie sound track you would see in a big screen. This, depending on your preference, could be a weakness or strength. But with a song like this who aimed to channel the emotions of a particular story through music, its hooks definitely succeed. Does it make it ‘good’ music? Honestly, at this point, I’m less concerned about what constitutes as ‘good music’ and focus on why or why not a particular song appeals to me. Perhaps this will be something I will keep exploring as I make reviews, and along the way, I hope my readers could help realise what makes a song appealing/not appealing to them too.
There are several production aspects that are admittedly predictable, but none were used to a contradictory/confusing effect. That is perfectly solid in my book.
Overall, though I am unsure if I will keep playing this song over the weeks and months on end, they successfully won me over. Its emotional infusion, the song’s forte, and how one takes it, shall decide whether one likes/dislikes this song.
Hooks – 9
Production – 8
Vocal Delivery – 10
Overall – 8.75

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