Song Review:: A.C.E.: Anymore

• Release date: 2024 September 11

• Album tracklist: Anymore, Anymore - sped up, Anymore - instrumental, Anymore - Pop Ballad Remix, Anymore - Emo Remix, Anymore - Acoustic hiphop Remix

• Album runtime: 16 minutes

 I knew about A.C.E. from one of my other multifandom friends, and then I watched Build Up because Eunkwang, Baekho, and Solar were judges. I found out one of the A.C.E. members was on Build Up, which made me start rooting for him on principle because my friend loves the group. And then I saw them at KCon LA, and my mouth was hanging open, such was my surprise at how freaking amazing their vocals are. The entire group. I'm still in awe a month later. They need to come back to the US so I can go see them. An entire concert? Swoon. They need more fans. Literally, as soon as I heard their voices, I became a fan of them, and I know these reviews don't sound like it, but I am incredibly picky about the groups I would claim being in the fandom for. So as soon as they announced a new single, I was all over that like fur on a cat. I do not like the runtime. I do however like that I have options to listen to.

This is one of those songs that, were they a western group, would warrant the flashlight on my phone being waved gently. It still warrants it, but we get to use lightsticks instead. I like that a lot better, even though lightsticks are very expensive and they trigger the dice goblin brain. Ooh, pretty shiny. Anyway. This song is nearly acapella. There's primarily only a guitar, but during the second chorus, there's something warbling gently with the guitar. I have no idea what it is, but the layering is so beautiful. And one of the tracks is the instrumental. What a gift they have given us.

At time of writing this, Jeonghan's enlistment was finally announced. So, I'm feeling a lot more emotions than I did this morning when I first heard Anymore. I'm not sure that I'll ever be able to hear this specific song live and in person without bawling. But I'm glad it's this one I'm listening to on repeat. There's no tonal dissonance. Their voices, which they're incredibly precise with, feel like a hug. They have multiple moments when they're harmonizing with each other, and sometimes, it's subtle, and sometimes it isn't. But, it's still noticeable primarily because, again, Anymore is almost an acapella song. My favorite part is the second chorus, because the harmony is stronger, and the guitar has the warbling added to it. It bears repeating that the layering of the sounds here is incredible. It's also mostly in English, and their pronunciations are so good, but that just means I actually know what's happening. I don't know if that's better or worse. Not that it really matters, because oh my goodness, their voices. There isn't a weak one in the batch. 

I'm not sure I'm ready to watch the music video yet. 

Okay. Here we go. 

Well, their isolation made me start to cry again, so apparently I wasn't actually ready for this. There's not a lot to be said here. Not because there aren't things happening, but because I think that if I start in on proper analysis, which my brain would like for me to do because my chest hurts and I don't like feeling sadness like this, I'll just keep going until this is a fifteen page essay on the hope and pain of a plea for a relationship that was ended before its time through the lens of A.C.E.'s song Anymore. But because of how simply, and purely, done this music video is, it supports the quiet instrumentals, which in turn don't distract from their voices and the song's message. Nothing here is distracting from those voices. 

HOWEVER. If you wanted a version that sounds a little happier, go with the Pop Ballad Remix version. The guitar has been replaced by a piano, and there are audience participation snaps in sections, and you've got strings. I've mentioned before I'm a couple of reviews how much I really like having strings and orchestral sounds going on in the instrumentals. This time, it makes the song happy.