Song Review:: Lee Changsub (BTOB): 1991- 33

• Release date: 2024 October 02

• Album tracklist: Macchiato, 33, Old Town, vain hope, Saturday Night, NEW WAVE, Golden Hour, STAY, Chivalry, BUMPBUMP, #RUN, As Always

• Album runtime: 42 minutes

 At last, Changsub's long awaited first album has released. It's not a debut, but it is his first proper album. Twelve tracks! Look at that runtime! Changsub is back and better than ever after his throat problems at the beginning of the year! I remember him saying once that he likes rock best, and this album reflects that. And he's giving us double title tracks. This is a gift.

I just got distracted by his voice. It's fine. I can focus. 

My cat, T'Challa, is a huge Changsub fan. I have an actual video of watching BTOB's Killing Voice with him in my lap watching the screen with me. And his ears prick and his eyes dilate every time Changsub sings. Am I listening to this away from him because I am the Worst Cat Mom Ever? Yes. But I'm also willing to bet he'll try to lay on my phone and smack me when I try to take it from him.

A four minute song for the title track. I feel spoiled. 

So our first title track, 33, opens with just guitar. Part of me is wondering if that's him playing it. I'm pretty sure he can play the guitar. BTOB started out life as an actual band after all, not an idol group. Drums eventually get added, and that intro sounds so much like a Bryan Adams or Journey song that I just have to smile. Changsub gave us rock for the first title track. Piano (likely keyboard, but I'm going to say piano because that requires fewer letters to type) gets added to the instrumentals, highlighted in the slowed down bridge, a moment of rest for everyone. You can hear the piano popping in occasionally before that if you listen carefully for it under the drums, but more audible is the synth that sounds straight out of Faithfully by Journey. And, best of all, we get a moment of chorus at the end that is highlighted by audience participation clapping!

Changsub has a gorgeous voice. He had it at debut when he was a part-time rapper, part time vocalist. And even though he complains endlessly when he has to sing high songs, and though his voice may crack, he still has one of the best voices I've heard from K-Pop. I just... His voice is so impressive. The reactions from Kingdom tell us that it is just as good, or better, live as it is in the recordings. So with this being his reintroduction after his vocal chord damage, with as much faith as I have in him not to return before his voice is ready, I was still a little worried that you'd be able to hear the difference. And you can, a little. He has a lower tone and there's a little bit more rasp to it than there had been before his injury, which fits the rock genre, but is also audible during the ballads on the album. How many times in three sentences can I use the word little? 

If you haven't already seen the music video, that sucker is 8 minutes long. He and Fantagio went above and beyond. Changsub doesn't show up. But this is a drama condensed into eight minutes, so I forgive it for that. Which is better, living a conventional way or going for your dreams? The music video says "It doesn't matter which you choose. Find the little moments of friendship and joy where and when you can, because that's what matters in life." That's what he's learned from his 33 years on this planet, and that's the message he wants us to know. Even in a rock song, Changsub is still proving that he's a member of BTOB, a healer. His favorite BTOB song is It's Okay, and this is like the continuing story to that. Have a hug. 

And for the record, of the songs on the album, Macchiato and Chivalry are my favorites.