Song Review:: F.T. Island: Theory of Happiness

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  • Release date: 2025 May 05
  • Album tracklist: Theory of Happiness
  • Album runtime: 4 minutes

 I've actually got a Greatest Hits submission for this group awaiting my attention (so look forward to that), which really isn't a hardship because one of their songs was one of the first kpop songs I started listening to. Hello Hello is also in my workout playlist, which I haven't been listening to as much as I'd like because my shoulder is not up to my normal workouts right now. Recent issues aside, which all feels like a mess and I'm waiting to hear the result of that whole thing, I really like this band. Granted, as I've mentioned before, I really like rock bands in general. They tend to vibe on a frequency that settles my brain really well. I also have a soft spot for this band because my second kdrama, Korean Odyssey (AKA the final nail in the coffin that would eventually lead you to be reading these words right now), has the main vocalist in it as one of my favorite characters, which is why I looked the band up in the first place. But more on that when I do the Greatest Hits post.

Is that a violin? Is that a freaking violin? Elevation. The timing for the different shifts in energy is expertly done, as I'd expect for a band as old as they are. Even when you think you have a feel for where the instrumental is going, the rhythm adds in rests and held notes to keep you on your toes. Personally, I get this "Oooh" every time it happens, Even when I'm not actively trying to dig into the instrumentals. And when the violin pops in for a single note? I know I'm partial, but how can you not respond to that? I'm also half in love with that final surging burst right there at the very end that then gently deposits the listener on the shore.

There's a very specific reason why I like listening to second gen groups and artists especially. It also applies to first gen groups, but fewer people listen to first gen groups than second, although last night I found a song by Sechskies from 1997 that I really, really love. And it's something that's so fully on display in the first three seconds of the song that for a second I just had to close my eyes and bask in a cappela, or nearly so, opening vocals. You guessed it: vibrato. It's one of my ticks for what makes a really good song for me, which is something so simple and yet I have to work to find it. This song meets my standard of expectation for a song released by both second gen artists and also a rock band. 

No music video to speak of, just performance footage. I will say, though, that whoever has the pants with the yellow x's, I love those pants. They look super comfy.

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