Song Review:: Woodz (UNIQ/XI): OO-LI: Drowning

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  • Release date: 2023 April 26
  • Album tracklist: Deep Deep Sleep, Journey, Drowning, Busted, Who Knows, Ready to Fight, ABYSS
  • Album runtime: 21 minutes

 Not me just now learning that this wasn't even the title track for the album. (Also, shout out to Melon for making this so easy for me AND it gives the debut dates, which I also just realized). Woodz is a member of UNIQ, a boy group originally meant to be a YG boy group but ended up debuting under Yuehua. UNIQ is on indefinite hiatus right now, so I can't say he's a former member of the group, but I can say that he's a former member of X1, the short lived debuting team from Produce X 101. MNET sucks. But, Woodz is incredibly talented, I love his voice, and I couldn't be happier that the reason that I'm doing a normal review for this song is that it got a win on Inkigayo in the last little bit. This made it his second win overall, all the more impressive because he's in the military right now. So, huge congratulations to you, Woodz.

The guitar in this song is really quite distinctive, which makes this pretty much instantly identifiable at the very start of the song. I've heard some of the various rock groups have things in the same ballpark, so I can't say that there are no other songs that have that kind of introduction, but of the songs I've heard, I know immediately when it's playing. I'm not sure that I'd classify this as a soft rock ballad because there's far too much teeth to the instrumental and not enough softness to it, even though it starts off making you think it's going to be a soft rock ballad. That first verse is deceptive, and then the song explodes into the chorus. The coolest part of the instrumental, though, is easily that last chorus where it's nearly a capella, and then is a capella, and then just bursts. Prime example of using quiet to make sound louder without actually making it louder.

He has got a fantastic voice. It's smooth and sweet, until we get into the chorus and then he gets a gorgeous rasp, the one I like to call the rapper rasp and it's fitting for him given that he is a rapper. It's also very reminiscent of rock, again appropriate considering the genre of the song. But the range on his voice in this song, it's phenomenal. His belts are a work of art.

It doesn't look like there's a music video for this song (again, it's a b-side which was a surprise to me so very well done for his fans), but here's a live clip for you all. Just enjoy.



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