[#23] Toheart - "Delicious"

From: "1st Mini Album"
Released: March
Territory: South Korea
Previous Best of Entries: first appearance (as sub-unit)
Other notable song(s) from 2014: n/a

SHINee's Key and Infinite's Woohyun are both among my favorite timbres in their respective groups, so when this sub-unit (a product of Woolim merging with SM C&C) was announced and released earlier this year obviously I jumped at it. And while the rest of the EP was more or less passable, quite all over the place, the lead single remains one of my favorite feel-good/early morning playlist tracks.

"Interesting" lyrics aside, "Delicious" as a song is an example of an efficient arrangement. In theory, there aren't many layers to the instrumentation -- a drum line, guitar, a faint bass line, background vocals, and a few synths here and there. That's a basic band set-up, yet it sounds both literally and stylistically like a big bang track. That all has to do with the quality of the instruments used and their treatment, basically. The drum line is sharp yet purposeful, it's a full sound but it doesn't drag and the guitar hook has a rich spunk to it that both complements and contrasts with the drum line.

To top it all off, Woohyun and Key are known for their rich timbres, though Key not so much anymore (but during SHINee's earlier days I thought he had the best voice among the five). But when you listen to "Delicious" it's not at all heavy, it's not the type of song that you get sick of after a few listens because it just bombards you with all these practically useless sounds, no. By concentrating on a few key elements, "Delicious" is able to capture not only the sound it wants to, but also a "weightless" quality that makes it sound so effortless.