Over the past few years Winner have strayed away from the sounds that made me fall in love with them in the first place. While they have found success both commercially and musically with songs like Really Really, I’ve always craved that mature musical touch that defined much of their debut years. Remember and its accompanying album is the groups last release before member Jinu enlists and the group goes into a temporary hiatus. And while the group have stated this project and title track is a sequel to their debut album, I don’t really think that’s a fair comparison.
Whereas their debut Empty was a brilliantly structured mid-tempo ballad, Remember is just another farewell ballad that we’ve seen way too many times. I understand the sentimental value songs like this might have for massive fans of the group, but it just doesn’t do much for me. I guess the hook itself is endearing, but almost everything else falls into generic ballad territory, especially if compared to classics like their aforementioned debut and Colour Ring. Both the structure and instrumentation feel as though they could be pulled out of any number of other goodbye tracks, and while there’s nothing really wrong with that, it’s just been done so many times that it’s gotten tiring.
But even though I don’t really feel anything, there’s something comforting about Remember. While the verses almost evaporate into thin air, the hook gains momentum as the track progresses. It’s not particularly original, but it’s surprisingly potent. That might stem from WINNER’s unique collection of vocal timbres or the fact that it’s been an incredibly long time since the groups vocals have been the main attraction of one of their singles. And in that way, I guess Remember succeeds, although I doubt I’ll remember it by the end of the year.
Verses: 7
Chorus: 8
Production: 7
Performance: 8
Final Rating: 7.5 / 10
KBopped 