Though I had not expected much from them upon their debut, Ghost9 have quickly gone onto craft a truly interesting discography with songs that go straight for the jugular and arrangements that reach for the sky. They have proven themselves to be conveyers of some truly immense music and their versatility completely shattered my initial perceptions of what I had expected of them. And though they still remain a little rough around the edges, their strongest attributes are on full display with the driving Seoul.
When I’m on the lookout for a great song, nine times out of ten I’m looking for an amazing chorus. And that can be seen through many of my favourite songs of the year so far. And on my first few listens, Seoul seems as though it’s well on track to join that club. The chorus here is just fantastic, pulsing forward on a driving instrumental that supports a gorgeous multi pronged melody heavily reminiscent of Hey! Say! JUMP’s brilliant Last Mermaid from last year. It’s easily the strongest moment of the track and continues the groups knack for having some truly stunning centrepieces. The breakdown that follows isn’t the best but I like how it’s only repeated twice instead of three times. A nice reversal from what happened with December’s W.ALL. The EDM synth work that underlines the chorus is a musical soft spot of mine and I love the forceful performance the boys give during this segment too.
The rest of the track is a little more mixed. Ghost9 have always ridden the fine line between generic and inventive and many of the samples used during the opening verse veer a little too close to the more grating elements of modern day boy group tracks. The stuttering siren loop isn’t the most ideal of instrumental choices but it’s countered by a strong performance and aggressive percussion that keeps even the more potentially cloying moments of Seoul enjoyable. I could do without some of the vocal processing but it’s not to the point where it becomes unbearable. And while I would really love a whole track that harnesses the all killer no filler energy of Seoul‘s immense chorus, this is an excellent step in the right direction.
Verses: 9
Chorus: 10
Production: 8
Performance: 9
Final Rating: 9/10
KBopped 
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The chorus of Seoul saved everything for me!! 💎 The rest of the verses were good but it was the chorus that brought me the most happiness!
I’m generally a fan of rap etc and I really felt excited by the start “Welcome to Seoul…. ” etc. The rest of the verses seemed a little less impactful though and the music…. progressed differently from what I was expecting.
But then the chorus!!! I absolutely loved the two vocalists in the chorus!! 💖💖 I loved the colour of their voices and I loved how they kept the magic of the vocals in the bridge and decided to end the song with what I thought was their strong point – The chorus part! 🌠
I think this is easily my fave title song from them for now.
I really want them to be more relaxed on the stages though… with the exception of two or three of the rappers and occasionally the leader I feel they are really tensed on stage.
The song is not too heavy, intense or dark like songs by other groups and so I really think they need not focus so hard on serious expressions 🙂
I definitely think they have the charm to pull off more relaxed and magical performances with such a good chorus and I’m really looking forward to more amazing songs like this from them! 💖
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