HyunSeung has long been one of my very favorite human beings in show business, dating back to his time as a potential member of Big Bang. His work with BEAST and as a part of Trouble Maker has been fantastic, so I was totally hyped for his Solo. I wasn't disappointed. The track is hella catchy, the music video's styling is gorgeous, the choreo's killer... right up front there's so much awesomeness that I didn't know where to start when dissecting it. So I just watched it again, and then again, just to drink in the colors and the chic style. 
        That's when things began to get a bit iffy. The chorus is catchy, but it's really simple. That's not necessarily a negative, but the simplicity of the chorus allowed me to focus on they lyrics and more importantly on their translation. The first thing that confused me is the fact that 처음이야 translates to 'being first' but not as in 1st Place, instead it means something more like 1st Crush. Which I guess is applicable, based on the overly devoted reaction and the day-dreaming histrionics in the rest of the song, but personally I found the phrasing to lend itself to a different meaning: rather than "you're the first girl I've ever had a crush on" it seems more like the lyrics want to say "you're first among all women, best of the best", but I'm pretty sure the word for that kind of first is 먼저이야... That could just be my inexperience in Korea with either winning things or with being anyone's first, but it still confused me. Again, that could just be me.
          There were a few other things that confused me about the release, this time though it was the MV that was confusing. The order of events is really unclear and I couldn't really tell what was a dream and what was really happening... My final interpretation is that NOTHING actually happened. The suave slick style of the flirty HyunSeung seems to me more of an idealized sort of imaginary play-by-play, something like a shower scenario where you rehearse what you're going to say to the pretty girl that, in reality, you're never actually going to talk to. The psychosis HyunSeung displays in his apartment (the writing on the walls, the erratic behavior, the crazy hair) seems to support that theory. Nothing at all that happens in HyunSeung's apartment is plausibly real, other than the fact that he's going more than a bit crazy. It is possible, I suppose, that it's all real, since the girl appears in his apartment at the end, seemingly wearing the shirt he wore to the club, but its much more likely that none of it's real. The fact that HyunSeung wants her so much makes it more plausible that he doesn't get her.
           The choreo is powerful and impressive. It's not my favorite aesthetic, but it's suitable for the vibe that the sets and styling provide. The fact that it's full of abrupt and jarring movements plays off the confusion in the rest of the MV as well as with the sharp spins in the track. As for the track itself, the beat is energetic and HyunSeung's smooth vocals slide through the mix with an edgy attitude that's as catching as the track. If you can listen to this  as you walk and not strut down the street, I'd be impressed. Giriboy's rap is an addition I didn't initially like (simply because I always love when JunHyung helps out his bandmates) but having seen JunHyung get a LOT of focus in 2014 for being just a bit too omnipresent in Beast's releases and in those of other bands... it was nice to see HyungSeung on his own with a rapper from a different source providing the necessary featured appearance.
            Over all I really do enjoy this release. The chorus does become a bit grating after a dozen listens right in a row, but still, over all, it's a fabulous track. The MV is pretty awesome too, being aesthetically gorgeous and deeply interesting in terms of story lines. Also, HyunSeung was adorable in the BTS reel.

        I had two thoughts the first time I watched this: that I like it, and that I don't like it as much as I hoped I would.
        It's a solid release, but I'm not as in love with it as I am with some Beast songs. To me, Shadow looks too much like Soom but doesn't have the sharp-lined contrasts or the visual richness of the 2010 release. It also reminds me of Midnight, but I wasn't a huge fan of that release either. Shadow's set is much nicer than Soom's (or Midnight's for that matter), but there are definitely similarities, which makes me long for the spark that Soom has and Shadow does not. Especially in terms of choreography, where Soom's choreography was dramatic and eye-catching, instantly recognizable, Shadow's choreography is just kind of there. It's not the spectacle that it usually is in Beast releases and it definitely does have the attention grabbing impact it should, especially in a release without an active narrative. I mean really, Beast had epic choreography even in the Beautiful / I Like You Best promotions, and those MVs have a massively complicated, active plotline. Even Beautiful Night  had some slick moves. Now I haven't seen Shadow Live yet, but there's not much in the video to indicate that the live-choreography is going to be epic. There's a few snippets of interesting choreography, but nothing with the sort of show-stopping appeal or memorable pizzazz of most of Beast's past releases.
        Now, that's not to say Shadow isn't still cool. I love the tattoo/body-paint guy and the mirror-image split screens, particularly how they don't quite match up in certain places. Conceptually it's very cool and in a lot of ways, it pulls it off very well. There's drama in the set, the scale of things feels very grand and enveloping. The only visual aspect I have a problem with (aside from the choreography) is the lack of color. Shadow's desaturation is thematic, but it really drains away a lot of the visual interest when the desaturation is spread so evenly. I'd have liked it better it there was a balance, some scenes in the story being dark and drained of color, and some scenes being bright enough to give the darkened scenes some punch.
        Song-wise, Shadow is a very solid release. There's an impressive use of harmony, elegant counterpoint. The melody sits high in the listener's awareness but the smoothe synth and piano fill supports it well and the gritty beat keeps everything grounded. Rhythmically it slides along with a sort of smoothe regularity that's broken up by decorations that compound and lead the song to develop well. Over all, I really like the song, the MV too even.