SEVENTEEN Want Us To Spill The Feels

Seventeen return with their 12th mini album Spill The Feels and title song Love, Money, Fame.

I am going to be honest – mentally I’m still stuck somewhere in Berlin because seeing SEVENTEEN at Lollapalooza was an experience for life. Not only was the overall atmosphere fantastic, but it seemed like they had a great time and decided to bless us with a fantastic setlist of over 1.5 hours of pure quality. We ended up hearing group songs, unit songs, and even BSS and Leader unit performing which was insane. So I was even more excited for this comeback, especially since it’s the last full group one for a while (can’t believe we caught Jeonghan before his enlistment) and the previous album has been sort of carrying me though this year. I’m not too crazy about DJ Khaled being on the track, especially since he’s not even credited first for the music, but I’ll trust the process and I’m honestly so excited to hear some of the b-sides (Rain specifically). Let’s get into the review!

Love, Money, Fame starts with a jumpscare of DJ Khaled that none of us absolutely did not need but let’s move on from that cause he’s thankfully there for solid 10 seconds (which are 10 seconds too much). However, the rest of the song flows very smoothly and I kind of like the way it’s laid-back. I feel like it comes as a nice contrast to the dramatic, very upbeat Maestro. It even, at times, reminds me of _World (which is a severely underappreciated song) with its low-key energy, cute lyrics, and soft visuals. I wasn’t sure what kind of song Love, Money, Fame would be based on its title when we first found out about it, but I like the way it’s more romantic than expected and that it’s overall a very sweet and calm song. The melody is solid, present the entire time, and combined with the catchy instrumental, it makes for a good musical combination. The chorus is catchy as well and I feel like Love, Money, Fame will age well, based on these first few listens. It’s not my favourite SEVENTEEN title but it’s a nice one – although, I do wish that it had some more expressive moments, maybe a slight change in melody or dynamics, so that it doesn’t fall into the trap of feeling like one giant, non-moving unit. Of course, this will all depend on how the song ages and how it grows on people, but I’m personally excited for the promotions. I’m also incredibly happy to see both Jeonghan and Jun here, as well as some surprisingly large amount of Wonwoo screen time which my heart was actually not ready for. Bonus points for the rain scenes because no one does those quite like them!

When I first listened to the highlight medley, I knew that my favourite was yet again going to be the Performance Unit track Rain. It sounded so good from that little snippet we got and I’m so happy to say that it’s just as good as a full song. PFU has been on actual fire with having I Don’t Understand But I Love You, Spell, and Rain back-to-back because those have been some of the best k-pop songs in general that we’ve got in recent times. Hearing Spell live has been one of the most life-changing experiences of my life and I’m glad to see that PFU are continuing to release the best tracks ever. Rain is so alluring, catchy, and melodic, with a fantastic instrumental backing it all up. They simply create such a good atmosphere and such a unique vibe with their vocals (and their performances) and I feel like Rain really showcases that strength once again. I’m specially loving Minghao’s vocals on this track, always unique and recognizable. Definitely the stand-out track of this album for me and I recommend checking it out.

This isn’t to say that the rest of the album isn’t great. I love Eyes on you a lot as well (if you’re a fan of upbeat songs, this is the track for you), as well as the other two unit songs – I didn’t expect to enjoy Water as much as I did (new workout song?), and Candy is as emotional and stunning as I expected it to be. I think what I didn’t expect is for Candy to sound so much like a wedding song? It’s definitely playing around with that emotional k-drama OST atmosphere and I’m really enjoy it. That piano? Stunning. And of course, 1 to 13 is the perfect song to really wave goodbye to this specific era of SEVENTEEN and to portray those emotions we’re all feeling. I feel like this is a very cohesive and well-thought-out album. I definitely recommend checking out all the b-sides because there is for sure at least one song made just for you and your taste.

SEVENTEEN, let’s continue making great music!