[This review reflects the opinions of the author and not necessarily those of allkpop.]

Track List:

1. One (Monster & Infinity)

2. Infinity

3. Monster

4. Wish You Were Here

5. Big Chance

6. 100

7. Tiger Inside

8. Better Days

9. Together At Home

10. Drip

11. Line 'Em Up

12. Dangerous Woman

13. Step Up

14. So Long

15. With You

SuperM has finally released their long-awaited debut full-length album, Super One. This behemoth of an album has 15 songs, and rounds out the singles they have been releasing over the course of the last few months. The album begins with SM's first hybrid song since SHINee "Sherlock". "One" is the album's title, aptly entitled, of course, and is comprised of Track 2 and 3 - "Infinity" and "Monster" respectively. I felt that the mix of songs didn't do much, as both songs are quite similar in composition and vibe. Both songs are EDM-heavy, dark, and exhibit qualities of an SM title track through and through.

Just as you're getting adjusted to their eccentric performances on these songs, the album spins you in a different direction and takes you to "Wish You Were Here", a reggae-inspired pop song that just feels super simple and different from the first few songs of the release. Though the song is actually enjoyable, it makes the track progression feel startling.

"Big Chance" keeps this upbeat pop sound going, but the cute concept just doesn't seem to suit the group quite as well as the intensely cinematic and epic performances they're releasing as titles. Their vocals, however, are undeniably phenomenal even if the song isn't my favorite.

"Better Days" is the album's attempt at a slower downtempo ballad style r&b track. SM typically never fails to deliver on ballads, but I felt this song to be very catered for Western audiences. On the other hand, "Together At Home", however, was a good mix of the aforementioned cuteness mixed with their natural charm that was super palatable to the listener. I felt there was some classic 2010s K-Pop flare packaged in a neat 2020 box.

"Drip" suddenly pulls us into another direction as we are suddenly at the club with Mark spitting fire on his verse. The last couple of tracks of this release are probably what got my attention the most and the last third of the album was my favorite part of the release. Both "Line Em Up" and "So Long" were hypnotizingly good and the melodies were spot on with powerful singing and well-punctuated rap performances. It seems like they really utilized their individual strengths to complement one another. 

"Dangerous Woman" and "Step Up" weren't my favorite songs on the album because I felt the songs to be kind of strange to listen to- particularly, "Step Up" where I felt like the song sounded like multiple songs stitched together like when you do a group project separately and someone makes the PowerPoint to put it all together the night before. "With You" rounds out the album with all English lyrics! 

Overall, the release was a mixed bag. I think Super One felt like reaching your hand into a bag of assorted Halloween candy without looking and pulling candy that was sometimes really good and sometimes just really weird.

MV REVIEW

The MV for "One (Monster & Infinity)" is thematically connected to their other videos in aesthetic and seemingly, plot. The video is as expected from the Avengers of K-Pop: edge, mystery, drama, darkness, dystopia, and pretty much any other synonym you can think of. 

My one problem with the MV is SuperM's consistent lack of plot and repeat of the same kind of MV concept. The MV is without a doubt cinematic, but it reads more like a performance video. I don't think I felt intrigued by the video until the very end when they had the shot of Taemin in the natural landscape flipping his phone open to a logo.

SCORE:

MV Relevance…..7

MV Production…..6

MV Concept……..5

MV Score: 6

Album Production…...8

Album Concept……...8

Tracklisting…………...8

Album Score: 8

Overall: 7.0