Apink returns with their 2018 album 'One & Six' and the title track 'I'm So Sick' also known as ' 1도 없어' officially. Apink aims to transition into a more mature and feminine concept over yesteryear's 'No No No' and 'Mr. Chu' hits.

One & Six being one of Apink's more recent works at the time of review, the members have developed and grown their vocals and trained their singing to be top-notch over the years given that the group debuted all the way back in 2011.

 

I have high hopes for this album and I'm anticipating this new mature and sexy concept from the girls. Today I'll be going through the entire One & Six album from start to finish, analysing the composition of the songs and reviewing what I like about each of the songs.

 

For this particular album, I have acquired the 1200Kbps lossless FLAC versions of each of the songs, and will be playing them through foobar2000, so any timestamps displayed below will mirror the timestamps I am seeing for the official lossless file.

 

 

0:03 - The song enters beautifully with a harmonising vocal accompanied by a gorgeous bright instrumental.

0:19 - The same bubbly and bright instrumental accompanies Naeun's beautiful feathery vocals with the 1-2-1 1-2-1 1-2-1 singing to match the instrumentals, the subvocal with the (now I'm feeling) is crisp and clear and transitions the song nicely to Chorong's part, which also has a subvocal (i'm a liar) and the composition feels whole and bubbly in this part.

0:34 - Namjoo's shrill and cold vocals match perfectly with the cold sting to transition into her part of the chorus. The composition also picks up from the low and shallow tone of Naeun and Chorong's previous part which is a nice, steady build-up. Hayoung's entrance is amazing, her soft and pillowy voice contrasts the cold and shrill tones of Namjoo's voice to make for a distinct composition.

0:49 - Bomi takes the chorus here and her doll-like and chirpy voice steals the show, especially with the high and bubbly instrumentals in the background and accompanied by the low voice to elevate her voice even higher. Eunji's mature and husky vocals contrast Bomi's perfectly and again creates a clear distinction between two singers, excellent composition choice.

1:05 - This harmonizing subvocal is a perfect breather to the amazing vocals of the girls, it's a simple (whoaa) and (na na na na na) to accompany the previous chorus' instrumentals, and is great for getting the listener ready for the next verse and to soak in what an amazing chorus we just heard.

1:23 - Simlarly to the first verse, Naeun enters again with her pretty and feminine vocals and again with the same 1-2-1 1-2-1 1-2-1 singing which matches perfectly with the background instrumental. This is also true to Chorong's part of this second verse too, following that same rhythm.

1:36 - The echoey and whispery (do you love me) from Naeun is a great wake-up moment to keep the second verse from being identical from the first verse, and is also a fantastic way to showcase Naeun's naturally feminine vocals as well as transition into the next part of the verse.

1:39 - Namjoo enters once again with her amazingly distinct vocals to tell the listener exactly who's listening, and once again elevates the tempo and volume of the whole composition. This once again holds true to Hayoung's sexy and fluffy voice.

1:54 - Honestly can't get enough of this chorus, hearing the first chorus had me hooked, but the build-up from the second verse slowly rising in volume and leading to another excellent chorus makes the song amazing. Bomi and Eunji contrasting in vocals whilst the instrumentals remain the same is a testament to how amazing and refined each of the vocalist's singing is.

2:25 - The song takes a compositional break here and lowers the volume and tempo of the song to create a soulful and plentiful bridge with Chorong and Eunji's elegant and mindful vocals. The latter half of Eunji's part of this bridge also picks up a bit which anticipates a grand finale.

2:42 - One final chorus to finish it all off is how this song deserves to finish, especially with the final touch of adlib vocals in the back to give the chorus even more soul and body than the previous two.

 

 

0:10 - I love the introduction of the low-end bass to balance out the unapologetically high notes from the beginning.

0:16 - Interesting composition here retains the jingle from the start and Chorong enters with her angelic vocals. The kickdrums start to pick up when Hayoung enters.

0:49 - I love the mix of the highs and lows in the composition combined with the highs of the feminine vocals here.

1:08 - This is a very casual song in the sense that the composition isn't too loud and noisy, yet the song retains enough of a composition to be able to elevate the vocals of the girls.

1:25 - Interesting choice here to have the second verse have a nearly on-par background instrumental volume and punch as the chorus, which directly contrasts the first verse which was deceptively mellow. The kickdrums and clapping are very pronounced here.

2:00 - This chorus is also about on-par composition volume-wise as the first chorus as well as the second verse. It's a great compositional choice to have the song steadily rise in volume and soul.

2:40 - Eunji's vocals being left to rise as the background instrumentals halt is an amazing display of vocal ability from Eunji, I love this choice in compositional awareness.

 

 

0:08 - Really quite an interesting compositional choice here with the reversed instrumentals combined with echoey vocals from the girls. This verse has a very jazzy vibe about it.

0:50 - Eunji's warm and motherly vocals are a perfect match for the jazzy and soulful vibe here, her vocals are amazingly presented and the composition is still lowkey and shallow to allow her voice to shine through and take center-stage.

1:24 - I love the half-time here to elevate the vocals a bit and allow the listener to vibe out with the amazing singing, especially since the instrumentals are still lowkey.

3:02 - I love that the instrumentals drop a tiny bit to allow this final chorus to really be emphasised especially in the vocals department.

 

 

0:08 - The song starts off in an almost ballad-like approach with soft velvety vocals accompanied by a mellow piano melody. The introduction of the guitar re-inforced a soulful type fo song here.

0:34 - Definitely a ballad. There's so much soul and heart going into these vocals, and especially when joined by an amazing array of instrumentals to elevate the calm atmosphere of the song. So very beautiful in every way in the composition.

0:54 - I am so in love with the "I wish forever star" and how echoey and soulful the singing is as it raises an octave along with the instrumentals. So soulful.

2:19 - This beautiful guitar bridge is a great display of vocals and also contrasts the previous instrumentals before it, creating a distinct composition here.

 

 

0:15 - This is a fairly up-tempo and heroic instrumental to begin with, especially with the soft vocals to accompany them.
0:33 - I love the 1-1-3 1-1-3 tempo of the singing here as it matches the instrumentals that are ever so slightly picked up from the beginning.

0:52 - This is quite a funky and poppy instrumental here contrasted with the earlier linear instrumentals. The vocals are also great here, getting their body and soul from the busy instrumental.

1:33 - The way the instrumentals pick up here to match the vocals beyond Chorong's shy and motherly vocals here is a nice contrast to distinguish who is singing and is great to build up for the next chorus.

2:35 - This bridge has quite a teenage group vibe about it with the low piano and the harsh drums combined with soft and ballady vocals.

2:54 - I love how this final chorus starts off with nothing and immediately comes back in with the instrumentals to end with an epic finale with the adlibs on this chorus.

 

 

0:17 - This is quite a funky and disco beat from this verse, there isn't too much happening in the instrumentals which promotes the vocal ability and makes the singing more forward.

0:46 - Definitely a disco feel, it sounds very retro and early 2000's with how jazzy and upbeat the instrumentals are. The vocals match the instruments well.

1:46 - Same kind of feel from the chorus, not too much change-up which is good for keeping the song on the same vibe and feel.

2:09 - This EDM bridge is an interesting voice and further re-inforces the disco feel of the song as a whole, this song is so upbeat and clubby.

2:49 - Probably the loudest the song has gotten, it finishes off strong with an upbeat and linear build-up from the initial first verse.

 

 

I absolutely love the direction Apink have gone with this one. All the songs sound very mature and feminine, and steering slightly away from their older stuff. I'm So Sick is an amazing title track and sets the scene for what Apink have planned in the future. The compositional choices of the song allow distinct and clear separation between each member's vocals and it's so great in showing who is singing and showing that the song shines using all six of the members, which I guess is why the album is named 'One & Six'.

I like the ballad 'Forever Star' as well as it's a fantastic display of raw vocal talent from the girls, the instrumental choices perfectly accompany what amazing vocals Apink have, it was a great choice to have a ballad that is different from their previous works into an album as great as this one.

 

I'm So Sick is and will probably always be one of my favorite songs of all time, it's so perfect in every way, and I truly believe it's down to the fact that Apink have the stellar vocals to carry the song's momentum, and how perfectly each member contrasts each other's voices to create a distinct and well-structured finished product. The composition is bubbly and sparkly, and shows their sexy and mature side which is in stark contrast to their previous work as mentioned before.