11 Things We Thought at Enhypen’s Virtual Listening Party for ‘The Sin: Vanish’

On the sixth day of the new year, normally a bleakly depressing time for corporate employees, Enhypen had a treat in store for their fans. Ahead of the release of their seventh mini album, The Sin: Vanish , the group-made up of Heeseung, Jay, Jake, Sunghoon, Sunoo, Jungwon, and Ni-Ki-invited select press to a virtual listening session, during which members shared their favorite tracks (“Knife,” “Stealer,” and “Sleep Tight” among them) and some of the global inspirations for their songs. Read on for all our thoughts on the group’s new release. We’re in the Zoom waiting for Enhypen to join the call. It’s 9 a.m. in New York, which means it’s 11 p.m. in Korea, where the members are based. Quite late, but I guess when you have a new album coming out in just a week, it’s all work and no play! The members join and do a little introduction. Attendees already know who they are, of course, but it’s very cute. They are all in lounge-y streetwear looks, but still look super cool. They’re about to play the first track, produced by Jake, titled “The Beginning.” Jay kicks things off by explaining that it’s a narrative track that helps set the tone for the rest of the album. The second track is titled “No Way Back.” It has an R&B sound, but features the indie rock musician So! YoON!-a surprising combination that actually works really well. “Knife” is the album’s lead single and it’s super catchy. It’s very hip-hop-focused, which seems to be the album’s main genre. I’m very into this shift from the boyish, poppy vibe of the group’s previous releases. Now they’re playing a song called “Stealer,” which is my favorite so far. It’s Latin-inspired, something that Jungwon explains the group always wanted to try. It suits them! We’re on to the B-side track now, titled “Big Girls Don’t Cry.” Ni-ki says it’s one of his favorite songs: “We love all the tracks in our album, but for this particular track, from the moment we heard it, it captivated our ears. It has such a refined melody and sound that is so great.” I have to agree, and definitely think this will be a huge fan favorite. Usually the B-side tracks aren’t promoted as much, but the group promises there’s a great performance aspect to this song once they hit the road with the album. “Lost Island” breaks away from the hip-hop and R&B sound of most of the rest of the album; it feels very pop. I think this one may actually be my favorite song. The melody and the chorus are infectious. We were bound to see the members become more involved in the writing and producing process by their seventh album. For their song “Sleep Tight,” Jake composed the music and Heeseung co-wrote the lyrics. Before they play the song, Jake describes it as being inspired by “the feeling you get after an escape from a person or a place.” The audience-myself included-is...

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