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Friday, May 27, 2016

Nam Woohyun: Write.. 1st Mini Album Review

Nothing can express just how proud and happy I am for Woohyun to finally get his time to shine outside of Infinite as a whole. On May 9th, 2016, Woollim released Woohyun's debut album, Write..
I pre-ordered this album from Kpoptown. For my past few orders, I had been religiously ordering from Ktown4u because they offer free folded posters; however, this time I found that Kpoptown was cheaper to order with a folded poster. My total purchase was just under $20, including the lowest shipping option. It was shipped just a few hours after its release and arrived in 13 days (including weekends).
The album came packaged in two or so layers of bubblewrap. The folded poster (which was folded smaller than I had imagined), came in a clear sealed bag.

Similar to Sunggyu's first solo album, the first press batch of Woohyun's album contains 999 limited edition copies. The limited edition includes a black background with a different cover, an autographed card indicating the number out of 999, and an extra hidden track of Woohyun's voice message. As expected, mine is the regular edition.

Like everyone is saying online, Woohyun's album is practically impossible to open without damaging it. I try to keep all of my Infinite goods in the most pristine condition, and Woollim's really making it difficult with this one. I decided to just make a separate post on how to open the album here.
The album has the same dimensions as Infinite's usual albums. This one comes with an exterior case. The front cover is simplistic with Woohyun's logo and album info. (I took this photo after I had opened the album).
The backside also has Woohyun's logo as well as the tracklist.
The contents slip out from the left side. I didn't know that the contents have a fingerprint-loving metallic cover, so I sadly added some oil marks to the front and back covers. I recommend using gloves.
Here is how the inside album looks. You can see how reflective the inside contents are; that blue rectangle reflection is actually Woohyun's photo from Infinite's 2015 Season's Greetings^^
The backside of this white casing also reveals the tracklist. There are six listed tracks, including an introductory track and five beautiful ballads. I'm so happy that Woohyun can finally officially share his own music with the world, as he participated in most of these tracks. There is also a hidden track, the studio version of "Everyday," which Woohyun performed for his solo stage during Infinite Effect! This is actually the 26th track, as Woohyun said it represents his age, and tracks 7 through 25 are blanks, with all of them 5 seconds long and the 25th one 7 seconds long. I wonder what the significance of this is...?
The contents slip out from the top or the bottom of the white casing.
From top to bottom (left to right in the picture), the contents are a photobook, the CD casing, and another photobook.
The front and back covers of the photobooks are reflective; this is where I suggest you use gloves! The black casing is also prone to oily fingerprints. Here are the back covers of all three items. There are small imprints on the black casing.
Each album comes with one photocard out of five types. Mine was tucked in the first page of the first photobook. The photocard is about the same size as Infinite's Reality ones.
Woohyun's poses are all so cute, I'm equally happy to get any one.
The backsides are also all really adorable, with Woohyun writing questions, like my photocard says "나 멋져? (I'm cool, right?)" and expecting us to nod in agreement.
There are two photobooks in this album, with the close-up of Woohyun labeled "Episode 1" and the other one labeled "Episode 2." Both photobooks contain 32 pages each of color and black-and-white photos.
Both photobooks contain different photoshoots, but the overall theme is very consistent. The photos are all very minimalist and mature, matching the songs' essence. I like how some photos of the scenery were included as well. The top photo is from the first photobook while the bottom is from the second.
"Episode 1" also contains the tracklist and lyrics. Above is the lyrics page for "Stand by me."
"Episode 2" has "the Thanks To" and credits pages. It's nice how some pages of "Episode 2" also have page numbers (though not in this page).
The black CD casing is very simplistic.
The inside of the CD casing has a message (of which I cannot understand) and Woohyun's solo debut date printed on the left and a plastic tray on the right to hold the CD.
There are two types of posters, which were only for first press. I was surprised that Kpoptown folded the poster so small; I thought they would have it with one fewer fold, like Ktown4u does. Maybe that's why overall it was cheaper to order from Kpoptown than from Ktown4u. Both posters are black and white close-ups, and they look so simplistic, mature, and natural, very fitting for the album.

Overall, this album is so special as Woohyun can finally share his talent as a true singer. I hope he'll continue to gain much support as a solo singer and can continue with more solo releases in the near future.

2 comments:

  1. Thanks so much for this detailed album review. This album is as cool as Namu ♥

    ReplyDelete