GOLDEN HOUR : Part.1

The record

GOLDEN HOUR : Part.1 is the tenth mini album ATEEZ released, on 31 May 2024, with six tracks. The title track is ‘WORK’, and the record opens a new series after THE WORLD EP.FIN : WILL closed the last one.

The album introduction carried by Bugs reads the series title as “the time in a life you must not miss — but that instant is short, and so more beautiful for it, and once it passes it turns quickly to darkness”. The same text sets out the three earlier series as “TREASURE, which drew the journey to find the ‘Treasure’”, “FEVER, which held eight boys’ fever”, and “THE WORLD, which sang a cry for freedom”, and puts this record after them. It arrived in the year the group became the first K-pop boy group to play Coachella.

Reviews

The British music magazine Clash reviewed the record on 2 June 2024. The writer is Isabella Wandermurem. Building on “the introspective quest of ‘TREASURE’, the fiery passion of ‘FEVER’, and the anthem for liberation in ‘THE WORLD’”, the review says, “their latest series aims to capture the essence of ATEEZ’s brightest moments”, and with this first instalment “the group sets the stage for a captivating exploration of their evolving sound and story”. Clash scored the record 8 out of 10.

In June 2025 Yeom Dong-gyo of the music webzine IZM set out the group’s run of singles and put this record’s title track inside it: “ATEEZ, who have built a rich discography with the Treasure and The World EPs, have a singles line just as clear — ‘Bouncy (K-hot chilli peppers)’, springy the way its title says, the sleek tropical number ‘Wave’, and ‘Work’, which lodges in the ear.”

The idol-pop webzine Idology (아이돌로지) put the music video for ‘WORK’ on its list of the year’s music videos for 2024, published on 28 February 2025. Mano’s line under it reads “this is exactly how you flex”.

Among the tracks

The opening track, ‘Golden Hour’, is the message that starts the story. Clash writes that it “sets a reflective tone by emphasizing the transient nature of life’s most radiant moments”, and that “by questioning whether living solely for the brightest moments might leave us feeling emptier, it challenges listeners to redefine their idea of ‘golden hours’”. The same review says it “suggests that true golden moments might lie in everyday experiences — shared laughter with friends, quiet family dinners, and relaxing weekends with loved ones”.

Of the second track, Clash writes that “in ‘Blind’, Ateez boldly declares that ‘El amor es ciego’ (love is blind), marking the beginning of a dance-infused journey with Latin elements that seamlessly blend with the group’s unique style”. The album introduction calls the same song “a dance number marked by a Cuban trumpet that calls to mind a dance floor in the heat”.

On the title track, Clash writes that “in the subsequent track, ‘Work’, Ateez delves into introspective themes, reflecting on the significance of labor and its relation to personal identity, while infusing elements of Korean culture”. Of the closing track it says that “closing the album with ‘Siren’, Ateez channels a sense of power and determination, with lyrics that evoke images of resilience and strength”.

Numbers

The album introduction for the next record, GOLDEN HOUR : Part.2, says this one spent seven consecutive weeks on the Billboard 200 — the group’s own longest run — and reached number four on the UK Official Albums Chart. The same text says the group released another edition of this record, [GOLDEN HOUR : Part.1 ‘WORK TO LIVE VER.’], in September 2024.

What came next

The GOLDEN HOUR series continues with GOLDEN HOUR : Part.2 and GOLDEN HOUR : Part.3. The order of the series and the line-up are set out in Who Are ATEEZ?.