Never Gonna Dance Again : Act 2

The record

Never Gonna Dance Again : Act 2 is the record that closes Taemin’s third full-length album, released on 9 November 2020 with nine tracks led by ‘이데아 (IDEA:理想)’. It is the third instalment, after the prologue single Never Gonna Dance Again : Prologue and Act 1.

The album introduction by SM ENTERTAINMENT, carried on Bugs, says Taemin took part in writing three of the songs and that BoA sings on the title track. Red Velvet’s Wendy takes a featured part on ‘Be Your Enemy’, and the music video went up on the SMTOWN channel on the day of release.

Reviews

IZM’s Lee Hong-hyeon, reviewing the record in its November 2020 issue, set out that this instalment has a different grain from the one before it, and wrote of the title track: “The title ‘이데아’ takes Plato’s theory of ideas as its concept and forms a steady exterior out of a synthesiser drop and a repeating melody, and Taemin’s work — carrying out the madness and anguish of a music video of dizzying collisions faithfully — is intense.” The same piece wrote of the album’s middle and later stretch that “with ‘Be your enemy’ as the turning point, the middle and later part holds songs that tune the boiled-up tension down a step, and it is the stretch where the artist’s story comes through best”. He closed by calling it “a humane and warm work born at the end of a fierce longing and a leap”.

Onome Uyovbievbo of RIFF gave the record 8 out of 10 in a review published on the day of release, 9 November 2020. They wrote that the record is a concept built on Plato’s theory of ideas, with Taemin defining a new identity through his former self, and described the title track as a simple handclap laid over a chill R&B trap sound that builds into an explosion of a cinematic chorus. Of the closing song they wrote: “Marking the end of Act 2 is ‘Identity,’ which closes the album with a twinkling piano overlaid with Taemin’s soft and sultry vocals. An orchestral arrangement heavy on rising strings represents transformation, like a phoenix rising from the ashes.”

JT Early of Beats Per Minute wrote in a review of 19 November 2020 that the title track is “‘Idea’ – an intense, left-field dance track that has Taemin contemplating and embracing his own contrasting traits”. The same piece described its make — “the song begins with a gentle combination of synths and claps before, transitioning into a thunderous chorus interposed with dramatic strings” — and set it beside the previous title track: “‘Idea’ feels sharper, menacing and triumphant while still embodying the dark sensuality that has become a trademark of his discography.”

Among the tracks

The title track ‘이데아 (IDEA:理想)’ is the song all three outlets took up. The album introduction says BoA sings on it.

Of ‘Be Your Enemy’ and ‘안아줄래 (Think Of You)’, IZM’s Lee Hong-hyeon wrote that “‘Be your enemy’, to which Wendy lent her voice, and ‘안아줄래’, which Taemin wrote himself, are particularly striking”, adding that the first holds out a message of comfort under the theme of sacrifice and the second widens the reach of its empathy through a frank admission. RIFF wrote of ‘Heaven’ that it opens with a vocal laid over Spanish guitar and that a church choir adds a theatrical touch, and Beats Per Minute wrote that “‘Impressionable’ has creepily whimsical production that would suit a Tim Burton film”.

The two ballads late on the record were named too. IZM’s Lee Hong-hyeon wrote: “‘Pansy’ has an unadorned country arrangement that lights up the singer’s clear tone, released from tension for once, and ‘사랑인 것 같아’ is finished as a ballad that is easy to listen to, on a long-breathed melody.” Of the closing song ‘Identity’, RIFF wrote that an orchestral arrangement heavy on rising strings stands for transformation.

What happened

Idology (아이돌로지) carried songs from this record on two of its 2020 year-end pages: the music video for ‘이데아’ appeared in the year’s music video playlists on 16 January 2021, and ‘Pansy’ and ‘Identity’ appeared in the year’s album-track playlists on 14 February 2021, each on a different playlist.

Afterwards

This record closed the third full-length album Never Gonna Dance Again.