[Review] Without U – SEOLA (WJSN)

That time machine of mine has brought me forward from September 2023 to January 2024, to the 23rd of January 2024, when SEOLA made her solo debut with Without U. SEOLA is the first member of WJSN (Cosmic Girls) to make her solo debut.

I was fully aware that SEOLA made her solo debut earlier this year. But it never really registered with me as I was on an overseas holiday at the time. And I am disappointed in myself for never really noting or registering the track, even after I returned from my holiday. Listening back, Without U is a really great track. The band pop instrumentation is very freeing backing piece, with the song’s upbeat energy driving the song forward. I particularly like how each choruses had an impactful beginning, feeling like well-placed single doses of energy that are trying to break down a wall. I also enjoyed how some parts of Without U felt like it was bringing some acoustics into play. This was some clever weaving of sounds into the track, and helps bring the idea of depth into the mix. SEOLA’s powerful vocals really adds a breath of freshness to the song. The melodies also had a refreshing tone to them. During certain softer parts of Without U, you can really hear some emotions in her vocals. I also liked the use of autotune during certain other parts of Without U, such as briefly in the verses and as the spoken backing vocals in the choruses. It gave the song texture and helped Without U become even more compelling. Overall, I really like Without U and I wished I paid more attention to SEOLA’s solo debut.

The video was very interesting to watch. The video shows SEOLA comes to terms with herself, and breaks free later on the video. Plot-wise, we see SEOLA speaking to herself, running away, breaking mirrors/glass, climbing into the light and running away with herself at the end. But there are some other interesting representations of this. The first one to really jump out of me is the use of colour in this video. We start off with a very muted palette (sometimes even greyscale) but see more colour as SEOLA breaks free at the end of the video. SEOLA has also made a comment (based on another YouTube comment) on the aspect ratio being another representation of this, as well. The video starts off with a 4:3 aspect ratio which literally makes the video feel “boxed in” and “suffocating”, but as SEOLA breaks free at the end, the aspect ratio widens to embody a freeing and open feeling. A clever technique.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 10/10
Overall Rating – 9.4/10