P1Harmony Sound the Alarm with Debut “SIREN”

FNC Entertainment’s newest boy group P1Harmony have debuted with title track “SIREN” and mini-album DISHARMONY : STAND OUT. Only the second boy group to debut under the label, with labelmates SF9 being the first, P1Harmony consists of leader and vocalist Keeho; vocalist Theo; rapper, vocalist, and dancer Jiung, rapper and dancer Intak; rapper and dancer Soul, and rapper, dancer, and maknae Jongseob. 

“SIREN”

Title track “SIREN” is a beat-heavy hip-hop track with a refreshing lack of any real EDM qualities, relying more on bass beats and sound effects—it’s not entirely dissimilar to SF9’s debut track “Fanfare,” which is certainly not a bad thing. It’s got a slightly repetitive call-to-action chorus, which helps get the song stuck in your head after one listen, with the group’s vocals layered. By doing this, they create some interesting texture and depth to an otherwise basic chorus. The lyrics were written by members Intak and Jongseob as well as Seunghyub of N.Flying and serve as a great, in-your-face announcement of P1Harmony’s arrival.

The music video is just as in-your-face as the track, the boys going with a darker concept circling around individuality, anarchy, and disturbing the peace for their debut. The video opens with the boys walking towards a window in an empty skyscraper that faces other tall buildings. You can hear a helicopter flying overhead and as the sound of the helicopter fades away, the track fades in. The view switches from their backs to filming them through the window as they stare out at the buildings, now surrounded by smoke with objects falling from the sky. It’s a call back to the “DISHARMONY TRAILER” video that was released two weeks prior to their debut, where the members stood in a white room and aimed stones at a large version of the statue of David in the center of the room, the rest of the boys in the room following suit.

The majority of the video shows the boys performing the choreography in different locations, mostly in that same white room from the teaser video, before gathering a group of rowdy boys as they perform while standing atop cars. The video ends on this note, with P1Harmony still on top of the cars while a gang of mask-wearing boys surrounds them, a helicopter flying overhead and sirens ringing out in the distance. 

The Album

The album opens up with “Intro; Breakthrough,” a hip-hop track written by the group. The track does a good job at building up the rappers and vocalists before moving into “SIREN.” Following “SIREN” is “Nemonade.” After listening to two great hip-hop tracks, you’d expect the third track to follow suit, but instead we get a funky groove courtesy of slap bass layered with synth beats. The synth beats build up during the pre-chorus, but instead of getting a drop into some EDM stylings, we just get the slap bass beat with added electric guitar. This track does a good job at shining a spotlight on the vocalists, though the rappers have their time to shine as well, with Intak, Jongseob, and Seunghyub also helping write the lyrics.

“Nemonade” is followed by “That’s It,” a rap-heavy hip-hop track with 808 beats that was also written by the group. The beat is consistent throughout the track, not really building up to anything, with the beat sometimes dropping out completely. Even though the beat seems to drone, the song is by no means boring—it just places focus on the rap verses, especially when the beat drops out to highlight certain lines.

Track five is “Butterfly,” which at first seems like it is going to be the ballad track of the album. It opens up with a beautiful piano before it completely fades out, only to introduce a mournful-sounding hip-hop beat. Just like with “That’s It,” the beat doesn’t really build up to anything, leaving it up to the vocals instead. The vocals are strong and beautiful, with their voices soaring at some points. Members Jiung, Intak, and Jongseob helped pen the lyrics, making the track even more special. “Butterfly” is followed by the final track on the album, “Skit; Disharmony #1,” giving listeners a glimpse into the dynamic of the newly-debuted boy group. 

DISHARMONY : STAND OUT definitely doesn’t give off the vibes that it’s a debut album written by a group of boys ranging in ages from 15 to 19. It’s a strong debut with tracks for a variety of different listeners and showcases P1Harmony’s talents. One thing that helps it stand out from a majority of the tracks being released today is the lack of a strong EDM element in any of the tracks. It feels like the K-Pop world has become inundated with EDM tracks, so it was a nice break to not really feel that with any songs on the album. The Kraze is interested in seeing where the group goes from here in future releases and await their next album. Perhaps we stan.