After years spent lending his beautiful voice to DAY6, Wonpil has finally made his official solo debut with Pilmography. The 10-track album features an array of songs to pull at every heartstring.

On top of having one of the most unique and recognizable tenor voices in the Korean music scene, Wonpil’s impact on DAY6’s sound has been undeniable. He’s helped in penning some of the band’s most moving tracks like “You Were Beautiful,” “Like a flowing wind,” and the song inspired by love for his mother, “I’ll try.” Wonpil fittingly lends his romantic tone in full to Pilmography—a title that is a combination of his name and the word filmography—and particularly to the waltz-inspired ballad of a title track, “Voiceless.”

The song is about letting go of a loved one for their own sake, and therefore its lovelorn feel is to be expected. A 6/8 time signature gives the track an added level of emotion as the music swells and ebbs with each line, but it's Wonpil’s poignant vocals that give “Voiceless” the power to pack its punch. Co-written by band member Young K, the song perfectly fits into the more heart-rending half of DAY6’s discography—most of which were written by both Young K and Wonpil. As a result, the final soft guitar notes in the song wouldn’t be out of place on the gut-wrenching closing track of a DAY6 album. And yet, “Voiceless” is just the start for Wonpil’s solo release.

The album continues with “Sincerity,” wherein Wonpil explores his vocal range, hitting higher notes than in “Voiceless,” but things get even more experimental with the next track, “A writer in a love story.” Opening with atmospheric sounds that drift into a jazzy piano line, Wonpil paints himself as the lead in a romance novel. Following that trend is “Walk with me,” a song that sounds like a K-Drama classic from its first note. While Wonpil’s voice certainly fits the acoustic sound, it’s also a departure from his usual piano-driven tracks.

“Stranded” is a feel-good pop track that brings back the piano influence. In particular, the repetitive words in the chorus give the song a whimsical touch. “Someday, spring will come” is a soft-pop song that sounds like it came straight out of the 1970s Western music scene. The song fades out softly into the next one, “Pieces.” After a series of lighter tracks, “Pieces” has a bit of a bite to it: the song has lots of empty space, with sparse, choppy guitar chords making up the bulk of the backing track. This lets Wonpil’s voice be the focus, especially when he utilizes his lower register—something we don’t get to hear often from the honey-voiced singer.

“Last goodbye” starts to bring the album to an end, and in true Wonpil fashion. The song is a piano ballad that allows Wonpil to show off his talents both as a vocalist and as an instrumentalist. Though it’s unknown if he played the piano in the official recording (at the time of writing, I don’t have access to the full album credits), Wonpil’s skills as a pianist are to be admired. If the live album sampler that was released is any indication to go by, “Last goodbye” is bound to be a beautiful performance should he ever sing the song in full live.

Co-written by his friends Shim Hyun and 1415’s Oh Jihyun, “Unpainted canvas” is a pop-rock song about growing up. In press rounds for the album, Wonpil admitted he’d always wanted to make a song with these friends and that “Unpainted canvas” came naturally as they all have had similar music tastes over the years. The album comes to a conclusion with the inspirational track, “A journey.” Wonpil admitted that Pilmography was meant to be like a filmography of his life, showcasing all the sides that fans have come to know of him as an artist. “A journey” is the closest to a dance track as we get from this release, finally bringing in the familiar synth sounds that Wonpil has been known for in his time with DAY6. Though the message of moving onto a new chapter in life can be a little sad for fans, it’s refreshing that Wonpil ends the album on an upbeat note. It’s a reminder that while things may be different during his upcoming enlistment, each day that passes is another day until Wonpil returns, and he intends to return better than ever.

All in all, Pilmography is exactly the release I expected from Wonpil. It’s an album that allows him to explore all of his strengths as a musician while offering plenty of comfort to listeners through each song, whether it be the softest of ballads or the brightest of pop songs. When he does inevitably enlist later this year, this album is sure to hold fans over for quite some time to come.

Though schedules for Pilmography have been postponed due to Wonpil’s recent COVID-19 diagnosis, we at The Kraze look forward to his future promotions and in the meantime wish Wonpil and his staff speedy recovery.

Check out the fairytale-esque music video for “Voiceless” below.