The Passage: AHOF’s Coming of Age
Photo: F&F Entertainment
Rookie boy group AHOF returns in their first ever comeback The Passage, since they first took to the scene in July with debut EP WHO WE ARE. With both funky retro flare and passionate, old-style inspiration, The Passage offers a look inside to a blossoming discography, tinged in yearning and bright soulfulness.
TRACKLIST
“Everything is Love”
“Run at 1.5x Speed”
“Pinocchio”
“Never Lose You”
“The Sleeping Diary”
The EP dazzles in title track “Pinocchio” a fable-esque rock ballad reminiscent of a type of despair and yearning seldom found in today’s tracks. “Pinocchio” feels timeless, right at home in AHOF’s sound while also featuring a post-chorus key-change and pounding emotional EDM-forward beat that might feel right at home in a 2014 Third Generation boy group. The result is both nostalgic and breathtaking, as the song unfurls the fairytale of “Pinocchio,” who lies out of the fear of loss, but becomes ready to express his true feelings.
Opening B-side “Everything is Love” delivers inspiration true to its name: relishing in the beauty of the moment against a backdrop of shimmering retro synths. The retro funk continues in “Run at 1.5 Speed” which, despite its name, is a midtempo bass-driven funk track with brass accents.
Following from the upbeat openers, and elaborate, showstopping “Pinocchio,” more relaxed pop track “Never Lose You” pairs a minimal, beat-driven instrumental with soulful, keening vocals. The members belt from the rooftop, “So I won't ever lose you again [...] I'll bеcome your strength [...] You don't have to cry anymore.” The finale, inspirational pop track “The Sleeping Diary” closes the album with that quintessential, coming of age promise: “Like the memory of a child [...] I believe we’ll meet again.”*
AHOF’s sound, while only a few months into their burgeoning career, emerges to be one of classic motifs and tightly woven nostalgia, synth-rock ballads and belted funk pop. From a bread-and-butter outro key change to retro synths ready to go toe-to-toe with K-Pop’s finest, The Passage holds real gems in its only 17 minutes of runtime, containing a sound both deeply familiar, yet novel, for Fifth Generation K-Pop. While only rookies, AHOF hits the ground running (at 1.5 speed, if you will) with a comeback that seeks to prove to the world that their sound isn’t a fluke, but a trademark.
* Lyrics from Genius