Gravitate to what your heart says: Oneus on 8th EP ‘Malus’

Right in time for the autumn breeze and the changing of seasons, boy band Oneus hopped on the September music craze lineup with its eighth EP, “Malus,” released Monday evening.

This marks a return for the K-pop act for the first time in four months since its last musical project, “Trickster,” released in May.

“I believe it’s the first time showing our slinky and seductive side since our debut. I know how meaningful it is for us to be able to showcase our songs,” Keon-hee said, grinning, expressing his excitement and confidence about the band’s new album.

During Monday’s press conference, Ravn described the new album as a “jam-packed eighth EP.” Not only because Oneus branched out to a different concept but also because the three bandmates -- Ravn, Lee-do and Seo-ho -- listed themselves as composers, lyricists, and main dancer Hwan-woong participated as choreographer.

“It’s going to be Oneus’ greatest album of all time, so please look forward to the music we’ve prepared,” the rapper added, gushing about how “Malus” is an album that shows that the band has a lot of colors in its musical palette.

As the title suggests, the aptly named album “Malus” derives from the familiar apple tree known as the Malus pumila. The Latin term, as an adjective, means evil, and the six-piece act shows how they gravitate toward something they shouldn’t be. Likening themselves to six forbidden fruits -- an apple, cherry, raspberry, pomegranate, plum and fig -- the six bandmates hoped fans and music listeners would be smitten with their charms.

If the band’s previous hip-hop-style concept was to show its fierce side, Oneus underwent a seismic change by presenting its mellow side.

This time, the six-piece act drifted away from the usually bright and perky energy it is known for and opted for something more charismatic and dark, like the band’s moon-inspired logo -- an image of a snake covering a heart.

Leading the seven-track package is the title track, “Same Scent,” which Hwan-woong described as a song about a man who reminisces about the scent of his past lover, adding that the title says it all. It’s a piece of music brimming with reggae rhythms, various guitar sounds and dazzling harmonic layers of the band’s honeyed vocals.

Xion, adding to what Hwan-woong said, said the song is "a mixture of the old and new." "The performance of the track is based on what’s trending in the fourth generation K-pop industry. But the song’s overall mood reminds people of the second generation. I would say that it’s only something Oneus can do," he said.

Music listeners can also look forward to the band’s touched-up performance and stage presence with “Same Scent” and their different looks, he added.

Other songs that round out the album are: “Intro: Eden,” “Stupid Love,” “Gravitation,” “Mermaid,” “Full Moon” and an English version of “Same Scent.”Seo-ho said the first track signals the start of the album, and other songs are more vocal-based. Hwang-woon added that the group’s interaction with fans means a lot, so the group added an English version of the title track to communicate better with fans.

Ravn shared a story of how he came up with the tracks.

“I usually think about a certain topic when I compose songs and then design the track’s melody. Just out of the blue, an image of a beach popped into my mind, and I thought it would be fun making a song based on a mermaid, which is how ‘Mermaid’ came to life,” he said.

Speaking of how it was working with other bandmates, Ravn went on to say that it was thanks to their synergy with each other. “I’ve worked on a couple of songs with Lee-do, and so as Seo-ho, so I’m pleased with the outcome we’ve made together,” he said.

At the end of the event, Keon-hee opened up about wanting to win No. 1 on music show programs and celebrating the achievement with fans.

“Thanks to our fans, we were able to earn rave reviews through our previous album and recorded a career-high milestone by selling a great number of copies in the first week of album sales. I hope to continue on that record and invite fans to come to music shows to enjoy if we win No. 1,” he said.

Oneus’ seven-song package hit global music platforms on Monday at 6 p.m.

By Park Jun-hee (junheee@heraldcorp.com)