Closer - I don't think I've ever heard this song before. It's really short, only 2:44 seconds, especially when compared with the multiple songs over four minutes long this round. So this song starts with some guitar strumming. Then Taemin starts singing. Is this an acoustic song? The instrumental is very basic. There's only a few notes being played and a lot of repetition. There's no beat, just the guitar with a very basic tune and Taemin. The tempo of the guitar playing is a lot faster than the tempo of Taemin's singing and it's quite disconcerting honestly. I don't like it. At 25 seconds in, it changes. Ok, so it's not an acoustic song. Suddenly I'm transported to Hawaii. The guitar continues but another instrument joins in as well, along with soft vocals. Then at 46 seconds in, drums finally appear. But it isn't any drums, from a drum set. These are drums beat by hands, like the bongos or tom-toms. I'm not too familiar with these types of drums, so don't ask me to identify which ones.
Anyway, yeah drums beat by hands, not drumsticks. Now the instrumental changes, and more than just the addition of drums. The guitar continues, but it's no longer at the forefront of the instrumental. And now, it sounds like something that could be in the Lion King. Occasionally you can hear a few guitar strings plucked in the background from another guitar. It's not a main part of the instrumental though. This guitar is also electric rather than acoustic. I like this Lion King sounding part. Then, at 1:04, we're back to just the acoustic guitar, still playing the same few notes over and over. Really, just the guitar. No vocals either. Until Key starts to sing at 1:09. The vocals are still at a much slower tempo than the guitar. The beginning of this Key section isn't as disconcerting as the beginning. But as the song goes on, and this continues, and with the guitar only playing the same few notes over and over as well, it gets annoying. At 1:27, we go back to Hawaii. Then at 1:48, the drums beat by hand return, and we're back in The Lion King with occasional electric guitar. At 2:04, we say goodbye to Simba and go back to the acoustic guitar and Onew's vocals. At around 2:12, hand clapping joins the acoustic guitar and vocals, giving a sort of sitting and singing around a campfire sort of feeling. This also helps convey a sense of togetherness and comfort, which goes great with the title and lyrics of the song. At 2:22 we have gone back into the Lion King. Prior to this part, the vocals were only sung by one member at a time singing individually, never together. But now we have two members singing the same lyrics together. But not harmonizing. They don't start at the same time. One member starts slightly after the other, and their singing has a huge overlap (meaning they're singing at the same time for a lot, not that they are singing the same thing every). One is also singing higher than the other. This creates an interesting effect. By not harmonizing they are showcasing individuality, yet also demonstrating togetherness by singing the same lines and singing at the same time. Meanwhile, there's actually harmonizing ad-lib background vocals "ahhhh" done by the remaining members. Than the members singing together switch. And the song ends with Taemin and Onew singing "closer to you" together. So, while I had problems with the mismatching tempos of acoustic guitar and vocals, I think I like the song overall, and am adding to my playlist.
It's in consideration for my vote along with Chemistry (which I like more than this)
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