Shinee’s Key Drops Third Mini Album ‘Pleasure Shop’

Key—singer-songwriter, performer, television personality, and “the” Shinee’s member—had his comeback today—releasing the third mini album, Pleasure Shop, and the music video for its title track.

The electro-house hit comes with lyrics by Key, Cho Yun-kyoung, Lee Hyung-suk, and Park Tae-won. It has a fresh sonic ambiance rife with distinctive synth pad patterns and catchy percussion. The first impression gets even stronger when, through upbeat vocals and powerful rapping, Key introduces an attractive “Cyborg Key,” luring others into his realm in unison with attention-grabbing dance moves reinforcing Pleasure Shop’s promise—mostly the oomph quotient. 

In the music video, Key welcomes one to his pleasure outlet selling lenses meant to make people happy. His somewhat unusual reactions and comic sci-fi-like ways of adjusting to landing in a strange but happy world are explored thereafter.

As is characteristic of K-pop in producing visual grandeur, it certainly never fails in innovative concepts and world-building akin to the visual surrealism of this cinematic production. “Pleasure Shop” envisions an era where technology reigns supreme and offers a stunning immersive audiovisual feast, as well as diverse feelings of pleasure via graphical artificial intelligence.

The album is an inviting route through Key’s creative vision, whereby the pulsating rhythms of house music meet with his expressive best, his singing, his moves, and luxurious, evocative sound, resulting in an overall feeling of connection, welcoming us into the ethos of Pleasure Shop.

Key’s iconic style—chic and sensuous—takes center stage in this package of six house-influenced songs comprising the title track, “Overthink,” “Golden,” “I Know,” “Going Up,” and “Novacaine.”

Among recurrent synth melodies and solid beats, “Overthink” has an outstanding rhythmic progression. The protagonist’s wish to stop thinking about things in the mind corresponding to the virtual space is conveyed in its gorgeous melody.

A lively house/dance-pop “Golden” of dynamic synth sounds and organ melodies with nylon guitar perfectly encapsulates the thrill and passion of youth; both musically and lyrically speaking, it conjures up an intimate setting, an air of romance commemorating youth and those best moments of life.

Vibrant snap beats, bright synth chords, and deftly textured bass tones characterize the song “I Know,” an engrossing one that centers on this person with hypnotic abilities that can influence others’ thought processes.

Next up, the rhythmic claps and beats of the funk-infused pop tune “Going Up” are powered by an intense, effective bassline and a catchy chorus hook. Its references to perhaps a toxic relationship, however, elicit a feeling of obscurity. 

Bass and drums highlight the indie pop track “Novacaine,” and a slew of synth sounds add to its dreamlike, mystical vibe, which inspires feelings of nostalgia and intense yearning for a past love. 

After Key’s second mini album, Good & Great (September 2023), Pleasure Shop comes as a welcome return for the artist. Adds its official press release, “The new album is expected to further cement Key’s reputation as the ‘Concept Master Key,’ following a successful completion of his ‘Retro Trilogy’—his debut mini album Bad Love, second full-length album Gasoline, and its repacked edition Killer—in addition to Good & Great, where Key’s witty take on corporate life garnered widespread praise. Key’s unmatched versatility shines through once again in Pleasure Shop.”