Closing out their "World" series with
The World EP.FIN: WILL
, K-pop group
Ateez
shoot for the stars with their longest effort to date, cobbling together as many varied genres as possible in their continued goal of world domination. Monstrous bass booms rattle "Emergency," and some unexpected Latin flair lifts "Arriba" atop a slinky beat and island percussion. Meanwhile, shimmering synths shoot through the sci-fi epic "Silver Light" and bouncy pop production bubbles up in the feel-good "Dreamy Day" to round out the main group tracks. From there, the back half breaks into focused tracks by
Hongjoong
and
Seonghwa
(the explosive rap assault "Matz");
Yeosang
,
San
, and
Wooyoung
(the smoothed-out "It's You");
Yunho
Mingi
(the tender, jazz-infused ballad "Youth"); and the solo piano showcase by
Jongho
, "Everything." Wrapping things up, the octet reconvenes for the sparkling, intergalactic closer "Fin: Will," which soars into space atop powerful vocal harmony like something from a
Coldplay
album. While
isn't as aggressive or pulse-pounding as
The World EP.2: OUTLAW
, the Japanese-language
Paradigm
, or
The World EP.1: MOVEMENT
, it's a fitting culmination of all the styles and genres they've dipped into, both in this era and across their first half-decade as a group, offering a little taste of everything that makes
such standouts in their generation. ~ Neil Z. Yeung