The K-pop superstars tap into a more explicit sensual energy

K-pop superstars ATEEZ have gotten a lot of play from their GOLDEN HOUR theme. When the eight-member boy group launched the album series in 2024, they were broadly using the phrase to evoke the ephemeral “brightest moments of life”, but led with a bombastic commitment to “making purse” on their hip-hop breakout “WORK”. By 2026’s GOLDEN HOUR : Part.4, that Korean brand of youthful toil is still present—most especially in the thumping self-possession of EDM lead single “Adrenaline” and in the star-high aspirations expressed on hip-hop track “NASA”.

But the series has also transitioned into the more explicitly sensual energy honed in previous GOLDEN HOUR tracks like “Man on Fire” and “In Your Fantasy”. On Part.4’s dark trap opener “Ghost”, members Seonghwa, Hongjoong, Yunho, Yeosang, San, Mingi, Wooyoung and Jongho are seductive phantoms, coming to listeners “when the lights get low”. ATEEZ’s energy softens for the album-ending pop ballads “On the Road” and “Choose”, which encourage fans to think of the road ATEEZ have been walking as their path as well.