Over the past few weeks I've gotten a lot of requests to review this and that, and if you were one of those who asked, my answer has always been "I'll try", because no matter how much I want to write about all the great music I've been listening to, I'm going through a really rough patch with school and just this week I had to go to class all week with a flu and throat and ear infections left and right. I was hoping to get some "work" done on the blog over the weekend which is why I started listening to all the stuff I missed out on over the past few weeks and I got to the new SISTAR 19 EP when they came. The tears.
Sometimes I think my reviews are far too personal, especially when I read other blogs and critics and I get jealous at how well they compartmentalize and just go straight to the music, but then I remember that I always complain about acts not showing enough sincerity and emotion. If I don't show you guys, if I don't tell you, what I felt and how those emotions came, then there's a very slim chance that my review won't be as effective as it could've been. If I can't move myself, and show you that I was moved, how am I supposed to even begin trying to move you.
So yes, the SISTAR 19 EP made me cry. Twice. You probably don't know this, but I'm the type of person who, out of both necessity and years of trying, has forged a kind of mask. I don't cry unless it's serious, it's always when no one's looking, and no matter how depressed or stressed out I am, on the outside I've made myself out to be perfectly fine. I don't talk about my problems with my friends or my parents, I've held in majority of my frustrations and self-esteem issues, and I know it's dangerous and I shouldn't be holding things in, which is why I started writing.
The main reason why this made me cry was because "Gone Not Around Any Longer" is a really, really good EP, plain and simple. Call it a shallow reason, but honestly I think it's the only reason why I'd ever cry over the music I listen to. Of course it was enforced by the fact that I've been having a really hard time lately, but like I said I may not be able to compartmentalize when I write, but I do a ridiculously good job of it in real life. The fact that this was a good EP, the fact that this is such a beautiful EP, was what made the dam break open.
As a whole, I really love the light-hearted sound of the EP because for once it's a sound I would definitely imagine a bunch of young-ish girls to pursue. It's youthful, it's fun and light-hearted, but at the same time it is sexy, and it is feminine. This is the part between innocent little girl and woman in her late 20's/early 30's that pop tends to forget, or can't really capture accurately because it's neither of the polar opposites, but which also happens to be a pretty big part of fan bases. But from what I've heard on this EP, it looks like SISTAR 19 had no problem capturing that playful femininity and delivering it with conviction, cohesion, and a sense of effortlessness.
When I first heard "Gone Not Around Any Longer" the song, it was a pleasant surprise more than anything. I had read some comments on it last night and the negativity of them only made my surprise even more striking. It sounds very Brave Brothers, but this is one of those "once in a blue moon" times when he manages to find an extremely effective compromise between the familiar and the fresh, as far as his previous productions are concerned. For the most part, the selling point of this song is how he took all those makeshift "jazz" elements we've heard before, those familiar loops, that trumpet he seemed to be attached to all of last year, and even those high-pitched "ooh ooh"'s, but he didn't weigh them down even more with a very intense melody like the one in "Alone". Instead, he went one step further and actually gave the melody some spring to its step.
The result is a song with depth, with both a mysterious air and a cheery disposition -- it's feminine and sexy without being flat or boring. You get a song with some really gorgeous instruments like that crisp drum kit that literally made me melt, and that gutsy but graceful electric guitar, all delivered with effortlessly musical dynamics which make for some really heart-stopping but natural transition. And on top of all that there's this gorgeously put-together and thoughtfully delivered melody that gives the song power all while reenforcing the over-all graceful facade. Though it would still be outrageous to compare this song to heaven’s gift to man kind in the form of Craig David’s “Fill Me In”, first because that song is immortal and second because they’re two different songs with different destinations, they’re similar in one thing -- “Gone Not Around Any Longer”, especially the chorus, is probably the closest recent K-Pop has gotten to capturing and successfully delivering that nonchalant, “cool” but urgent and confident sound which “Fill Me In” is the epitome of.
I never thought I'd live to see the day a Brave Brothers production would stun me as much as After School's "Because Of You" did, but it looks like I have.
As much as I now worship "Gone Not Around Any Longer" for being a brilliant piece of pop music, it was ultimately "A Girl In Love" that drove the album's point home. I find it quite ironic that the most light-hearted song on the album was the one that drew the most emotions from me, but that's exactly why it's my favorite song. I don't know how many times I've said this, but really, the hardest thing to do is to deliver a simple song well, because a lot of people take them for granted and end up just doing an average job. "A Girl In Love" is the complete opposite, because it's such a simple, almost generic song, but you can hear that everyone who had a hand in it took it seriously.
What I really like about the song is how you can actually hear everything going on without putting too much thought into things, from the melody to the tambourines and the synth lines. But instead of the quietness turning into a competition between the elements, they do the complete opposite and bring out the strengths in each other. The gracefulness of the melody gives way to the texture of the tambourines and the sophistication the loops are going for.
What ultimately convinced me though is the fact that while this song was clearly taken seriously, it only served to make the over-all sound and atmosphere even more fun and light-hearted. Because everyone knew what to do, very minimal concentration was required for the basic "what note do I play", so everyone turned to the next question, "how do I hit this note". It's that kind of mindset that makes for a good song, because like I always say, in pop it's not about what you do, because majority of the songs are pretty much all the same, it's about how you do it. This isn’t a pretentious song, it’s exactly what you hear it as, and it doesn’t give off that air of trying too hard -- whatever depth or beauty you get from the song is a natural byproduct. This, my friends, is called chemistry. Chemistry between the elements, the instruments, the arrangement and melody, and with the delivery.
Honestly I thought that “Ma Boy” would destroy the momentum of the album, because from what I could remember it didn’t have that gentle intensity to it -- even if it has that fun element, the hook was a lot heavier and I recalled it having a different over-all feel from the two new tracks. But when I actually listened to it in relation to the rest of the EP, I was surprised when the real effect was the exact opposite of what I thought it would be. “Ma Boy” works with the other two songs precisely because of my reasons for thinking it wouldn’t. It’s a lot heavier most probably because it was produced before they even thought of putting it on the EP, but it’s that weight and intensity, coupled with the playful element present throughout all three songs, that gives the EP some dynamics. If the previous two songs were more concentrated on the “how”, on the process and the elements, “Ma Boy” goes ahead and delivers the punch for the whole EP. This is how you do dynamism right, not only with conviction, but with cohesion to boot.
I never thought I would say this about a release by SISTAR, or any division of, but if I were to sum up this EP in one word, I’d say it’s masterful. It’s masterful pop music, the kind that doesn’t claim to be “intellectual”, but in having all the qualities of the epitome of a pop release, becomes intellectual anyway. It is in these kinds of EPs that I get proof of the depth of songs that most people deem “shallow”.
I've made it no secret that the mere idea of a Jaejoong solo album/release other than drama OSTs is enough to bring out the (not-so-hidden) fangirl within me, and so when it was finally announced, officially, that Jaejoong's solo album was one, going to be released, and two, a rock-influenced release, as you may have guessed and seen, I flipped. Tears of joy included.
But before I go to the actual review I think it's important to talk about how I approached this album, because I'll be taking off from there. It's been very clear that Jaejoong's "I" is intended to be a rock release , so when the lead single came out I tried to look at it as rock. Let's just say I didn't get very far.
For the most part, genre is something I've rarely had to deal with since switching to K-Pop -- either I just stuck to mainstream pop and/or the acts I already liked (whose conventions I knew pretty well), or if I did go into genre, it was always secondary to a more general point. But then again, I've never been really a genre type of listener -- I like what I like and if it happens to be something other than, well, mainstream pop I guess, then that's that. But the problem with that kind of approach is that there are instances when different genres really do demand different ways of looking at them, and there are canons in those genres that exist/must be followed for a reason. Or, more often than not, acts try to "channel" a certain genre, and so the basis for evaluation is ultimately how well that genre is interpreted. Probably one of the main reasons why I can talk about rock and still make some kind of sense is because it still has clear melody and harmony, but as far as the canons of rock go I'm pretty useless. I've heard a fair amount of it, but I'm far from well-versed.
But ultimately, if you think about it "I" is still a pop album. Whether or not the reasons are far too elementary doesn't discount the fact that they're still valid. And so I'm approaching this album like I would any other pop album.
The most disappointing part of this EP is, like other JYJ releases, the production -- something I really cannot understand. If C-Jes has enough money to quite literally burn on the music video, then they should have enough to spend on getting good production for, you know, the actual music. It really irks me because JYJ aren't dirt poor, and more importantly, they're not completely clueless when it comes to music -- but then the EP, and basically all their releases, show how little they value production. It's kind of like cooking -- you want to make this really great dish and you buy all the ingredients, but you don't choose the freshest/best ones so it's not as good as it should be. And I'm even more disappointed because Jaejoong has been in music for so long -- I expected him to know better and I expected him to step in if he thought the production team wasn't doing things well.
But beyond trivial things like the quality of production, if there's one point I've been sure of since I first heard the EP, it's that "I" is not an album. It's an album in the mechanical, textbook sense -- it has several tracks release simultaneously and packaged in one release -- sure, but it's not an album in the musical sense. I didn't hear a binding thread, I didn't hear one entirety -- I heard five different songs. Those five songs aren't really bad, they aren't individually all over the place and neither is the album actually, but for me that lack of chaos, whether good or bad, is even worse than being a mess. It's like the album just doesn't care. It's not effortlessness because that needs a sense of arrogance, it's nonchalance, and it bothers me.
Like I said, the songs aren't bad individually, and they're actually interesting songs, but the problem starts when you put them together and try to make something of them, because it's not possible. I've tried to, but every time the songs just fall back into their own little corners.
"One Kiss" was a good pre-release teaser of sorts, because I'm assuming this was the kind of sound the entire EP was going for, and it's actually a really, really gorgeous song. The melody is beautiful, plus Jaejoong's voice is great for and on it -- he gets to channel that lower register we hardly hear, and but he also really soars once the chorus hits. But "One Kiss" is also representative of "I" in the sense that okay, you have all these gorgeous elements and you have this trained, practiced voice executing it, but by the end of the song it didn't really get anywhere. I know what "One Kiss" is trying to do with all these epic elements and this big chorus, and to a certain degree it works, but when you actually hear the song, there's nothing in this song to hold everything together. I don't hear a purpose, I don't hear a direction.
If anything, "MINE" is really good, and so I'm going to go out on a limb and say that it's the best track on the album, because this was probably the only song that was executed the way it was meant to be. As far as the actual elements go, it's gutsy at times, it's urgent during build-ups, but it's always beautiful when it has to be. It's also that compromise between mainstream and "serious" (whatever "serious" is) that I like -- experiment all you want, but don't use it as an excuse to not make any sense. It's good to know that Jaejoong knows that at the very least. You have these very heavy electric guitars, those haunting synths, and that gutsy drum line that gives the very loud, but actually pretty fragile, guitar line the body that it needs.
What really stood out for me though was how the cohesion of the song was pulled off -- the piano line/break could have sounded out of place and made the song a complete mess, but it didn't. It didn't because it had two things -- cohesion and a shock factor. The piano line would still make sense as a whole if you stuck it between a verse, or even the chorus, but at the same time, as it was in the song, it came very gracefully, yes, but it also came fast enough to make you curious enough to notice it and listen to it again. That ultimately contributes to the dynamics of the entire song -- it's the kind that keeps you on your toes not because you're trying to figure out what in heaven's name is happening, but because it lures you in before giving you all these pleasant, well-executed, surprises.
"MINE" is also the only song on the album which I approve of the production in relation to the rest of the song -- at first glance it seems like the production held the song back, but I thought about what it would've sounded like if the production was cleaner and everything was sharper, and honestly the song would've lost its character. And it's not like the song is lacking in the sharpness department -- even if he gets scratchy (on purpose), Jaejoong's voice alone is clear and graceful enough to give the song that crispness it needs, and it's a very effective contrast against all the very gritty, very gutsy instruments running around.
That's all I really want, to be honest -- something with a clear direction that's well-executed, something that brings out the good and dynamic in Jaejoong's voice, and something that's actually a song. I got that with "MINE". This is the only song on the album that I would listen to because I want to.
"내안 가득히" is the part of the album where the rock aspect pretty much disappears, and it's also where everything starts falling apart. Again, it's a pretty song, with a catchy melody considering the over-all sound, but when I listen to it I can never quite figure out where and how this figures into the album as a whole. As a song it could have been much better -- it should have been much better. The elements are pretty generic to begin with, and except for the quaint melody, the production makes them even worse. I think Jaejoong was trying to go for a kind of contrast between a lower register and this verging on cute melody, but honestly the best parts of the song were when he was singing in higher registers. This would've worked better if it was like "MINE" -- Jaejoong singing in higher registers throughout, and the production giving his fine, crisp, vocals some dimension.
I love the verses on "My Only Comfort", and I love the guitar line that accompanies it because it's both gentle and urgent. Actually, the arrangement of the entire song was really well-done and unlike the song before, Jaejoong's low vocals sound good against both the treatment of the guitar line. If there's one thing the production did right, it's making the guitar line nice a crisp. The chorus, although it loses the friction in the first half, is apt, and by the second time it hits, now with the full band, it starts making sense. The band arrangement was well-done and gave the otherwise boring hook a sort of stage to make it a lot more epic. It worked, but the thing about this song though is that just when I'm about to get what Jaejoong's been trying to do for the last three songs, it just lets go. While alone it's a lot better than "내안 가득히" and maybe even "One Kiss", as part of a whole it's half-baked at best.
"ALL ALONE" took time to warm up to me, but it takes off from "My Only Comfort"'s half-baked qualities and makes some kind of... thing out of it. Like "One Kiss", this is another song representative of the album in all it's mess. For once, the production gets slightly better, and it really brings out the epic quality of the instrumental, with that gorgeous bass line and the really pretty piano line, and the verses are stunning, almost lullaby-like, but then the chorus hits and instead of getting somewhere, or even just going around in a circle, it's like the song just fizzles away. Jaejoong's vocals should've exploded and jumped through hoops and fire and went full steam ahead, but all we got was some whining and whispering. Let's say that this was supposed to be this very ethereal, gentle song -- fine fantastic. But just because it's gentle doesn't mean it doesn't have to grab you anymore. The problem is that they tried to give the song some intensity, with that potentially beautifully gutsy drum line, but when I took a step back and listened to all these "epic" and gentle elements running around the place, no matter how many of them there were, they all sounded bored, and in turn, boring. There's a difference between gentle and boring, and "ALL ALONE" leans more on the boring side.
I tried to understand "I", I really did, after looking through everything, the binding factor on it is basically that there is no binding factor. Some people like that, some people call it "dynamism", some call it "variety", but it's just not what I look for in an album.
The idea of sub-units has always been both a blessing and a curse for me, because on the one hand it gives more of the spotlight to some talented members, but on the other hand either they're stuck in the same box their original group is in, or their "new sound" isn't developed and refined enough, so they remain inferior to their original band. Which is why most of the time when I deal with sub-groups I skip everything else and just make a beeline for the music itself.
There are times when approaching a release with zero musical expectations confuses me (as the case of another review I'm writing), but there are also times when that same approach gives me the chance to see the music better, as the case of 2YOON's "Harvest Moon". I didn't listen to any of the teasers, I haven't even seen the video (I will though, after I write this ;D), and because of the fact that this is Cube, I only expected, and hoped, that their vocals be done justice.
I got that, and more. I got great vocals outside of the shadow of 4Minute, I got interesting tracks, but also tracks that made for a dynamically cohesive album. "Harvest Moon" was the kind of album I first listened to from start to finish, knowing when the songs transitioned from one another, but afterwards I remembered the flow of the entire album just as much as I did the individual tracks. If this is Cube's one good album quota for the year (as BEAST's releases were in the past), I'm perfectly okay with that.
When I heard that their lead single would be "country-inspired", I was a bit worried because I really do doubt Cube's A&R most of the time, but now I regret every worrying. Honestly, "24/7" really intrigues me because I never thought Cube could do something like this, let alone pull it off. It's really interesting because you actually do hear the country in it, with the cowbell and the banjo, and also melodically and in their choice of chords -- the people who put this song together clearly knew what they were doing. But what hit the nail on the head for me was how instead of just being a country-rip off, this still sounds like a K-Pop song, in the best possible way. You hear it in the bridges, you hear it in majority of the melody, but you hear it best when it gets mixed up with the country elements. It's striking not because it's a stark contrast, it's striking because it's not something you expect to work. That's why this, my friends, is what I call creativity. Well-executed creativity.
Underneath all that though, "24/7" is not only a sonically well-done song, it's also technically proficient. Considering how brilliantly the sound was put together, I'm not surprised. The structure is your standard verse-bridge-chorus, but the elements themselves are dynamic enough to one, keep you on your toes, and two, sound less "boring" than the structure should've made the song out to be. There are so many things going on, yes, but the shifts are both natural and swift, giving the song a sense of conviction. This song knows exactly what it has to do, and it knows exactly what it's doing. And in the end, you get an effortlessly creative song, with that same effortlessness channeled in the brevity of it all. It's a song that's good from all angles and depths -- fun on the outside, intriguing in the middle, and ridiculously creative on the inside.
When I heard "24/7" and how good it was, obviously I was falling over in awe, but at the back of my mind I was also really worried about how the rest of the album was going to fall into place, if it even was. I mean here you have this genuinely creative song that's both out of the box and firmly grounded -- to get four other songs that match that would be a challenge at the very least. Which is why, for the second time this afternoon, I was pleasantly surprised.
The rest of the EP is hardly country-influenced (I'd say it isn't), and usually that would instantly be a downside for me because that's the simplest way to deliver cohesion and it's what majority of acts do, but we have to remember that "24/7" is half-country, half-K-Pop. And I love Cube for getting a hold of the K-Pop, and clinging on to it, because regardless of whether they did it on purpose or because they couldn't keep up the country influences, they delivered a solid EP.
This is what I mean when I say that it's okay to take the easy way out, but you have to make sure that you can deliver with brevity. Contrary to popular belief, easy isn't always the safest choice. But anyway, I really do love the rest of the EP because I didn't get an EP with four filler tracks and a lead single -- I got one with five, strong tracks.
"Nightmare", which features BTOB's Ilhoon, is one of those songs that go for the subdued epic sound, with the flat, gentle melody, and all these generic instruments made to sound bigger and fuller. But I like how they took that template and instead of singing it like other people who hide behind it and let the song do the work (which works too sometimes), their vocals gave the melody some intensity, and created some good friction between the melody and the instrumental. There were some really gorgeous moments when their vocals smoothed out but retained the intensity -- brilliant. 2YOON's vocals are hard to do A&R for, honestly, because there are times when their vocals end up making the song cheap, and what I expected to happen on this song was that the producers try to cover up the intensity, which is a really, really bad idea. Instead they did the complete opposite, and it actually worked. This isn't only a good A&R decision, it's also an aptly-executed song.
"Why Not" sounds very Cube, and that's not always a bad thing. The synth line reminds me a lot of the ones on the intro of 4Minute's debut EP, the only track I actually liked. I love the melody, and I love how even if this is obviously a really heavy song, the melody has this jumpy, light quality to it. It packs a punch, yes, but it's also effortless. The rest of the song is pretty much the same -- it's all very intense, but when you look under all the electric guitars and synths, the elements are actually really beautiful.
I love "Clap Clap Clap", because it's the type of song that could have been a filler track, but it turned out anything from that. It's a welcome break, not from good songs, but from intense ones. It's laid-back, not lazy. Those verses are gorgeous and that chorus is so unassumingly pretty, and unlike the other songs, the vocals don't give it intensity, they give it body. I also really like all the little details they threw in -- the pretty harmonies, the gentle, but audible ad-libs behind -- they keep you interested, but they don't distract you.
When I like a song, I usually like it for the melody, then everything follows, but with "Black Swan", I really liked the instrumental and the arrangement more than I did the melody at first. But that's not to say the melody isn't gorgeous when it has to be -- it is. This is a song that's well-rounded, another one of those songs that are good from all angles, but because of that this is also the type that shows you something new every time you hear it, every listen gives you a different angle. The entire song is really fresh, and it sort of synthesizes the entire album. The dynamism, the creativity, the familiarity and the proficiency of the delivery -- they're all there.
"Harvest Moon" is one of the rare albums that prove the value of not only a cohesive repertoire, but also an album that delivers that cohesion in the right order. Track order matters more than people think it does, and it's good to know that Cube seems to think that way too.
I didn't really have a good first impression of BTOB, and I know a few other people felt the same way, so I wasn't really following this comeback. That also explains the fact that this review is a month late. I had the album sitting in iTunes and my phone since it was released, but I was so busy finishing up the first semester that I never got around to listening to it until tonight.
And boy was I in for a major surprise.
Cube has never really been that high-up in my books because they're not very consistent with the quality of their releases, usually focusing only on BEAST and Hyun A who are the "more popular" ones in the agency. The problem with that approach is that the reason why BEAST (and maybe Hyun A, but just a maybe) became popular in the first place is because they got good material. If the rookies or the lesser acts never put something strong out, they'll never be successful. So you can see why BTOB, and Cube, surprised me so much with this EP.
The stylistic direction they've taken really hits a sore spot. I mean, how can it not when it's overflowing with elements of Swedish production and Backstreet Boys in the late 90's/early 2000's? But what's especially noteworthy with their direction is the fact that the material takes influence from very strong sounds, but still manages to still sound like K-Pop.
To say this in the simplest way possible, "Press Play" is a very, very strong EP from start to finish. There really isn't a single weak song on it. The songs aren't only all on the same level of proficiency, they also work extremely well with each other -- the songs stand firmly on their own, but when you hear them all one after the other they take on a life of their own. Really, it's crazy how good this EP is.
"Press Play" sounds so much like a cross between Craig David and S Club (7) (Who happen to be two of my favorite British acts.), especially with some of the vocal treatments and instruments they used. It's a breeze to listen to and it's a lot of fun, but I'd think twice about wanting to break out in dance and song to this. It's not overflowing with groove, and I would've liked it even more if it had gone all-out, but at the same time it's that slight hesitance and stiffness in the delivery that puts the K-Pop into the song and separates it from the influence. Otherwise it would be just another boring Craig David imitation.
If "WOW" isn't a homage BSB, I don't know what is. This sounds so much like the music of my childhood (because I'm not a child anymore!), it's scary. And I guess I'm also freaked out because it's such a good interpretation of the BSB sound. It's also melodic in the chorus/near-shouting kind of way, It's an intense song with all these very full, rounded instruments and those heavily padded vocals, but the guitar line that reminds me a bit of and those screams in the background give it that sense of playfulness and make it a bit tongue-in-cheek, actually. The treatment of the guitar line reminds me a lot of a more mischievous version of MBLAQ's "Mona Lisa". The vocals are spot on -- some near-shouting at the choruses, those groan/whisper verses, and countless layers of voices, even for solos.
After two very Western-sounding tracks, "I Know Nothing But Love" sounds very K-Pop at first glance, like something BEAST would do, or maybe even Teen Top. I love how they took it a step further, not with the elements on the surface like the vocals or the melody or the production, but with what's happening under that. That drum line, though most of the time drowned out, is gorgeous. The use of that snare in particular at the verses makes me want to curl up and cry because it gives the song so much class. But what I like more is how the drum line and the piano line work with each other. Usually (if the songwriter is uninspired or lazy) the drums give a song kick because most people assume that they're loud, and the piano gives the song grace and sophistication because piano lines are graceful. It's the other way around on this song, and it's done so well that you don't notice it until the two actually come in together and work their magic.
"U & I" just makes me melt into a puddle of goo. With a smile on my face. While the previous songs have been very dependent on style and things other than the melody and the basic chords, "U & I" literally puts that beautiful melody on a pedestal. With the instrumental that does exactly what it has to do as a pedestal, nothing more, nothing less, the goosebumps just keep coming. And surprisingly, it fits their vocals like a glove. That slight nasal quality pulls the melody together because otherwise it would just be a puddle of goo (much like me!). This is kind of like meringue -- sugar is sugar, it's sweet which is great and all since we all love sweets, but when you add in the egg whites they hold the sugar together and make it into this heavenly creation.
Honestly, the generic and slightly cheap beginning of "Stand Up" made me think that maybe this was where this album would fall. I mean, after such strong songs, they're bound to have a moment of weakness, right? But then that stunning bridge popped out of nowhere with all that epic and my jaw literally dropped. The melody reminds me of a sped-up version of this stunning song, with the elements of this masterpiece, but with so much more intensity. Which are both examples of brilliant Swedish pop.
The instrumental sounds so effortless even if there are a million things happening all at once -- because the elements work together instead of fighting for dominance. The piano line that runs around the chorus along with the synths is beautiful, and basically everything during that epic verse too. The instrumental and the arrangement are very ambitious and they take that ambition one step further with the confidence, which is then driven home by the brevity of the vocals. As if all that wasn't good enough, the middle 8 is probably the most beautiful middle 8 I've heard this year -- you have all the qualities of the rest of the song, with that much more grandiose to it. It's an overwhelming song, but it's the good kind of overwhelming because it makes you want to listen over and over again because you hear something new every time.
"My Girl" rounds up the EP, and it's a good cool-down from "Stand Up". But that doesn't mean it's inferior. While the other songs put up very strong fronts in whatever qualities they put across, "My Girl" takes a step back and lets you bask in everything. It's a simple song, yes but it's packed with enough moments to sustain your attention, but at the same time it does shove things into your face one after the other. The elements themselves are actually pretty generic and standard to pop songs, but like a lot of the other songs, the success lies in the execution. The arrangement is very bare for majority of the song, like part of the verses where the elements that stand out are basically just vocals, a guitar and percussion, or how it's extremely easy to make that electric guitar at the chorus stand out like a sore thumb, instead it lays low. The build-ups and transitions are very natural and follow them melody, but the song also becomes urgent where it needs to be, like during the stunning middle 8. I'll have this on repeat for the next few weeks. At least.
As you can see, I'm still overwhelmed at how strong this EP is, all things considered. But what's clear though is that if BTOB keep this up, they'll go a very long way -- a far cry from how I thought they'd end up earlier this year.
I'd like to think it's a widely accepted truth that Ailee has a beautiful voice, and that it has to be taken advantage of in the best way possible. Compared to other acts who need songs specifically suited to them, Ailee's far more versatile, but that doesn't mean she doesn't sound better doing certain things. This girl can sing everything, yes, but give her a song that actually matches her voice and she can move mountains with it.
Speaking in ballpark figures, half of this album is Ailee being her versatile self, and the other half is Ailee moving mountains.
When I heard the teaser last week, I was worried that "I Will Show You" would end up sounding like some cheap Eurotrash Whitney remix. I thank the K-Pop gods that I thought wrong. I'm not personally worshipping the song, but I get it, and I get why it's the lead single. As far as K-Pop is concerned, if someone can sing extremely well, that person needs to be given big ballads majority of the time -- this song is sort of a compromise. Ailee has a gorgeous voice, yes, but technically speaking she's between ballad singer status and idol status, and this song is right in between being a ballad and a dance track. It's extremely epic, and the explosion right before the chorus leads the song into a complete reversal, complete with choreography! I like how they kept the instrumental as low-key as possible until it was time to explode, and even then the arrangement made sure that Ailee's vocals stood out. And that drum line is gorgeously natural, just smoothed out a bit, but they sound like real drums!
I usually call songs like this "diva songs", because the vocals for this need to be pushing all the way -- this isn't a song for some throwaway member of some gigantic girl group (ahem, ahem), and only a few of the better girl group singers can actually pull something like this off, "I Will Show You" is a song for one girl, one girl with a huge, show-stopping voice. And that's exactly what Ailee is. Songs like these are very particular about the voice that sings them -- smooth is okay, but they have to really be big, deep and slightly more mature voices. For example, Taeyeon and Luna have gorgeous voices and can belt notes accurately, but they're very feminine and not deep enough for songs like this. People like Hyorin or CSJH's Lina, and obviously Ailee are better suited.
That said, I personally think the song is a bit too old for Ailee. She can sing it all right, and it's obvious that the song and her really click, but she's 23, and after listening to the rest of the album, this song sounds too mature for her. Obviously we don't want her to turn into another G.NA, nor do we want her to go the cute route like IU's dark age, but the rest of the album is pretty good evidence that she can be young and keep showing off her gorgeous voice. Even the other ballads sound younger than this.
"Into the Storm" is a gorgeous song, I love it, and like I said just now it's current and fits Ailee's age, but this is one of those songs that she just sings well and doesn't really move any mountains with. I love it as a song, and the vocal treatment is beautiful, but it doesn't show off Ailee's vocals as much as some of the other songs on the EP. The chorus is stunning -- it's simple but so effortlessly epic. And I guess that's the good thing about this song, the other songs may be better fits, but "Intro the Storm"'s simplicity translates to an effortless delivery. The belting is so natural, the arrangement goes with the flow so well that the song ends and you're clamoring for more.
If someone else got "Evening Sky", honestly I think it wouldn't be as effective as it is with Ailee doing it. It's actually a pretty generic song on it's own, very ordinary -- what gives this that extra strong kick is the delivery, because it really turns the entire song around. Ailee not only has the emotion to make this song interesting, but the technique to accurately translate those emotions into her vocals. She's not doing any screaming or straight-out emoting during the verses, but she gives the lines all these pretty curls. By the time she does start belting, that's also when the bare melody gets a bit boring, so it gets another kick. "Evening Sky" is generic, yes, but it's also unforgiving, but if the singer knows exactly what she's doing, as Ailee does, well, you get a pretty song.
"My Love" is probably my least favorite song on the EP, but it's still pretty good, and on-par with the rest of the album. It's a song that I think I need to see performed, because right now it's subdued but the only kick it gets is courtesy of the vocals, which aren't as powerful as they are on the other songs, and it's a bit too repetitive in the wrong places. This may potentially work with a live band or some choreography though. We'll see if this ever sees the light of a performance.
The one song that really took my breath away on this EP though was "Shut Up". It's fresh, it's young, it's current -- it's so, so effortless. If I thought "Into The Storm" was pretty effortless, "Shut Up" just pushes it even further. It's effortless, but it's also ridiculously brave. The intro is unassuming, but when Ailee's vocals just power through that stunningly powerful melody over that confident instrumental -- you know you're in for brilliance. The transition to the chorus gives me goosebumps every time, and vocals take a step back in terms of power, but the emphasis goes to that beautiful melody and the arrangement to match. With all that power, it's very easy to forget the melody, but this song is confident and comfortable enough to remember it, and remember it well. The gracefulness of the chorus is a perfect contrast to the very stiff (but still beautiful) verses.
This track really shows off Ailee's vocals, pulls them apart and puts them back together all in a span of three minutes. The rap part also gives the song even more oomph, as if it needed any more of it. "Shut Up" is the type of song that you can't not want to sing along too, even if majority of us can't hit the notes Ailee seems to just zoom through. This is exactly what I meant by Ailee moving mountains with an amazing song -- I'd totally give this a 5/5, maybe more.
The EP finishes off with "Heaven", Ailee's first single. I won't talk about the song itself, because I already did that earlier this year, but honestly I think it's kind of lost in relation to the rest of the album. It's a gorgeous song, yes, but the production, the style, and even the vocals, don't match the rest of the EP. Even "I Will Show You" which is also kind of not there, matches better than this.
JYP's resident angry-fierce girl group is back with their take on the modern R&B girl group which is basically a homage to the queens of fierce -- Destiny's Child. It's a homage in name, sure, but as far as the music is concerned, well, that's what we're going to tackle today.
Their previous EP "Touch" was strong on all fronts but one -- the lead single. The four other tracks managed to channel all the angry, quirky and trendy that they could, but still sound cohesive. The lead single, however, was boring beyond words because it tried far too hard to be serious and "adult".
That said, "Touch" and "Independent Women" are somewhat complementary, because where the earlier EP failed, this new one succeeded. And where "Touch" succeeded, "Independent Women" paled in comparison. Sadly. The lead single is a well-done, welcome change, and the album tracks aren't complete failures or anything, but as a whole the entire album isn't as strong as it could've, and should've been.
The problem with this EP is the nature of the Miss A sound, and there's very little anyone can do with it. Destiny's Child have strong songs that they counter with equally strong vocals but Miss A generally do strong songs that have to carry fairly okay, but not exactly powerful, vocals. As far as the selection of the material in relation to Miss A themselves in concerned, it's a no. The songs may be cohesive with each other, but half of them aren't the right choice for their abilities.
Despite this, it's good to know that "Independent Women" is cohesive. As far as the material itself is concerned, they're the right combination of Miss A and Destiny's Child. And I like how the production on this is very laid-back, a breath of fresh air from the borderline-ridiculously strong production they usually have, but still has confidence and kick in all the right places. And surprisingly, the girls manage pull it off really well, complete with their usual quirk.
Like I said a while ago, "I Don't Need A Man" is a very strong song, and the right choice for a lead single. It's not strong in the usual literal Miss A sense, and actually the song itself sounds frail in comparison to something like "Goodbye Baby". Two things make this -- the vocal delivery and the arrangement. Despite not being a noise barrage, the dynamics of the song are very defined, and the instruments they chose sound like cleaner, updated versions of traditional R&B girl group elements. The beats, the loops, especially that "oriental" but not really loop that's one of the focal points of the song. They're strong enough to carry their vocals, but that's not to say that their vocals on this song didn't have their merits.
The vocal delivery works because despite being a take on something else, the song was clearly tailored for Miss A, or a group of their abilities. I wouldn't really call Miss A vocals top-class, but one, they're competent, and JYP knows how to pick their songs and make them sound like they can sing. Going a little more technical, the solo lines are generally very short and have all these other things going on in between them, which means more time to breathe and which ultimately means more energy to push. And pushing is what they have to do on a song like this. On the other hand, the chorus parts are really choruses -- strength in numbers (something girl groups like DC made use of as well). Because you have (give or take) four voices in unison as opposed to them taking turns, the lines sound fuller than the usual K-Pop song that's done like this, but at the same time they sound very Miss A because they take on a different dimension from the usual girl group scream-fests.
Put everything together and you get a really good song, if I may say so. It's fun in the quirky, slightly serious, Miss A way, and in the same way it's fierce in a more feminine, K-Pop, way.
As I was listening to the album for the first time, I really liked "Ma Style", and I still do. It's the right kind of melodic for Miss A, and it screams girl group, complete with rainbows and smiles and friendship mixed with those pops of fierce. The melody is gorgeous, and the arrangement manages to carry their vocals and at the same time let that pretty melody stand out. I love it. It's a very mild song as a whole, but it still grabs your attention and keeps it 'till the end.
Beyonce references aside, "If I Were A Boy" didn't really click with me until I listened to it for a second time and really concentrated on it. It's an okay song with a pretty melody and it does have its moments, but not always. I get that it's supposed to be subdued and epic and whatnot, but there's a fine line between subdued and boring, and with this they have 3/4 of that foot in subdued, but the 1/4 is in boring. And that's why it didn't really make an impact the first time I heard it -- there aren't enough moments, explosions (both literal and not) to make you stop and concentrate, you have to do it first before the explosions appear. Slowly. It's really a song that grows on you, as it currently is on me.
If only a fourth of "If I Were A Boy"'s foot was in boring, it successfully stepped over on "Madness". I swear, this is such a boring song I don't even know where to start. Or what to start on. The song is okay, but it kind of reminds me of a better version of how Rainbow did the verses of "Alright" (the only difference is that "Alright" had a slightly more interesting, though generic, instrumental) They try, but their vocals aren't strong enough to make this song interesting, which is probably the one thing they need to focus on when a song like this comes up.
Honestly, at first I was kind of confused and let-down over "Time's Up", but I think I understand it more now. Or at least I understand why I'm not really impressed. "Time's Up" is probably the first, and only, song on the EP that used obviously synth/computer loops and all these techno/eurotrash elements, which was probably why I was confused. It's an okay song, but my biggest problem with this is the complete opposite of my biggest problem with "Madness" -- the instrumental overpowers their vocals, and it's not like all the eurotrash, and combination of the instruments, is actually any good. The melody is actually pretty okay, very K-Pop girl group, but of course it gets masked by all those annoying loops and that strange vocal treatment this song has going on.
But it grows on you, and after McRoth knocked some sense in me just before I published this, I realized what I was doing wrong. "Time's Up" is a song that's meant to be played on max volume, preferably on ridiculously high-powered audio, because that's the only time you can actually hear everything. If you're just listening to it in the background while surfing the net or reading a book (like what I was doing a while ago) the only thing you'll hear is the eurotrash (like what I heard) -- the louder it is, the more you hear. And the more you hear, the better it gets.
As a whole, "Independent Women Part III" is an okay EP, but my biggest regret with it is that so, so much could've been done better -- this could have been a great album if all these problems were ironed out beforehand.
Going through almost as many line-up changes as the Sugababes, Jewelry 2.0 onwards has never really been my cup of tea, nor have they put out any really praise-worthy material. "Vari2ty" had a nice melody, and "One More Time" was Jewelry down to the bone (probably because Minwoo wrote that and their previous biggest single "Superstar"), but after the last original members left, the group kind of had an identity crisis with "Back It Up".
Of course you could argue that the "Back it Up" Jewelry is different from the "Superstar" Jewelry, but at the same time, they're still Jewelry, regardless of the members, and if there's one thing that Jewelry have always had, it's a niche. While the industry became saturated with sickeningly cute girl groups or the polar-opposide overly sexy/serious ones, Jewelry were right smack in the middle of them.
The Jewelry sound has always been funky, slightly edgy and strong, but feminine at the same time. Not girly, not slutty -- feminine. It was the kind of music that wasn't really for the oppa fans, although it was still kind of for them, but in a sense, also for the female market. Sure, the songs were sexy and so was the choreography, but there has always been this air of nonchalance to their music -- like they were doing it for themselves as much as for the opposite sex. So basically this is the closest K-Pop has gotten to the "girl power" that other countries had.
"Back It Up" wasn't overflowing in that, and so I wasn't that excited for "Look At Me", but by the time I finished watching the video, all my doubts flew out the window. And, by the time I finished listening to the EP, I was smiling from ear-to-ear, hooked. This EP has given us a chance to see just how talented these girls are, because the material both accommodates, and hides, their flaws, and brings out their strong points.
But the one thing this EP has that legitimately surprised me was the level of cohesion. It's cohesive! That hardly happens in K-Pop. From start to finish, the production, the execution and the songs themselves -- they all sound like they come from one act, and they all sound like they come from Jewelry. Jewelry in 2012. The girls have really "found themselves" and found the Jewelry point with this EP, and I must say what they've found is pretty good. So good that they may very well be my favorite girl group of this year.
I've never really been a rap person, but "Rhythm HA!!!" was okay, and it made sense. It has that intensity, but sometimes I think the rapping turns into screaming, which I assume isn't a good thing in rap, because it's hardly ever a good thing anywhere. It just charges full speed ahead, which I think is a very apt intro for what's to come.
"Look At Me" is exactly what I'd imagine Jewelry doing in 2012, regardless of the line-up. It has those funky instruments that translate into spunk, it's overflowing with attitude and conviction in pretty much everything, and the production brings out all these little details that make all the difference. It's melodic enough to be called a song, and the vocals are really, really, really well-executed and well-produced, but it's also simple and repetitive enough to be catchy. It's intense all right, but it's not "Sixth Sense" intense -- there's still that strong sense of fun all throughout, which is one of the main reasons why this song works. It's serious where it has to be, but the fun just effortlessly blends in everywhere else.
I love how "Party Rebel" has that Destiny's Child thing going, but still manages to sound extremely K-Pop. It's halfway between Lee Hyori and Son Dambi, with the bass line and those real drums (which I LOVE) making it more Lee Hyori, the processing making it Son Dambi, but those harmonies are just all Destiny's Child, or derivatives of. The hook is extremely repetitive, but I've been listening to it all day and surprisingly I'm not the least bit annoyed yet. Probably because it's put between melodic lines well, so much so that you still remember it, but for good reasons. And while we're on this 90's/early 2000's bandwagon, can I just say that I love the middle 8? It's so unexpected, but at the same time it's not, and it actually makes sense. Gorgeous melody, and I love how they made it sound more natural and bare than the rest of the song. But the icing on this potentially confusing cake is really the production -- the fact that it's so strong just makes this song so much better.
At first I thought "Me Too" was going to be another one of those stock ballads all these girl groups get, and in a sense the melody is, but the way they executed it with this pseudo-Jamaican sound was really smart. The melody alone is pretty boring, and the girls' vocals aren't exactly the most powerful, but the instrumental, and the arrangement of everything, managed to give the song a light shove. And that shove really translates into the song. It's a step below the quality of the two songs that came before, but it's also a welcome break from all the up tempos.
"Single Single" is currently fighting with "Look At Me" as my favorite track. It's such a feel-good track, it's just the right amount of perky, the amount that knows when to hold back. That melody is gorgeous from start to finish, and the smooth vocals are the right kind of vocals for this kind of melody. The post-chorus/pre-bridge that's auto tuned is gorgeous, despite being, you know, auto tuned. My only problem with this song is the treatment of that high note, because it sounds way too much like what happened in Seo In Young's "Anymore" (which I also love to bits, by the way). Not that Seo In Young owns that vocal treatment, but it's almost exactly the same, and it irks me. But anyway, I love this because it's probably the most K-Pop of all the songs on the EP, but the execution brings it one step further. This is the kind of song that usually gets really flimsy production from some C-list "producer" who, most of the time, doesn't really know how to make a song work. Not this time though. The production on this song, like the rest of the album, is very full, but not to the point of being sanitary. The producer didn't douse the EP with bleach, per se, he just piled on the detergent. In a very musical way.
"Look At Me" as a whole is probably one of the best releases I've heard all year, and it's also the one I've enjoyed the most in the past few months. It's cohesive and it has it's own identity, but it's also extremely brave. It's that brevity in the repertoire, in the execution, that makes this album such a pleasure to listen to.
Album number two from Twoshinki is here, and everyone's having a field day, me included. There's just so much to talk about, and so much brilliance to spread. Also, what an apt album for my "big comeback". (Best 18th birthday gift ever. EVER.)
There are so many reasons why DBSK is still my favorite group, and this is the part of the year when I'm reminded of all of them. Everything I complain about with other acts, everything I look for in a new group -- they're all patterned after what DBSK have, and what they've done.
The consensus among the people I've talked to, and read, ever since "Keep Your Head Down" came out, all the way up to just now when the album came out, is that Yunho and Changmin have carved their own sound, independent to the previous, five-piece,DBSK. Now whether people think that's a good thing or a bad thing, I have to partially disagree. On the outside, it may seem like that -- Yunho and Changmin have really traded the epic, tear-jerking, ballads, demanding SMP singles and a capella re-arrangements in favor of trendy beats, slick R&B-inspired jams, and quaint midtempos.
But is that really all DBSK was before the split? You cannot just pit "Catch Me" and "Mirotic" against each other, because not only have things changed within the group, the industry, and the standards have all changed. Every now and then we all have to remember that "Mirotic" was four years ago, and the distance between then and now is like the distance between "Mirotic" and "Hug" -- things, beyond our control, have happened.
A true identity is something that transcends -- transcends time, change, and everything in between. Moving forward means trying new things, yes, but it also means being sure of who you are and what you do. Beyond the international success, beyond the "Love In The Ice"'s and "Rising Sun"'s and the leap to "Keep Your Head Down"'s and "STILL"'s, DBSK was a group with talent that really did blow away all the competition. That's what DBSK were pushed as, and that's who they were. It was that kind of talent that made them such a versatile group, that sold them to a skeptical public, it was that talent that got them respect in Japan, and it still is that talent that keeps them right where they are, no matter how many they are.
That talent has never left, and "Catch Me", as a whole, is solid proof of that. I've been saying this a lot this year, but this is truly the formula done right -- DBSK are the epitome that statement, and they've always been. I can’t stress that point enough, which is why it will keep coming up throughout the review.
Conviction is another word I throw around a lot, and it's something Yunho and Changmin have bucketfuls of. There is a fine line between confidence and arrogance, but DBSK are right smack in the middle of it, with overflowing confidence, not overflowing arrogance. Delivery is so, so, important, especially in pop music where all the songs basically sound like each other -- it's the one thing that makes an act stand out. What Yunho and Changmin have isn't the normal kind of conviction though, what they have is raw passion. This isn't the kind that you see in how many hours they worked in the studio, how difficult or new their vocal techniques are, in how high they belted that high note, or in any of those behind-the-scenes aspects. This is the kind you see in the actual work, in the simplest of lines, the shortest of notes, this is the kind that screams "I deserve to be here, I deserve to be doing this, so I'm going to prove it to everyone, even if I'm just standing here and doing nothing." You don't find passion and conviction in what you do, you find it in how you do it. And it's that kind of conviction that gets them places.
"Catch Me", the song, really is one of the best songs on the album, and it stands for everything DBSK is, and has become. It has dynamics that go beyond a few explosions here and there and give the song texture. “Catch Me” literally jumps through hoops and fire, but it doesn’t do it alone -- it takes you with it.
The intro is beautiful -- that piano line is heavenly, and Yunho sounds amazing -- it gets you ready for the pending brilliance, which is balanced out by the dubstep just before the verse. Honestly, if we were talking about the dubstep alone I would’ve hated it, and actually I do hate it alone as a loop, but you have to look at “Catch Me” as a whole, and also go back to what DBSK is. They are the formula, this loop is the trend now, but they are also the formula done right, and they made the loop fit the song, they gave it contrast and they gave it depth.
I had the first of many heart attacks today, courtesy of the verses because let me tell you, I had many more after. The conviction in Yunho and Changmin’s vocals are through the roof, and the instrumental gives it urgency and a build-up without drowning out the melody. My favorite part about it though is how effortlessly but confidently it builds up to the chorus -- it’s not obvious until you actually get to the chorus and you’re left wondering how it happened. Listening casually, you still hear all the brilliance, but the more concentration you put into it, the more your actually appreciate what you hear. Again, the formula done right.
The chorus of “Catch Me” gave me my second heart attack of the day, and it was glorious in it’s epicness. There are so many things happening during this brilliance that is the chorus, but one thing’s for sure, the vocals and the melody are the most important parts of it. It’s catchy all right, however what makes it so DBSK is that the catchy doesn’t come from the autotune or the synth loop -- it comes from the vocals, from the belting with harmonies. Belting! With harmonies! In the first chorus! Who does that?! The instrumental is stunning, with that piano line from a while ago really taking as much of center stage that it can without yanking the spotlight away from the vocals.
We get dubstep again, but this time with a sort of post-chorus melody that the two share, whose brilliance (the melody, I mean) makes the dubstep so much more bearable. This is before we’re literally flung into a very, very urgent bridge that’s so glorious you’re still hung over by the time the chorus literally sneaks it’s way in again. And if you were thinking we’d get time to breathe after, sorry to burst your bubble but Changmin skips the hook all together and goes straight for the middle 8. Which reminds me a bit of the middle 8 of “Bonamana”, until Yunho comes in and then they make this brilliant harmony that’s so brilliant I’m just gonna keep calling it brilliant until I can’t. Call it brilliant. Brilliant. No DBSK song is complete without Changmin’s scream, albeit a short one, which transitions us into a dubstep verse reminiscent of “ANDROID”, complete with a proper dubstep dance break!
Despite everything that happens in between, and basically everything happening in the song, the last chorus is just as brilliant as it was when it first appeared, tying each and every one of the elements together.
As for the rest of the album, honestly I wouldn’t call this the album of the albums of the year just yet -- “Catch Me” as an album is outstanding, yes, but for me, as much as an album of the year has to be cohesive and unified, all the tracks also have to stand firmly on their own, and there are some tracks that can’t do that just yet. We’ll see.
“Viva” is another song you have to look at as a whole and not as individual elements, because it’s such a dynamic, well-produced song when you do. The rapping at the beginning was a big iffy for me, and didn’t sound DBSK enough for me, and the first chorus was a little disjointed as well, but by the time the second chorus hit everything came together. It’s the kind of song that needs time to digest, because it’s very un-DBSK. The first time I heard this I pictured Big Bang doing the rap portions, but the more you think about it, the more you realized that they carried it the right way, and by the end of the song you’ll really want to replay it.
“Destiny” is so “Keep Your Head Down” -- it would have no problem fitting right in beside “She” and all the other midtempos. In a sense, this is the other side of the new DBSK sound, the kind of songs you’d hear from more classy lounge singers, and by now they really have mastered it. Gorgeous melody, strong vocals, and truckloads of a mix between sexy and confident.
I don’t know about you guys, but despite the title, “Like a Soap” is one of my favorites on this album. It’s cashing in on that ever-present acoustic craze without becoming a snooze-fest, mostly because Yunho and Changmin’s voices have the intensity to make it interesting. I love the arrangement on this because it’s so high-budget Disney Channel series, with the sharp instrumentals and very predicable, but still gorgeous, transitions. The chorus is so quaint in it’s being pretty, courtesy of those gorgeous harmonies and that nice electric guitar running around in the background that gives it some dimension. And also, the middle 8 and the second to the last chorus -- beautiful. If this was the theme song of “To The Beautiful You”, the world would be a better place.
The Korean version of “I Don’t Know” was one of the tracks I was really excited for, because I still worship the Japanese version (and their performance of it at Tokyo Dome was MIND-BLOWING with the screens and the dancing and the WOW), and to a certain extent it delivered. We have a Korean version of an amazing song. I still like the Japanese version a lot better though, because I loved the contrast that the graceful Japanese lyrics gave the very gritty song. The Korean version is just all grit and spunk and no grace, especially because Yunho and Changmin’s voices are more stiff and less melodic.
“Dream” sounds like a theme song for a Japanese drama. That has it’s appeal, usually when they do songs like this on tour, but this is the kind of song that even if Yunho and Changmin are really good at carrying songs, it’s been done so many times before and it’s starting to get boring. I mean I love my string sections and perky melodies, and I love “Like A Soap”, but this is all cliche and no DBSK whatsoever. Except maybe for the first chorus which is gorgeous because it’s basically just Changmin singing (very well) with minimal instruments.
This is the part of the album where it’s SM-ness begins to show, because “How Are You” is the second boring song in a row we get. I mean it’s and okay song, and it’s a lot better than all the other boring SM songs everyone else gets because of the delivery, but the standards are higher for a group with more talent, because more gets wasted if they get a boring song. It’s also obvious in their delivery that the two of them are kind of not in it, because they’re starting to sound bland. Maybe not bored yet, but one more bad song and I might have to go storm SM.
“Getaway” is like what “Gulliver” should’ve been. You know, without the painful growling? I’m not the biggest fan of “Getaway”, but it’s pretty obvious that Yunho and Changmin approached this song with technique, and care for their voices. Growling is never a good thing, unless of course it’s done right. And I think anyone can recognize good growling from bad growling -- if your throat starts getting itchy and your ears start hurting, the person growling is probably in pain too. Fortunately for us, Yunho has technique, so the growling is half-singing, half-rapping, as it should be. I like the melodic parts, and I like how they really took advantage of the fact that this is Changmin’s forte. That middle 8 is brilliance.
Everyone has been freaking out over “I Swear” since it came out, because Changmin wrote it for Cassiopeia (awwwwww!), and it’s a very pretty song, yes, with a gorgeous and really good arrangement. Also, if Changmin was the one who put in that gorgeous drum line into the second verse -- you’ve been taught well. It’s very subtle in it’s being pretty, but for me it’s the subtlety that keeps it as just pretty and not beautiful or stunning. And that works for some people, plus the fact that it’s a nice break from the very intense, stand-out songs, a break that isn’t a snooze-fest. But then it kind of lost it when everything came in together at the end, because you have these very conflicting instruments like the drum kit and those cymbals which do not, for the life of them, sound good together. Changmin has the gist of it, but he needs more work in terms of the nitty gritty.
“Gorgeous” sounds very album track -- it’s a good song that just blends into a bunch of more striking ones because even if it’s well-done, it’s very one-dimensional and lacks a wow factor that isn’t the singing.
As this album comes to a close, I realize that my stand-out favorites are the first and last track, because really guys, how can you not worship “Good Night”? It’s like the song you play after “Before You Go” because you’re still high from it but need something to ease you back into the real world. Slowly. Very slowly. Those verses are heavenly -- not just beautiful or stunning or brilliant -- heavenly. The sharpness of the chorus gives a really nice contrast to the instrumental, and those beautiful solo lines that follow. And I just died at “have a good, good night”, as well as those ad-libs that followed. The middle 8 is like the cherry on top -- I really did go to heaven and back. The attitude of “Good Night” is very nonchalant, but that’s what makes this song so good. Effortless beauty is always the perfect way to end an album.
The Best: “Catch Me”, “Good Night” The Better: “Like a Soap”, "Viva”, "Destiny” The Worst: "How Are You" The Rating: 4.7/5, but 5/5 for the lead single!
NOTE: If you've noticed, my label for the current DBSK line-up has always been "DBSK/HoMin", and this review is no different. Things have changed since the last time I used this label for a major review -- majority know DBSK as Yunho and Changmin only, hence my usage of "DBSK". However, my stand on DBSK's situation, past and present, is that Yunho, Changmin, Jaejoong, Junsu and Yoochun make up DBSK as a group, so if Jaejoong, Yoochun and Junsu can't call themselves DBSK because the other two aren't present, then Yunho and Changmin have to be identified as the other fraction of DBSK. I recognize the fact that Yunho and Changmin are called DBSK because they are the other fraction of the original five-piece DBSK who remained under SM, but I also recognize the fact that there was a point when DBSK was not just the two of them.
