Shinhwa - "THE RETURN"

The (other, older) gods are back, and I don't think we mere mortals are ready, but in true god fashion, they don't care.

Not that I'm complaining, because I had such a hard time staying sane while listening to it. The thought of them finally coming back, paired with the gorgeous songs, is a lethal combination. But more than anything, this album proves something that a lot of acts completely forget. If you're really a good musician/performer and you really know what you're doing, it doesn't matter if you're in 2000 or 2012, you will still be good, and you will still sound like yourself.

There are two sides to "THE RETURN", as this is Shinhwa in 2012. The "now" aspect is very clear -- they make use of a lot of modern technology, trendy chord progressions and sophisticated vocal treatment -- but the Shinhwa aspect is just as clear, there is no denying that this is a Shinhwa album. There's a certain regality to the way they went about producing and executing the album, and from the first song all the way down to the last, regardless of everything else, it finds a way to sound superior.

"THE RETURN" isn't some haphazardly album thrown together just for the sake of a reunion, complete with "new versions" of old hits in a desperate attempt to relive the past (none of that on this album!), it's sure of what it is, and what it has to be. They made all the right decisions with the direction, the packaging, and the all-important lead single. "Venus" is not the only good song on the album, but it most definitely isn't horrible. But it's not only in what songs were put in, it's also in how they were put in, and how going through the entire album in one sweep is so natural.

Put the musicality, the good decisions and the crisp production together and you get the closest thing to perfection. Sorry Big Bang, "ALIVE" was great, but "THE RETURN" is now the best release of the year.

But they don't completely forget the fact that fans will be crying over this album, and so adding a few tear-jerking songs in between all that regality won't hurt, right? Right. Because that's exactly what "On The Road" is. We're greeted with soft drum rolls laced with a pretty piano line and some cymbals here and there, before a very low-key verse that just spirals into this tear-jerkingly stunning chorus, that's light enough to match the song, but intense enough to hear over fangirl sobs. It's simple, and we don't get any of those fancy instruments yet, but it's simplicity makes you curious -- what's the rest of the album going to sound like?

Amazing, I believe, because they just keep it coming with the brilliance. "Hurts" is just that much darker than "On The Road", with that whole late '90s/early 2000's R&B thing going on, and their vocals are really something, but once you get to the chorus, it's literally a chorus of all their voices -- no jumping through hoops and fire needed, that's the explosion. "Hurts" is the epitome of effortless -- it has so much conviction, but it's also very natural.

It turns out that those two tracks were just the beginning, and a sort of "flashback" musically, because the next two songs are nothing but current. They're like hybrids of everyone from BEAST to EXO to U-Kiss and even that new NU'EST song -- it's trendy, upbeat, and fresh. To be honest with you, so many things could have gone wrong with the two songs, they could've ended up sounding cheap, the melodies could've gotten lost under all the autotune, but again, the difference is that this is Shinhwa we're talking about, they know exactly what they're doing -- these new groups don't hold a candle to Shinhwa, and everyone knows that. It's like the difference between cheap chocolate and the really good kind. Essentially they're both chocolate and they have almost the same ingredients, but it's in the quality of the ingredients and how they were put together that the two kinds differ.

Unlike other similar songs, what "Venus" has is musicality -- you can tell that the composer really put effort into it. The dynamics work seamlessly and effortlessly with each other, literally gliding from verse to chorus to middle-8, the verses are stunning, but they don't hit you over the head, the bridge builds-up in the smoothest possible way, and while half of the chorus monotonous, they actually picked the right note to sing this time around. The song literally sounds like eggs on a well-oiled pan, and how they slide off once cooked, and taste heavenly.

Continuing with the trendy suite of "THE RETURN", "Red Carpet" is not as epic as "Venus", but it's an amazing song in it's own right. I'm honestly having such a hard time believing that the guys singing this are in their 30's, but then I remember whose album this is. The main thing to pay attention to on "Red Carpet" is the presence of a melody, and how the vocals deliver it in relation to the rest of the song. If SHINee sang this it would sound flimsy, and if other bands sang it they'd sound cheap -- what Shinhwa have is maturity with the right mix of youth, and not the other way around.

And we're back to boyband bootcamp with "Move With Me". It's SO early 2000's k-pop, ala-early BoA, S.E.S., a bit of Rain here and there, and Shinhwa of course. Rather than saying it has conviction, the better word to describe "Move With Me" would be that it has spunk. The drum line, the short and sharp guitar parts, the harmonies all throughout, the chord progressions they used, and everything all together equals a package that's funky, slightly mischievous, but still light and modern.

"Let It Go" is in the vain of "Insomnia"-era Craig David during the verses, with the sharp, but slightly soggy/full beats and that eerie piano line. You think it's going to be like that for the entire song and just explode into a loud chorus, but when the chorus actually arrives this guitar part just swoops in out of nowhere, steering the song away from what you originally thought it was going to be, and you're left speechless. It's the guitar part that gives the song the conviction, but it's the vocals that give it groove. Everything rolled together is really a feast to your ears. I don't know if you guys have tasted it, but "Let It Go" reminds me of those Marks&Spencer Dark Chocolate Jaffa cakes. When you bite in to it all you taste is the chocolate, but chew it a bit more and BAM this amazing orange jam comes out of nowhere and takes over your mouth.

I was actually pretty iffy about "Stay", because it starts off like some novelty song, and pretty much keeps at it throughout, with the cheap synths and novelty song-worthy, melody executed with light vocals and thrown together with rather flimsy production. The same goes for "Welcome", it sounds like a cross between "Bonamana" with thin production and something Haha would rap/"sing" to, what with the "conga" instrumental. I guess the redeeming factor of the two songs is that they're not pretentious. They're not cheap songs masquerading as something sophisticated -- they're cheap songs that sound like cheap songs. They are what they are, and they're very consistent in that.

I never really understood K-Pop's fixation with all things retro (and even J-Pop, if you count DBSK's "Choosey Lover"), but it's being done, so I really can't do anything about it. "Be My Love" doesn't sound cheap like the previous two songs, but it is pretty cheesy. Like, cringe-worthy cheesy. I can imagine them in those all-silver/metallic blue (ala-Westlife's "What Makes A Man")/OR GOLD suits doing repetitive sways and snaps, complete with spirit fingers at the "youuuuuu" parts. Yeah.

"Re-Love" is epic and stunning and brilliant and everything rolled in. Swoon-worthy harmonies throughout a stunning melody, a bass line you feel instead of feel underneath the epicly gorgeous, but pretty basic, instrumental -- it's the mandatory boyband slow song done flawlessly. This plays up the band part of boyband, with all the gorgeous harmonies and the high note parades, and this is one of the main reasons why fangirls start dropping like flies. That pause towards the end killed me, and the harmony right after killed me again.

We start with epic, go through a couple of different songs, and we're back to epicly gorgeous with "Breathin'". Putting aside the fact that it sounds like "breeding" instead of "breathing" (I bet you won't be able to unhear it anymore after this LOL), the best way to describe it would be that it's glorious. Not gorgeous, not stunning -- glorious. Glorious in the pop sense, of course, but glorious nonetheless. The beautiful melody, the harmonies and background vocals, the strings in the background that literally lift the song up to the heavens, and the percussion that makes sure it's a smooth ride -- glorious.

My favorite: "Venus" and "Breathin'" are tied
Song(s) I'd listen to again: "On The Road", "Re-Love", "Let It Go", "Red Carpet", "Hurts"
My least favorite: it's between "Welcome" and "Be My Love"
Last words: Best release of the year so far.
The final verdict: 5/5

Big Bang - "Alive"

Taking off from my review of "Blue", "Alive" in it's entirety is exactly what I was saying last week -- the album challenges our existing idea of what the "Big Bang sound" is, and it makes us think. I was looking through people's comments of the EP, and a recurring theme is that it sounds far too pop, that they've abandoned their R&B beginnings. However, this isn't an album you can just listen to at a glance and say "okay, these synths sound like Big Bang, and this chord progression sounds like something from their previous albums" -- no, you can't just end it at the technical elements. You have to take those elements both individually and as a collective, and in as many combinations as you can think of. Just like what I said when I reviewed "Blue", you have to be in the right state of mind to both appreciate and understand this album. It will only make sense if you think about the music in relation to all the other factors this album was put out to.


Big Bang are seniors in the industry. They may be younger than DBSK, but at least 80% of the active groups now will consider them as seniors, and that includes the likes of SNSD, the Wonder Girls, and the acts who are already considered pretty up there. With seniority comes not only wisdom, but freedom. They no longer have to adhere completely to what the industry wants from them, they're free to experiment. But at the same time, they've been in K-Pop so long that that sound they had to adhere to has become their sound. That's where the challenge lies -- to find a balance between the two -- and that can only be done if they're completely sure of who they are, both as individuals and as a group.

The first thing you hear when you put it on is synths, autotune, and a catchy hook. That's the intro, "Alive", for you. What's interesting to note is that although it's very noisy and heavy, it's a perfect preface to "Blue". Technically speaking, it's probably because of the synths and the melodic nature of the intro that's present in "Blue" as well, but once again, half of that equation is based on feeling. It just feels right. "Blue" is gentle and very unassuming on the outside, what with the soft synths, that actually remind me of a haze or mist, but it packs a punch on the inside, courtesy of the bass and guitar lines. I compared it to water the last time, and that still stands -- you have to be in the right frame of mind to appreciate it, but when you do everything makes sense.

We see the return of the fun Big Bang through "Love Dust". Take a truckload of notes, B1A4, this is how it's done. In reality, the more I listened to it, the more I was convinced that this is the complete opposite of "Blue". While you have to look underneath everything to see the beauty in "Blue", you actually have to look at the surface, and nothing but, when you listen to "Love Dust". The deeper you look, the less sense it makes. The instrumental just goes on and on and on, and that annoying "love dust" chanting keeps appearing, the verse practically stalls during the transition to the chorus, and the list goes on. You have to look at this as a whole, or chunks at least -- the melody is gorgeous, the production is spot-on, and the vocals were delivered flawlessly. Put that all together and you have a fun, lively song that I wouldn't mind playing at a party or a club, not because it's a bad song, but because it's fun yet it manages to be gorgeous. That doesn't make it a shallow song, in reality it makes this album even more of a challenge because you have to switch mindsets so much.

When I first heard "Bad Boy", the instrumental reminded me so much of Alicia Keys. What got me really excited about this though is the fact that it has the gentleness of "Blue" laced with a different kind of intensity as opposed to "Love Dust". It's a mature kind of intensity -- it's not in-your-face, but it's sure of yourself. "Bad Boy" reminds me of vanilla ice cream. It's not overpowering like those triple-chocolates or every-fruit-possible flavors, but vanilla is far from tasteless. It's very simple, basic, and because of that you're allowed to taste all the other features of ice cream you don't usually do -- the smoothness, the creaminess. The same goes for "Bad Boy". The melody is very simple, so it allows you to hear the tambourine, that gorgeous drum line, and gives you actual dynamics. It's laid-back but not lazy.

If I was to describe "No Fun" in one word, it would be "arrogant", because it really does sound arrogant. The very strong bass line, the repetitive nature of the instrumental and the whiny-ness of the vocals (which was done well) all give off that arrogant sound. Actually, it reminds me a lot of a Big Bang-ized Infinite, for that very reason. Like Infinite with stature and maturity.

Honestly, "Fantastic Baby" was the song I had the hardest time "reading", so to say -- I finished the entire review, but the space left for this was empty. Then it hit me, like it almost always does. This is the link between last year's mini-album and "Alive". That techno sound they were going for this year was intensified, but also allowed to mature. The hook is more effective, the synths more cohesive, the dynamics present, and the melody only second to everything else. The structure of the song is quite a lot to take in but it's not a song you take in bits, it's one you just take as it comes. This is their way of saying, "just because we've matured, doesn't mean we can't be trendy anymore." At the end of the day, they're still Big Bang -- trendy and fun.

Allow me to profess my love for "Wings", and how YG has finally taken advantage of Daesung's gorgeous voice. Gorgeous melody, simple instrumental that reminds me of "Viva La Vida" with more electric guitars, that stunning chorus that finally shows off Daesung's vocals, and of course, the mandatory synths throughout. It's as if Daesung knew that I'd die hearing his voice like this, but he just had to add in strings to kill me even more. It sounds like a Big Bang song, but it doesn't -- it sounds like a Daesung song, but at the end of the day Daesung is a part of Big Bang, and you can never take that away from him. This song is exactly that. The Daesung in it is obvious, but go deeper and the Big Bang becomes audible.

So, have you figured it out already? What makes this a Big Bang album? Even if you have, I'll say it anyway. I've been hinting at it since the beginning, and I've seriously been itching to say it. The reason why "Alive" sounds like a Big Bang album is because it sounds effortless. Sure, Big Bang are known for their fun, "running around stage" songs, but that went out the door long ago. Listening to this album in relation to everything else they've put out, the one thing that has managed to transcend all their releases, despite outside factors, is that sense of effortlessness. It manifests in different forms, whether it be like "Love Dust" where you're not supposed to think, or "Bad Boy" that shows you how much they've matured. Everything sounds so easy to Big Bang that this album is beyond the songs fitting like a glove, now it's as if the songs are a part of them. As a listener, the songs feel right in relationship to each other and because of that, the album is an absolute joy to listen to. Sure, it practically puts your brain through a roller coaster, but when you finally figure everything out it's such a joy. It's like getting a perfect score on a test you really slaved over for months, or getting in to college.

My favorite: "Wings"
Song(s) I'd listen to again: Everything else. Seriously.
My least favorite: N/A
Last words: Best release of the year so far. No one holds a candle to this.
The final verdict: 5/5

Miss A - "Touch"

I guess you can say I have somewhat a love-hate relationship with Miss A, because they tend to only get certain things right at one given time, and the closest they've gotten to a really solid, well-done and well-executed, release was "Goodbye Baby", but almost half of "A Class" was sub-par. JYP, and Miss A, always find a way to get something wrong. During their debut they were always out of breath during performances, "Breathe" was interesting, to say the least, and like I said, "A Class" was all over the place.

And so is "Touch".

Okay, I'll give it to Miss A for sticking to one sound and all, but I really don't understand how you can be all over the place within a specific sound. Don't get me wrong, there are good songs on the EP, and the production is strong, but as a whole, "Touch" is neither interesting nor consistent. I have come to the conclusion that even when given okay material, JYP doesn't know how to choose lead singles. Just because "Touch" is the only song on the album that he wrote, doesn't automatically make it the best, and the best fit.

The lead single is so flat. I get that they're trying to channel the Brown Eyed Girls, and to a certain extent the blend of BEG and Miss A did work, because technically, the song is fine. Nothing's badly out of place, the structure is perfectly normal, and the dynamics are all in check. The problem lies in the execution. Either the girls are doing something wrong, or they're not really cut out for these kinds of songs. The delivery is bland, boring and uninspired -- they sound like they hate the song. They're probably going for that emo/sad sound, but there's a difference between showing emotion and just singing softer. When you put together a "just okay" song and bad singing, "Touch" becomes really cheesy, wimpy, and corny, actually. That synth loop during the chorus and towards the end (not the one at the very beginning and end, the one after it) adds a lot to the cheese. The melody ends up sounding anything but easy on the ears, and that's a big turn-off, to be honest. It sounds better when you watch the video, but that's probably because I'm more focused on the pretty sets and clothes I will never be able to wear to bother noticing the song. And that's a very bad thing.

My first reaction when I heard the opening to "Lips" -- "NO NOT PARTY ROCK ANTHEM, ANYTHING BUT THAT". It's actually an okay song, the production is really clean, but we've heard this all before, and not necessarily recently either. Everything from the vocal treatment to the synth loops and arrangement -- it sounds like they just threw everything in, one minute it sounds like "Party Rock Anthem", the next it sounds like 2NE1's "Fire". The verses are bearable, and to a certain extent I actually like them, but the chorus is another story. The chorus (if you can even call that a chorus) reminds me of those 90's kids' birthday parties with all those unknown dance songs being played. Cheesy dance songs. Or all those local noon time shows with those scantily-clad girls "dancing" to these cheap club tracks. Not something I'd like to remember, honestly.

The first decent song on the album! "Rock N Rule" has GORGEOUS vocals, partially because of the really strong production, but partially because it has an actual melody that's actually made for singing. I always stress how important singability is, and this, compared to the rest of the EP, is proof of the importance of song choice and singability. It's a gorgeous song that works for them, and that's why it sounds so good. "Rock N Rule" is quaint, it sounds like something straight out of a DCOM (Disney Channel Original Movie) sound track or a summer iced tea commercial, and it has a hint of youth in it, but not to the point where they sound like 6 year-olds. It's fresh, well-sung, and gorgeous song.

If I had it my way, "No Mercy" would be the lead single. It's interesting and tasteful, it has conviction, it's well-sung, and it sounds like a Miss A song, despite the Duffy/British influence. The girls channel Duffy, not just in the title but in that drum line, the synth line, tambourine, and the hand claps throughout. And surprisingly, the song matches them really well -- it's also ever so slightly girly and graceful, but it has that undeniable Miss A attitude and kick. Sure, it sounds less "epic" (if "Touch" is even epic to begin with), but honestly, this would've been just as good a step, if not better, from "Goodbye Baby" as "Touch", and it would've been even more interesting. I bet they can pull this off live better than "Touch" too, seeing as the melody is more within the comfortable range, and it's a simple enough melody.

The last track before we meet "Touch" again, I initially thought "Over U" was some sort of ballad, seeing as there weren't any ballads yet, but I was wrong! Again, if I were doing the A&R on this, "Over U" would be that song they performed during their comeback stages, and the album track that would get that much more promo as opposed to the other tracks. It sounds like something from a 2000's Disney pop princess' follow-up album, I can imagine Lindsay Lohan, Hilary Duff, and even Vanessa Hudgens and Ashley Tisdale, all fighting for this song. I think either Lindsay or Ashley will win, then Hilary will get the same songwriter to write something like it for "Dignity". But anyway, yes, that's what I get from "Over U". I adore the vocal treatment on this, which has been in use since "Rock N Rule", and it doesn't sound painful to the ears, despite the very edgy instrumentals and powerful vocals. See, these girls aren't talentless singers, they're just getting all the wrong songs!

My favorite: "No Mercy"
Song(s) I'd listen to again: "Rock N Rule", "Over U"
My least favorite: "Touch"
Last words: You screwed up the A&R, JYP. AGAIN.
The final verdict: 3.5/5