Album Review: Brian Joo – Reborn Part 1
Release: January 26, 2012
Distributor: Jellyfish Entertainment
Rating: 
Listening to a genuinely good R&B album is like sipping a perfect cup of hot chocolate, rich and sweet, full of mellow tones and relaxing. That’s how I felt anyways, when I first heard Korean-American R&B artist Brian Joo‘s album Reborn Part 1. I’ve only been recently introduced to that gray area between K-Pop and R&B and let me tell you, if you have not yet familiarized yourself with that scene in Korean music, Reborn Part 1 is a great place to start.
Brian Joo was born in the United States and moved to Korea after a few of his friends signed him up for an audition with Brothers Entertainment while he was a high school student. He became a trainee under SM Entertainment and debuted in 1999 as one of the members of Fly to the Sky alongside Hwanhee. After Fly to the Sky went on hiatus in 2009 in order to pursue solo activities, Brian decided to work on further establishing his career as a solo artist after the release of The Brian in 2006. Since then, he has matured greatly as a musician–thus, in 2012, the music of Brian Joo has been “reborn” with a new style and sound.
Featuring highly-respected names in the realms of Korean hip-hop and R&B, such as renowned rapper Tiger JK, Brian’s good friend Jay Park, and AZIATIX‘s Flowsik, Reborn boasts an impressive selection of diverse tracks. One complaint I usually have about R&B albums is that after a few tracks, the album gets unbearably repetitive–listening to the same instrumentals and same beats over and over again can ruin an album for me. When I looked at the track list for Reborn, however, I knew that wasn’t going to be a problem. With such a variety of composers and arrangers, Brian would actually have to try in order to make songs on his album sound repetitive. Needless to say, I had high hopes for this album.
The first track on Reborn, 너 따윈 버리고 (Taking Leave of You) (Feat. Tiger JK), started off with choppy piano chords and transitioned smoothly into the first verse. Although I’ve heard countless piano intros for R&B tracks before, this one was unique in that the disconnectedness of the chords caught my attention immediately and almost compelled me to listen. The song has a subtle pop feel, thanks to the producer, Jeff Hoeppner, who also produced F(x)‘s Pinocchio last year. I especially enjoyed the bridge because more of Brian’s vocal personality is shown there, as compared with his other parts from the song. Tiger JK’s rap was impressive and it gave the song an edgier feel. Another thing I really appreciated about this track was how well it displayed Brian’s range — he didn’t have to strain his voice to reach the higher notes. Although his voice is well-suited for R&B, his range gives him an edge over other R&B artists who have to stay in a certain range while recording their songs.
너 따윈 버리고 (Taking Leave of You) is actually a sad song about the heartache of a man who has to leave his lover, even though he hurts all over. He needs to put their relationship to rest and move on with his life. However, although the lyrics of this song are sad, they are not whiny and over dramatic. I actually thought that it did one of the best jobs portraying both sadness and optimism about the future I’ve ever seen in a song. It’s not exactly an upbeat song, but if you listen hard enough, the piano chords alternate between moving up and down, giving it a lilting, happier feel.
The music video features shots of a tumultuous relationship between a man and a woman, interrupted by shots of Brian singing in a dark room (and Tiger JK’s rap). It shows how closely violence and passion are related in love–scenes of the couple fighting are shown with scenes of them kissing. Overall, I thought the video was nicely presented and added to the effect of the song.
With his second track, Can’t Stop, Brian tackles a different style of music. Can’t Stop is much more upbeat and electronic, with a faster beat. I considered it a dance track, but the vocals in the song were still nice and smooth, although it featured less of his range. It also featured Jay Park and Beenzino, which I thought added nicely to the track. It has less emotional depth than the first track, but Brian is a versatile artist and that’s what Can’t Stop shows off. The chorus reminded me of Love Love Love by hip-hop group Epik High, and I would’ve liked to see a little more variation lyric-wise, but overall, Can’t Stop was a strong track that delivered.
The third song featured on Reborn is Don’t Tell Me I’m Wrong, a duet with Jade Valerie, an American and European pop artist currently active in Asia – I totally love collaborations between North American/European artists and Korean ones–shows how global music has become!
Brian really does know how to catch a listener’s attention with unconventional, interesting intro riffs in his songs. Don’t Tell Me I’m Wrong starts off with an electronic orchestral sound, giving it some angst and attitude. As expected, the lyrics are in English. Brian and Jade swapped off during verses and their voices actually meshed together very well. Both are incredibly gifted artists and their strong vocals made Don’t Tell Me I’m Wrong an enjoyable track. One thing I didn’t like as much about this track was the beats in the background (the percussion in general) — it was a little too excessive for my taste and I thought that the producers could have cleaned it up a little more, but since the song was supposed to sound a little rougher than the other tracks, I can’t complain too much.
Let This Die (Extended Eng Ver.) features Flowsik from AZIATIX — time for some seriously awesome R&B vocals! Since my understanding of Korean is extremely limited, I really loved that Brian included this track for his international fans, even though I usually get very bored of listening to all the different versions of the same song (R&B, instrumental, etc.) by an artist. I had to look up the translated lyrics for the song at first, but listening to him sing it in English definitely gave it a different effect. Flowsik’s rap was just as good as Tiger JK’s, in my opinion. Aw, this track totally made me a happy Brian Joo and AZIATIX fan.
Brian also included an English version of Can’t Stop featuring Jay Park and Dumbfoundead. Dumbfoundead, or Jonathan Park, is a Korean American rapper and even opened for one of Epik High’s previous tours. Again, I understood the song much better after I heard the lyrics in English and actually enjoyed it more as well. I thought the song’s lyrics flowed better in English, which made me wonder if Can’t Stop was originally written with English lyrics.
Domino (Acoustic Ver.) is the sixth track on Reborn, featuring a sweet guitar melody as well as some awesome vocals. The song itself is very mellow and featured romantic lyrics about how falling in love feels like from a guy’s perspective. Brian’s voice was rich and smooth throughout the song, making me melt as I listened to it. This song was also a little more American, in my opinion, than the other songs because it focused mostly on the singer’s voice, accompanied only by a simple acoustic guitar. I’m very used to listening to complicated, processed K-Pop tracks, so Domino was like a breath of fresh air, with its unprocessed sound and fresh ballad-feel.
Simply put, strong vocals, originality, and great production made Reborn Part 1 a pleasure to listen to. I enjoyed how all the tracks on the album were different from each other–Brian experimented with R&B, hip hop, and even a nice little ballad at the end. This proves that he is an incredibly versatile artist who is talented in more than one genre of music. I also loved the artists he chose to collaborate with. Sometimes awkward collaborations can take away from an originally great-sounding song, but the rappers he chose enhanced each song in their own way.
I’m definitely looking forward to see what new material he brings us in Reborn Part 2!
Track list (recommended tracks listed in bold)
1. 너 따윈 버리고 (Feat. Tiger JK)
2. Can’t Stop (Feat. Jay Park, Beenzino)
3. Don’t Tell Me I’m Wrong (Duet with Jade Valerie)
4. Let This Die (Extended Eng Ver.) (Feat. Flowsik from Aziatix)
5. Can’t Stop (Eng Ver.) (Feat. Jay Park, Dumbfoundead)
6. Domino (Acoustic Ver.)
Image source: yesasia
Content sources: allkpop, Wikipedia, soompi, yesasia
Video sources: b3tt3rflypink, brianjoomusic all @ YouTube
Note: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely of the individual and are not those of hellokpop.
