Album Review: Yi Sung Yol – V

Release: May 23, 2013
Producer/Distributor: Fluxus Music/KT Music
Genre: Rock, post-rock
Reviewer Rating:

We will be interviewing Yi Sung Yol later this month as he performs at the London K-Music Festival! Additional details here.

The change occurred around Why We Fail (2011). That was a plenty difficult album already, not only to write about but just to try and comprehend.Yi Sung Yol threw off the restrictions of ballad and rock, blues and folk; instead he embarked to tell a massive spiritual narrative, embracing memorable melodies and abstract soundscapes alike as but tools. The result was an album unlike any other – an enduring milestone in both storytelling and meaning.

V (it’s his fourth and not fifth album, by the way) doesn’t bother with narrative: this time, the focus is on sound and what that does to people. We often say artists “use sound to tell a story”, but that’s not quite appropriate here – the object is musical composition, chaos and order itself, and whatever is evoked in the listener is purely visceral. He doesn’t completely eschew lyrics, like a post-rock band might, but in many tracks they are much too cryptic for us to believe that Yi intended for them to be interpreted literally.

The album is drawn in broad strokes. There are many devices that are designed to stand out at the forefront: a French excerpt of Camus’ The Stranger found in Minotaur, extensive usage of đàn bầu in the first half of the album, exotic and sometimes ritualistic utterances, and Satin Camel‘s dreamy guitar outro are all easy to characterize as hallmarks of high art, if we are to make such distinctions. The devices are tremendously effective, of course: the narrations and gutturals build stormy atmosphere, and Le Hoai Phuong‘s performance in We Are Dying could not have conveyed insecurity and discomfort any better.

These are also usually the same elements that make an album inaccessible. And yes, you won’t exactly be rocking out to V anytime soon. The songs are long (most range from six to ten minutes), and the melodies are not catchy and do not stick very well – you can’t expect a melody like 시간의 끝 (The End of Time)‘s (2007) to return, but Yi doesn’t even give us anything on the order of Why We Fail. But it’s also not as difficult as you might imagine. By essentially eliminating the role of lyrics and concentrating intensively on the most effective way to deliver sound, the album has a way of bringing the experience to the listener. Minotaur is the best example: driving guitars, constantly shifting riffs, and ceaseless cadence simultaneously keep the track marching ahead and give us more than enough sound to engage with. Fear turns down the energy and extracts a sense of longing amidst struggle with effortless piano and ambiance. It doesn’t take a lot beyond your full and undivided attention to soak in this album.

V not only brings the experience to you, it also packages it in a different way. According to the artist, six of the tracks here were recorded live at Café Veloso with the full band in one take. With no track splicing and no post-production, instruments blend together and infringe upon each other in a way you’re not supposed to hear in studio albums. Here’s an easy comparison: listen to the two renditions of Who?. The Veloso version is noticeably more muted, the acoustic strokes lacking the sharp edges and separation present in the studio version (which was also recorded full-band in one take) but with more scale and echo. There’s a raw feel to these live tracks that make them come alive.

It’s awfully rare for established artists to change the philosophy of their music, but Yi has struck boldly – and hit gold. V gives us a lot of tough emotions, from desolation to confusion to inevitability, but Yi Sung-yol’s treatment overlays a certain carefree attitude on top of it all. It’s as if the album is a long dream: it deals with things that are just outside the grasp of comprehension, launches nightmarish attacks, shows visions of indescribable beauty… and then you wake up, secure in the knowledge that it’s but a grand display. V doesn’t come together as perfectly as Why We Fail did – an album like this never does – but its daydream is a lot more fantastical and a lot more sensual than that album’s transformative tale of apocalypse and healing. Two masterpieces now adorn Yi’s career, and they couldn’t be more different from each other.

Tracklist (recommended tracks listed in bold)

1. Minotaur
2. We Are Dying
3. Who? (Veloso Live)
4. 개가 되고 (Dog Etc.)
5. Satin Camel (바다였던) (Ocean Once)
6. Fear (Don’t Let It Get the Best of You Darling)
7. Who? (Fluxus Studio Live)
8. Secretly (Wouldn’t You Like to Know…) – Originally 솔직히 (Secretly) from Why We Fail (2011)
9. Bluey – Featuring Jang Pil-soon
10. Cynic

Note: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely of the reviewer and not of hellokpop as a whole.

Agree or disagree? Or have a recent release that you’d like to see reviewed? Let us know with your comments below! Requested albums will be considered each week and may be selected to be reviewed in the subsequent week.

Sources: Photo – Daum Music; fluxus on YouTube (additional videos for Fear, Bluey, and Cynic available on channel)

Quick Reviews: Bulldog Mansion, Lee Ki-chan, and Park Sae-byul

Bulldog Mansion – Re-Building

Release: May 16, 2013
Producer/Distributor: Tube Amp Music & DH Play Entertainment/Mirrorball Music
Genre: Rock, funk
Reviewer Rating:

Lee Han-chul has been busy lately – a solo comeback last year, and now a return with Bulldog Mansion after nine years of inactivity. He still carries that indomitable vigor with him, and the band hasn’t missed a step, either; speedy tracks like The Way pulse and throb with infectious energy, powered by bouncing bass and footloose synthesizer, while Bed provides a weighty and thoughtful center to this EP. Re-Building clearly isn’t Bulldog Mansion at full strength, but the fact that the album is even this polished after so long is remarkable.

Tracklist (recommended tracks listed in bold)

1. The Way
2. Do You Understand?
3. 침대 (Bed)
4. 혼자 사는 남자 (A Man Who Lives Alone)
5. 봐라! 달이 뒤를 쫒는다 (Behold! The Moon Follows Behind)

Lee Ki-chan – Twelve Hits

Release: May 24, 2013
Producer/Distributor: Studio Curiosity/CJ E&M
Genre: Ballad, jazz/blues
Reviewer Rating:

It’s not what you want to see, really: Lee Ki-chan‘s first full-length album in five years (and his eleventh, not twelfth) is a remake collection. Initial disappointment aside, this is in the same spirit as the series entertained by Lee Soo-young, SG Wannabe, and the like: take the classics of Korean ballad and trot and reinterpret them in the language of modern ballad. (Or, in the case of You’ll Live in Happiness, take a remake specialist’s song and remake that. Fun fact: Leeds actually did her own covers of both Love Is Like Glass and The Shadow of Parting back in 2004′s fantastic Memory collection.)

Most of the fun in these things is not the innate quality of the songs themselves, but rather comparing the reimaginations to originals. Lee Ki-chan does introduce the binding theme of big-band jazz, which allows another dimension to the comparison game. The instrumentation is consistently detailed, rich, and satisfying; the most glaring limiting factor here is instead Lee’s performance, which is once again toned but never all that evocative. A little bit of rhythm is still crucial for him, it seems.

Tracklist (recommended tracks listed in bold)

1. 검은 고양이 네로 (Nero the Black Cat) – Original by Turbo (1995)
2. 이별의 끝은 어디인가요 (Where Is the End of Parting) – Original by Yang Soo-kyung (1990)
3. 그때 그 사람 (That Person Back Then) – Original by Shim Soo-bong (1978)
4. You Call It Love - Original by Karoline Kruger (2002)
5. 그대 내게 다시 (To Me Again) – Original by Byun Jin-sup (1992)
6. 첫인상 (First Impression) – Original by Kim Gun-mo (1992)
7. 삐에로는 우릴 보고 웃지 (The Pierrot Laughs at Us) – Original by Kim Wan-sun (1990)
8. Prelude (Interlude)
9. 그댄 행복에 살텐데 (You’ll Live In Happiness) – Original by Leeds (2002)
10. 사랑은 유리같은 것 (Love Is Like Glass) – Original by Won Jun-hee (1988)
11. 슬퍼지려 하기 전에 (Before It Gets Sad) – Original by Cool (1996)
12. Just the Way You Are - Original by Billy Joel (1977)
13. 이별의 그늘 (The Shadow of Parting) – Original by Yoon Sang (1990)

Park Sae-byul – 하이힐 (High Heel)

Release: May 28, 2013
Producer/Distributor: Antenna Music/CJ E&M
Genre: Pop, ballad
Reviewer Rating:

The first three minutes of Park Sae-byul‘s sophomore album are nothing short of extraordinary. Things That Disappear shows Park’s greatest strength as an arranger, no holds barred: intricate piano, strings, bells, and cymbal taps spawn in layers of sensual melodies and are poured out as if water from a bucket, and implausibly they meld into a coherent stream. There’s a sense of mystery and wondrous discovery in the song’s mood, not unlike what Lena Park likes to evoke.

The spell doesn’t last forever; heck, it doesn’t even last the whole song, as the chorus is a little underwhelming. But this is a good example of the kind of breathtaking presentation that Park is so good at throughout High Heel. Most are not this dramatic: D+0 does it with an unbroken, groove-infused melody line and Still Twenty with a suspended atmosphere, while Paradise comes closest with a quietly sweeping treatment. But all are sharply creative and oftentimes deliciously unpredictable.

Park’s impressive command of diverse instrumental palettes, vocal behavior, and varied themes (which are difficult to categorize under anything more specific than “youthful”) makes High Heel stronger, but at the same time, it is also noticeably less focused than 새벽별 (Morning Star) (2010). As an album, this is not quite as masterful as its predecessor, but it does have more ‘wow’ moments punctuating its consistent quality. There’s work to be done – lyricism, coherence, and so forth – but High Heel is still a must-listen.

Tracklist (recommended tracks listed in bold)

1. 사라지는 것들 (Things That Disappear)
2. D+0
3. 웃어봐요 (Smile)
4. 사랑이 우릴 다시 만나게 한다면 (If Love Allows Us to Meet Again)
5. 하이힐 (High Heels)
6. 아직 스무 살 (Still Twenty) – Featuring Thomas Cook
7. 세상의 모든 인연 (All the Love in the World) – Featuring Park Won of One More Chance
8. 낙원 (Paradise)
9. 한 여름 밤의 별 (A Summer Night’s Star)

Note: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely of the reviewer and not of hellokpop as a whole.

Agree or disagree? Or have a recent release that you’d like to see reviewed? Let us know with your comments below! Requested albums will be considered each week and may be selected to be reviewed in the subsequent week.

Sources: Photos – Daum Music

Album Review: Lee Hyori – Monochrome

Release: May 21, 2013
Producer/Distributor: B2M Entertainment/CJ E&M
Genre: Dance, retro pop
Reviewer Rating:

Lee Hyori subscribes to the Microsoft school of product release: debut solo album Stylish (2003) and third album It’s Hyorish (2008) were runaway commercial hits that were also fairly well-received critically, while sophomore release Dark Angel (2006) and fourth LP H-Logic (2010) both were mired in plagiarism scandals and received mixed results. The former FIN.K.L. star and still-reigning icon is due for a winner this time, then, but as it turns out Monochrome is not quite Hyori’s Windows XP.

The album gets an A for effort. The level of painstaking attention to detail is more apparent here than in any other Hyori release to date, and it’s really not even close. Lee takes an unexpected turn into retro, borrowing from oldie pop, funk and rock ‘n’ roll, and recruits an international team of composers to provide some fine backdrops. Holly Jolly Bus opens with lush blues sound and pleasant rhythm, plausibly recreating a singalong musical; Miss Korea follows up with a guitar-heavy anthemic chorus. And that’s just the start. The retro sounds, which characterize all but three or four tracks of the album (depending on how you define these things), are generally vibrant and impressively detailed. (The remainder is not as ambitious, but arguably makes for better music due to tight execution.)

Lee’s performances are passable, although they don’t add anything to most tracks. Her experience with theatrically minded compositions (think U-Go-Girl) seems to help out when she’s asked to act vocally a bit in songs like Holly Jolly Bus and Bad Girls. But when she finds herself in vintage-soul Hate Myself or country tracks Bounced Check of Love (that title is just as cringe-worthy in Korean as it is in English) and I Won’t Ask, that experience isn’t enough. The deep and heavy (but not particularly rich) tone she’s developed for ballads doesn’t translate neatly into these styles, and although she adopts a croon and twang here and there, it’s clear that she’s well out of her zone. Due in no small part to this vocal shortcoming, Monochrome gets old quickly in spite of its good compositions. It’s a shame that songs like Special and Go Crazy, both decent instrumentals that could have thrived, end up adding to retro fatigue.

Hyori is much better as Monochrome’s lyricist. She wrote or co-wrote nine songs that run the gamut from autobiography to empowerment. Miss Korea, Bad Girls, and Special stand out in particular – Lee encourages “tired-looking pretty ladies in glass mirrors” and “bad girls [...] who are a little greedier than others, who hate losing more than dying” alike as she tells them the same message of empowerment that “[a younger Lee] told myself every day”. She is herself in these lyrics – the confident yet down-to-earth superstar we’ve come to know well.

Monochrome is an album of misaligned idiosyncrasies. Hyori the honest lyricist and Hyori the dance-pop artist are both present, and are quite good at times. But they don’t ever come together in a single song, much less the album. At this point in her career, Monochrome’s music is not something she does convincingly; she’s having to try too hard. It’s telling that the album’s most purely enjoyable tracks are not the meticulously crafted retro numbers, but rather the footloose contemporary songs. Here is a singer who’s been under constant scrutiny all her career, expected each time to defend her place at the top of the popularity ladder. These are the times when we wish we knew what an artist really wants.

Tracklist (recommended tracks listed in bold)

1. Holly Jolly Bus – Featuring Soonshimi
2. 미스코리아 (Miss Korea)
3. Love Radar – Featuring Beenzino
4. Bad Girls
5. 내가 미워요 (Hate Myself)
6. 사랑의 부도수표 (Bounced Check of Love)
7. Full Moon
8. Trust Me
9. Special
10. Amor Mio – Featuring Park Ji-yong of Honey-G
11. 누군가 (Someone)
12. 묻지 않을게요 (I Won’t Ask)
13. 미쳐 (Go Crazy) – Featuring Ahn Young-mi
14. 쇼쇼쇼 (Show Show Show)
15. Better Together
16. 노 (No)

Note: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely of the reviewer and not of hellokpop as a whole.

Agree or disagree? Or have a recent release that you’d like to see reviewed? Let us know with your comments below! Requested albums will be considered each week and may be selected to be reviewed in the subsequent week.

Sources: Photo – Daum Music; CJENMMUSIC on YouTube

Quick Reviews: Oh Ji-eun, Vibe, and Shinhwa

Oh Ji-eun – 3

Release: May 14, 2013
Producer/Distributor: Happy Robot Records/Neowiz Internet
Genre: Ballad, pop
Reviewer Rating:

화 (Shine) (2007) featured some of the most chilling lyrics ever put on a ballad; it was the kind of song that MusicY editors put on their “Top 100 Ballads of All Time” list and marvel at the fact that, some way and somehow, it made the cut. Oh Ji-eun’s third album (which is not titled “Ji-eun” this time) does not return to that level of vitriolic prose, although a cursory glance at the titles below should tell you that there’s still plenty of edge in 3. Few people write more nuanced lyrics, and a theme of understanding and realization flows through the first act of the album. There are some truly crystalline moments in the likes of Merely and Like That on the Set Path as well as infectious joyfulness in the album’s center.

But more macroscopically, this tone-down makes 3 stand out less from its peers. These are the same themes that we are beginning to hear more and more often in the indie pop scene, and here Oh’s personal touch – while definitely present – is harder to see. The dark second act is more adventuresome, and we see (only) glimpses of the exquisite in the throwback grotesqueness of Curse Song and fascinating transformation within Fish. All said and done, this is still a special piece of work – just not as special, perhaps, as before. Set aside an hour to better grasp the album’s long phrasing, and you’ll find yourself marveling at Oh’s under appreciated arrangement skill on top of the lyrical depth.

Tracklist (recommended tracks listed in bold)

1. 네가 없었다면 (If It Wasn’t for You)
2. 어긋남을 깨닫다 (To Realize Misalignment)
3. 고작 (Merely)
4. 사랑한다고 거짓을 말해줘 (Lie to Me That You Love Me)
5. 그렇게 정해진 길 위에서 (Like That on the Set Path)
6. 서울살이는 (Living in Seoul)
7. 테이블보만 바라봐 (Just Stare at the Tablecloth) – Featuring Sung Jin-hwan
8. Not Gonna Fall in Love Again – Featuring Lyn, Soy, e-lang, Jung-in, Taru, and Nine9
9. I Know
10. 누가 너를 저 높은 곳에 올라가도록 만들었을까 (Who Made You Climb to the High Place Yonder)
11. Curse Song
12. 물고기 (Fish) – Featuring eAeon
13. 겨울아침 (Winter Morning)

Vibe – Organic Sound

Release: May 15, 2013
Producer/Distributor: Music&New/Loen Entertainment
Genre: Ballad
Reviewer Rating:

There is a difference between identity and mannerism, but from the listener’s end, it can be hard to tell which is which. Vibe‘s Re-Feel (2006) was closer to establishing the former; to me, the duo’s fifth studio album is teetering on being the latter. The ballads still aim for maximum amount of guts wrenched with down-to-earth topics and Yoon Min-soo‘s magical voice. The problem is that Organic Sound‘s plots are more contrived than before. They try hard to be everyday tragedies, but haphazard writing and unimaginative execution make these lyrics tiring before the album’s halfway over. (The “Under-19s” track is about as terrible as you can get, in many senses.) It’ll appeal to people who can identify specifically with the situations being described, but the album lacks the unifying power to move a cross-section of listeners. In the meantime, I am told that Ryu Jae-hyon put in a great deal of work into Organic Sound’s analog sound design and recording. So the fidelity is great, but I’m not sure if that’s paying a lot of dividends given the state of the album’s contents.

Tracklist (recommended tracks listed in bold)

1. 이 나이 먹도록 (Until This Age)
2. 꼭 한번 만나고 싶다 (Want To Meet You)
3. 그토록 믿었었던 그 여자가 시집가던 날 (The Day When A Woman So Trusted Gets Married)
4. 시집가서 잘 살지 그랬어 (Should Have Married and Lived Happily)
5. 4U – Featuring Im Se-jun
6. 밤새 (All Night)
7. 압구정 4번 출구 (Apgujeong Exit 4) – Featuring Lyn
8. 19세 미만은 이 노래를 듣지 마세요 (Under-19s Shouldn’t Listen to This Song) – Featuring MIII
9. 봄비 (Spring Rain)
10. I Hate Mama

Shinhwa – The Classic

Release: May 16, 2013
Producer/Distributor: Shinhwa Company/CJ E&M
Genre: Dance pop, ballad
Reviewer Rating:

I get some strong déjà vu from listening to The Classic. Shinhwa‘s eleventh studio album sounds very much like an extension of The Return (2012), sometimes right down to the mechanics – both albums open with an airy modern-rock number seemingly courtesy of Shin Hye-sung‘s interests, and the third track in both albums is the dance-oriented lead single. Both albums have the same balance of down-tempo ballads to spell the high energy. The upside of this close shadowing is, of course, that Shinhwa’s members get to tweak what worked for them the last time.

I wrote at length last year about Shinhwa’s macho-beat roots persisting in a new coat in The Return. This Love is branded with a metro-sexual identity (starting with the music video), but the song’s core is just as aggressive as, say, Perfect Man (2002). This thing lives by the Shinhwa-trademark shout-out chorus and take-charge attitude in the lyrics. In a nutshell, it’s everything people want and expect from Shinhwa in another processed form. This Love is a bit more punctuated and reserved than Venus (2012) yet achieves the intended result more efficiently; Hurricane is easy mode, a little more liberal with emotion and a little more old-school.

One interesting development here: the album’s best track is Mannequin, which actually follows the example of post-TVXQ SM Entertainment in philosophy. Brass is used with abandon to construct a sense of volume and vibrancy, and the chorus is satisfyingly swift and explosive. It flows a lot like a SHINee song would, but Shinhwa eschews SM’s meticulous polish for a more mature energy. There’s a great deal of potential here. Korea’s longest-running idol group is just getting started.

Tracklist (recommended tracks listed in bold)

1. 그래 (That’s Right)
2. 아는 남자 (A Man You Know)
3. This Love
4. Scarface
5. New Me
6. 웃다가… (While Laughing…)
7. 마네킹 (Mannequin)
8. Hurricane
9. I Gave You
10. 사랑 노래 (Love Song)

Note: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely of the reviewer and not of hellokpop as a whole.

Agree or disagree? Or have a recent release that you’d like to see reviewed? Let us know with your comments below! Requested albums will be considered each week and may be selected to be reviewed in the subsequent week.

Sources: Photos – Daum Music

Quick Reviews: Nine Muses, Pearl’s Day, and Seo In-young

Nine Muses – Wild

Release: May 9, 2013
Producer/Distributor: Loen Entertainment
Genre: Dance pop
Reviewer Rating:

It’s been almost three years since Nine Muses‘ debut, and the group has precisely one notable mark on its discography: 2011′s Sweetune hit Figaro. That really was a good single, but at some point there needs to be follow-up. Wild is the latest in a succession of Sweetune productions for the girls, and it’s a revelation compared to News or Ticket. The volumetric chorus is bold, the overlaid piano line gives off a touch of gravitas, and the performances – while nothing overly impressive – are punchy enough to prop up the heady atmosphere.

The crucial knock here, though, is that Wild sounds and acts exactly like a KARA-Sweetune single. It’s a formula that was already perfected in Step (2011), with the lyrics (which aren’t bad, by the way) transported into a club and the mood turned a couple notches more serious. The sing-along chorus is not as explosive as then, nor the instrumentation as exhilarating. Most problematically, Nine Muses show no compelling reason why this should be a Nine Muses song. There is no distinction and no trademark to be found here. The same feeling persists throughout the rest of the EP; while pop ballads like Paper Scraps are pleasant enough, countless groups have already done them better (and without the shaky performances). These are the tracks where this group’s nine-person structure could be exploited more explicitly, but no such attempt is made. Wild’s contribution to this red ocean is very slight.

Tracklist (recommended tracks listed in bold,

1. Spotlight
2. 와일드 (Wild)
3. Action
4. 휴지조각 (Paper Scraps)
5. 사는 사람 (Living Person)
6. Wild – Instrumental

Pearl’s Day – Blind Letter

Release: May 9, 2013
Producer/Distributor: Pearl Music/Mirrorball Music
Genre: Modern rock
Reviewer Rating:

Pearl’s Day‘s first release since the band’s Top Band appearance (and the first since 2010) opens the right way. Turning on Dim Headlights takes a couple minutes to really get going, but the pay off is worth it. Two minutes in, driving guitars and pounding toms layer atop Son Min-jeong‘s resolute repetitions of “I won’t stop”, building up a bridge that turns out to be the song’s climax in the absence of a final chorus.

The rest of the album doesn’t fare as well, however. Individual tracks suffer from unrealized thematic potential (Sequel to a Dream) and monotonous flow (Can You Hear). The EP never really comes together either: case in point is Amour, a quality fusion jazz track that nevertheless gives the impression of drifting out to sea when inserted into an album of rock ballads. The genre-hopping sounds less like welcome spells from repetition and more like an ill-fitting mishmash. Bust as an EP signaling creative vibrancy, Blind Letter is at least moderately successful.

Tracklist (recommended tracks listed in bold)

1. 흐릿한 헤드라이트를 켜며 (Turning on Dim Headlights)
2. 꿈의 후속편 (Sequel to a Dream)
3. 들리나요 (Can You Hear)
4. 337
5. Amour

Seo In-young – Forever Young

Release: May 15, 2013
Producer/Distributor: Seo In-young Company/CJ E&M
Genre: Pop
Reviewer Rating:

Color me impressed. Not so much at Seo In-young’s vocal prowess; that stopped being news years ago, when Seo, as a solo artist, backed up the boasts from her Jewelry days with unexpectedly adept ballad work. The surprise here stems from the completeness of Forever Young. Seo has only flashed pieces of potential in the past; Elly Is So Hot (2007) displayed decent quality alongside terrible marketing, while Lov-Elly (2010) and its sequel showed incredible improvements in song-selecting acumen and emotional performance. But there always were those blotches: Seo couldn’t pick out a dance track to save her life, and she couldn’t stick to what was a clear strength in pop-ballad. (Exhibits 1~3: Elly is Cinderella, Ellythm, Brand New Elly.)

Forever Young (note the dropped “Elly” brand) is where the 28-year-old finally puts it all together. The up-tempo arsenal is headlined by Kush-designed pre released single Anymore (which I named a Honorable Mention Dance/Electronica Song last year), a heady trance number combining delicious melody with bubbling backdrop. Retro-minded I Want You Back puts Seo’s sonorous performance at the forefront for great effect, and even Let’s Dance pulls its own weight in spite of that chipmunk-style vocal direction that has failed so spectacularly in the past. Taken together, the trio represents Seo’s best effort in the dance genre by a mile.

The ballads are still great, by the way. But here, the excellence has been more consistent. Letter has palpable groove atop faint strings and jazz guitar reminiscent of old-school regional soul music, and Let’s Break Up is Seo’s most deliberate ballad to date. The leisurely buildup and gorgeous melodic progression yield a track strong enough to hold down an EP full of potent tracks. Step by step, Seo In-young has been honing her craft and proving naysayers wrong; the next stop should be to resolve issues of overextension, perhaps through that elusive second studio album.

Tracklist (recommended tracks listed in bold)

1. I Want You Back
2. Anymore
3. 헤어지자 (Let’s Break Up)
4. 편지 (Letter)
5. Let’s Dance
6. Anymore – Remix
7. 헤어지자 (Let’s Break Up) – Instrumental

Note: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely of the reviewer and not of hellokpop as a whole.

Agree or disagree? Or have a recent release that you’d like to see reviewed? Let us know with your comments below! Requested albums will be considered each week and may be selected to be reviewed in the subsequent week.

Sources: Photos – Daum Music