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SHINee – ‘Chapter 1. Dream Girl – The Misconceptions of You’ album review

*whispers*SHINee’s back*whispers*

Although SM Entertainment announced last year that SHINee‘s comeback would come a few months after “Sherlock” was released, it didn’t happen. I guess they had a change of plan. And so – 11 months later – SHINee officially makes a comeback — in two parts.

Shinee Dream Girl album cover — Part 1 is ‘Dream Girl – The Misconceptions of You’

Let’s just get straight into the review:

1. “Spoiler” – No, they aren’t trolling you with the intro, which sounds exactly how “Sherlock” starts. Penned by member Jhong Hyun and cleverly containing all the titles of the songs in the album, the opening track is actually produced by Thomas Troelsen – the same Danish songwriter behind “Sherlock”. The chorus, although heavily processed, is the best bit. A recurring theme as you will see. – 4/5

2. “Dream Girl” – The lead single:

Oddly enough, I wasn’t blown away like I assumed I would be. I heard the audio when “Dream Girl” first released and thought it was just okay. A listenable track, yes, but nothing special. The chorus — which is what made “Sherlock” so good — is just okay this time around. The rest of the song also felt a bit plain.

But when the music video came out, I watched the dance version first — because I’m always more keen on seeing SHINee dance! Again, the choreography was… okay; and I didn’t like the song any better. It wasn’t until I watched the actual MV that I appreciated the song more. For once, SM produces a video that isn’t one of their typical box videos, and actually attempts to do something different this time around. With all the bouncing off the walls, waking up from their dreams and flickering outfits, I somehow enjoyed the song more with these visuals.

No comments on the pants though. A good song, but not a SHINee “classic” in my opinion. – 3/5

3. “Hitchhiking/히치하이킹” – Another strong chorus-driven song. When the album sampler hit YouTube, this was the first song that I fell in love with it. Funky instrumentation with a rap verse that doesn’t sound forced for once. Definitely one of my favourite songs on the album. – 4/5

4. “Punch Drunk Love” – SM describes this song as: “cute melody with the lyric that compares the feeling of being in love to the dizziness that comes after getting a punch in a boxing”. Okay. Adam Sandler’s movie of the same name aside, this song reinforces the vibe the album producers were going for throughout: 1970s funk. Another good song! – 3/5

5. “Girls, Girls, Girls” – After four songs more or less on the same tempo train, SHINee slows things down with this upbeat ballad. It’s a good song girls will sure love, but somehow it’s always noticeable how most Koreans pronounce it “gurls” 🙂 – 3/5

6. “Aside” – Another upbeat ballad reminiscent of a classic ’70s love song. The verses give way to a catchy chorus that is sure make it on to some OST. Really loving the songs on this album so far! – 4/5

7. “Beautiful/아름다워” – The second song I instantly fell in love with from the album sampler was this track. Again, because of the chorus! So very Michael Jackson (or The Jacksons), which should be obvious when you find out this song is composed by longtime MJ-producer Teddy Riley! – 4/5

8. “Dynamite/다이너마이트” – By now we should be expecting at least some album filler material, but I couldn’t write this song off simply because the chorus comes to the rescue yet again. – 3/5

9. “Runaway” – The final track on the album sounds different from everything else up to this point. The sound mixing enhances the boy’s natural vocals but other than that, this very much a K-pop track that I probably wouldn’t be listening to a whole lot after this review goes live. – 2/5

The one phrase I could use to describe this album is best summed up by Roxette’s greatest hits album ‘Don’t Bore Us, Get to the Chorus!‘. It couldn’t be more true for most of the songs on the tracklist. Just when you think the songs are worth skipping, the choruses make you reconsider. Although most of the tracks are composed by Thomas Troelsen and hitchiker, there’s still an overarching theme that is consistent from start to finish.

Clearly influenced by 1970’s funk and pop, it’s a refreshing sound in today’s electronic world, and no better suited than for SHINee. A group that showed how well they could pull off Michael Jackson-esque music with songs like “Juliette” years ago. SHINee’s vocalists (especially the powerful Jhong Hyun) can certainly pull it off in style.

That said, “Dream Girl” certainly isn’t a song I find myself going back to a lot. I still listen to “Lucifer,” “Sherlock,” “Replay” and Juliette” at least once a month. I doubt “Dream Girl” will join that playlist. As for the rest of album — hell yes! Another example where in the album tracks outshine the lead single. And if SM Enterntainment could cram in five to six great songs in this compilation, I can’t wait to see what they have in store when ‘Chapter 2’ comes out in April!

My final rating for SHINee’s 3rd full-length album ‘Chapter 1. Dream Girl – The Misconceptions of You’: 4 out of 5 (Very Good)

Rainbow – ‘Rainbow Syndrome – Part 1’ album review: DSP screws up another comeback

For a long time, Rainbow has been my second favourite K-pop girl group after SNSD. I didn’t care much for their debut single but it was the stellar “A” and “Mach,” both released in 2010, that won me over. I also find the girls very pretty and by the end of 2010, I assumed Rainbow would achieve stellar success in the coming years!

But they didn’t.

Rainbow’s 2011 comeback was disappointing and their company, DSP Media (the same folks behind uber-successful Kara), left them in the lurch for much too long. I felt really sad for the members. The girls never seemed to get a good break — be it in music or even on variety shows.

So when it was announced Rainbow would finally be making a comeback after a span of nearly 1 year and 7 months(!), I was overjoyed, but at the same time, worried. Knowing how often DSP have screwed up in the past, it was a cause for concern.

Here’s a track-by-track review:

01. “Golden Touch” – Such a straight ’80s-inspired pop song! From the beats, instrumentation and melody, everything about this song reeks 1980s-pop 🙂 (Did Sweetune work on this?). As dated as I may sound, it was quite refreshing to hear a song like this in Korean. All I could imagine were the members of Rainbow with hair-dos a la ’80s Madonna, ha ha! Love it! – 4/5

02. “두 눈을 감고 (Close Your Eyes)” – I wasn’t expecting a ballad this early in the tracklist, but here you go. Although the tempo feels a bit run-of-the-mill, I still found myself listening to it quite a bit. It may feel like a standard girly K-pop ballad, but track 2 raised my hopes up for the rest of the album. – 3/5

03. “Tell Me, Tell Me” – The much anticipated comeback single:

*Sigh* I’ll just say it. This song is just disappointing. My earlier worry about DSP screwing up have been proven right. “Tell Me, Tell Me” would have worked as a single… back in 2009-10 when a girl group debuted as a rookie! This is not a song worthy of a group like Rainbow and that too after making fans wait 1 year & 7 months for a comeback! It’s bland, uninspired, and choc-full of mediocrity. From the girl’s styling, to the music video’s set, and even the choreography.

Rainbow Tell Me Tell Me dance outfits mv screencap — Was DSP attempting a “Gee” for Rainbow?

Jaekyung – one of the hottest girls in K-pop – has in fact gotten gotten the worst hair treatment among the members in this MV. You would think with all the money DSP earns from Kara, they would invest in better talent to make their other artists look good. The outfits are plain, and I’m not sure Rainbow can pull off the “cute” concept at this stage of their lives. Jisook, Yoon Hye and the like, yes, but all of them as a group – no. Rainbow should have stuck with the mature concepts and kept “cute” for Rainbow Pixie – their sub-unit.

Anyway, I digress. To sum it up, “Tell Me, Tell Me” is a very forgettable track. – 2/5

04. “Cosmic Girl” – It’s not often I have listened to a K-pop comeback album and found another track better suited for a single release than the one that eventually did. This is one such track. Easily my pick for the “best song” on this album! Uptempo, funky, great chorus and a very good track in every sense. – 4/5

05. “나만 아는 너는 절대 모를 이야기” – Translated to “The Story Only I Know You Will Never Know,” this album-filler keeps the tempo going. Very reminiscent of a typical IU song, this isn’t a bad album-filler though. – 3/5

06. “In Love” – The final track is a sweet, saccharine finish to what has been a fairly uptempo album. It isn’t until this song you get to hear some of the girls hit the high notes, which was sorely missing for much of the album. – 3.5/5

It’s very rare I have liked the album tracks on a K-pop album more than the lead single, but this is unfortunately the case with ‘Syndrome – Part 1’. I scored every track higher than “Tell Me, Tell Me” because it really is the most boring song on the tracklist. Even as I was wrapping up this review, I kept replaying every track except “Tell Me, Tell Me.”

I know there’s a second part to ‘Syndrome’ coming and I have a hunch we may see an edgier concept for the next release. But why after such a long hiatus DSP thought “Tell Me, Tell Me” would work is beyond me. In my opinion, it only lessens Rainbow’s image on the K-pop scene. They had something going for them and now the girls are neither here, nor there. Sure, I loved their cutesy Japanese single “Candy Girls” — but at least that was a catchy song with some cute dance moves. “Tell Me, Tell Me” has nothing special going for it.

This isn’t the first time DSP messed up a comeback. After the stellar “Step,” Kara took a mis-step with “Pandora,” which wasn’t the girl group’s finest. And now, same is the case with Rainbow. I haven’t heard a great Korean single from Rainbow since “Mach,” and I can’t understand why it’s so hard for DSP to get it right.

Rainbow had as much a chance to be the next big K-pop girl group. Their name is synonymous, the girls are pretty, they have a sexy member, a cute member, a funny member, good-at-acting member, and everything else Koreans can get into. From strong vocals to rapping, I see nothing Rainbow lacks as a girl group. All that is lacking is DSP’s management of the group.

If Rainbow continues to flounder, it will all be DSP Media’s fault. I really hope ‘Syndrome – Part 2’ has a stellar single to raise the roof – because it’s what the girls need, badly! Rainbow’s “Gee” should have come by now. So whatever DSP has planned for Rainbow’s next comeback, they better make it fast. Rainbow has wasted enough time out of the limelight, and this comeback isn’t going to help win them many new fans.

My final rating for Rainbow – ‘Syndrome – Part 1’ is:

Rainbow Tell Me Tell Me Jisook kpop — A better album than a weak lead single

Kim Jaejoong – ‘I’ album review: Can this guy be any more amazing?

I’m as straight as straight can be, but even I’m in awe of Jaejoong’s beauty! Yeah, “beauty”. There aren’t many men I can use that word for, but the ex-DBSK, now-JYJ member is surely the ‘prettiest’ guy in Asia!

But as if being super-good looking wasn’t enough, Jaejoong is also an incredibly talented singer, songwriter, producer, actor and even director! Which also makes him quite rich.

Sigh… some guys.

And now, second in line after fellow member Junsu, Kim Jaejoong releases his first solo mini-album, appropriately titled ‘I‘.

Kim Jaejoong Mine MV screencap — All I kept thinking about while watching the MV of “Mine” was “This guy could be in a Final Fantasy movie!”

I had never really listened to DBSK when they were a 5-piece (other than stumbling upon “Triangle” way back on YouTube), as I only discovered K-pop in 2010. So I never realized Jaejoong’s musical talents until JYJ released ‘In Heaven‘ in 2011. The title track was one of the best ballads of that year. Mostly because it was so emotionally sung by Junsu, but knowing Jaejoong wrote it, you knew this guy wasn’t just about good looks.

Jaejoong’s mini-album ‘I‘ comprises of five tracks, and showcases his love for rock music. Which is a refreshing and welcome change from the expected K-pop idol fare. The first track “One Kiss” is an epic power ballad, with soaring violins and Jaejoong even attempting to sing half the song in English. It’s quite a start to the album!

“Mine” – the lead single:

Dark, fast-paced and clearly J-rock inspired, “Mine” didn’t blow me away at first listen, but I blame that on its (audio) mixing. Given how many Japanese friends he has and how much time Jaejoong has spent across the pond, it shouldn’t surprise anyone he took a liking to their brand of rock. It could easily be considered for the opening title music to some anime like ‘Wolf’s Rain‘. My only grudge against the song is that the guitars don’t sound as organic throughout much of the song.

Track 3, “You Fill Me Up” returns to pop for a bit and sounds mighty fine in doing so. One of the best songs on the album, I simply adore Jaejoong’s vocals on this track. The follow-up song “Healing For Myself” was originally featured on the OST of his film ‘Jackal is Coming‘ that came out last year. And-what-a-song! One that starts out really acoustic but then just explodes into a beautiful power ballad by the second chorus. Easily my favourite song among the five tracks. Jaejoong’s wailing vocals really got me on this one. Brilliant song!

The final track on the album, “All Alone” is a mellow piano-tinged ballad that’s quite apt in describing some of Jaejoong’s tweets. For those who don’t follow him, Jaejoong has often tweeted photos and cryptic messages about being all alone in his luxurious home. All the money, fame and good looks — but still seeking the simplest of things in life, like companionship. A bit sober yet befitting end to the album I think.

Despite how good this entire album is, it’s sad that most us will never get to see Jaejoong perform these songs live on television. If there was one K-netizen initiative I would back, it would be asking Cassies to flood the message-boards of every major music show with demands that the PDs allow Jaejoong to perform on their shows.

Even though JYJ has won every major lawsuit against SM and Avex, it f**king sucks Korean TV stations are still scared of allowing them to appear on their music programs. Sucks!

So in conclusion, f**k the Korean broadcast networks and go buy this album! I rate Kim Jaejoong’s ‘I‘ a 4 out of 5. Meaning it’s very good!