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2AM – ‘F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Way of Love’ review: Nothing much to say really

Seriously, this will probably be the shortest review I have ever written for a mini-album comprised of six tracks. Which is something I never anticipated, especially given how much I loved 2AM’s last album, Saint O’ Clock, my 2010 K-pop album of the year and still one of the best Korean pop albums I have in my collection.

2AM Fitzgeralds Way of Love album photo members — That guy second from left is well-known for anything but standing still

Why so little to say about this album? Well, because the entire album sounds… a little boring. The songs aren’t bad, but unlike Saint O’ Clock, the tempo doesn’t sway any higher or lower throughout Way of Love. The first track “You Were Mine” is the slightly uptempo and a good start to the album, but it all goes down low from here on. Starting with track two, the lead single:

“I Wonder If You Hurt Like Me” is what you would expect from a 2AM single. But that’s just my problem with it. It doesn’t sound any better than their last two ballads – “You Wouldn’t Answer My Calls” or “Like Crazy” – and I still listen to those two. This being a 2AM music video, it’s quite melodramatic, with sad faces and of course – crying. They stand still, occasionally sit, all in line, dressed all dapper and sing a sad song. Heck, even the MV is what you’d expect from 2AM!

Again, “I Wonder If You Hurt Like Me” isn’t a bad song. I just don’t think it sounds any better for me to keep listening to it beyond this review. A 3/5 for 2AM’s new single, that’s all it gets from me.

Track no. 3, “Erase All Our Memories” is a smooth R&B jam, no. 4 “One More Second” is a slow ballad, “How To Break Up Well” is an even sadder ballad, with a formulaic beat. The sixth and final track on the mini-album, “I Love You, I Love You” finally wakes you up thanks to its slightly more uptempo, 70s-inspired R&B. It’s one of the better tracks on the album. The reason I’m not individually rating each track is because if I were to, they would only score within the 2 – 3 range, which on my rating scale means the songs are average to good at best. And that’s exactly how I would rate ‘Way of Love‘ as a whole.

Maybe it’s because of the timing of 2AM’s comeback. I’m still in BIGBANG mode, who made an impressive comeback that’s just fantastic baby! So when an album contains rather unoriginal, somber music, I just don’t seem to feel it. I know Saint O’ Clock made me pay attention to 2AM, but I guess the reason why I liked that album was because it was a good collection of ballads and uptempo tracks that still shine. 2AM are in fine form as one of the best vocal groups in K-pop and the member’s vocals are just as good on Way of Love as they have ever been. That said, despite how every song on the mini-album is listenable, I just don’t think I’ll come back to it. I still felt bored listening to this album, despite admitting the songs weren’t that bad.

Before you 2AM worshippers go: “What you know la*! Every song is good okay!”, understand that while the review may sound harsh, that’s just how I felt about ‘Way of Love‘. It sucks, trust me, especially after having waited nearly one-and-half years since 2AM’s last release. The songs are not bad, just not memorable. And after Saint O’ Clock, my expectations were quite high. I could have made some reference to ‘The Great Gatsby‘ author (F. Scott Fitzgerald) to make this review sound interesting – but I don’t read books. So I have nothing more to say really.

2AM I Wonder If You Hurt Like Me MV screencap — Sorry boys

*I’m not saying every hate comment I get will be from a Singaporean

BIGBANG – ‘Alive’ album review: Once again they prove why they are the best

Here we go. It’s the return of one of the biggest names in Korean pop music: BIGBANG. The much anticipated comeback comes after, let’s face it, a pretty bad last year for the 5 member group. But whatever, I’m here to talk about the music, not their scandals. And when it comes to music, you just know Big Bang never disappoints!

Big Bang Alive TOP G-Dragon Daesung Taeyang Seungri k-pop — ‘Alive’ is BIGBANG’s fifth mini-album

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Miss A – ‘Touch’ review: You can’t judge an album by its lead single

Normally there are two conditions on which I decide to write a K-pop review. Either I should be a fan of the artist (SNSD, Rainbow, Jay Park, INFINITE) or the artist comes out with music I really end up liking (Block B, AA). The decision to write a review of Miss A’s new mini album was purely because I gave the album a chance.

I’m not a huge fan of the girl group, but nor do I dislike the girls. Miss A are just one among the many popular groups that I really don’t care much for (like 4Minute, MBLAQ) besides one or two of their songs. But like every new K-pop release, regardless of my past opinions of an artist, I don’t dismiss their new music right away until I listen to a few of the tracks.

It’s a move I didn’t regret with Miss A’s ‘Touch – The 4th Project‘

Here’s a track-by-track review:

1. “Touch” – The title track and lead single:

Written and produced by JYP supremo Park Jin Young, “Touch” at first listen didn’t really win me over. In fact I stopped listening to it after the first chorus. One, it wasn’t a great song on first listen, and secondly, I found the dancing a bit… weird (I only heard the song once the music video was out). But since I decided to write this review, I gave it a couple of more listens and watched the MV in its entirety. It slowly grew on me.

“Touch” has a slightly haunting aura and an infectious hook to it. The vocals don’t ever soar but are well in line with the song’s melody. I still find the dance choreography a bit weird, so it’ll be interesting how the girls interpret it live on stage. Still, my stance hasn’t improved much since my first listen. It’s not that great a song for a lead single. – 3/5

2. “Lips” – Here now is when the album gets a lot better. Unlike “Touch,” this song instantly won me over! Produced by German producer and songwriter FUEGO, the same guy behind Chris Brown’s latest hit “Turn Up the Music,” “Lips” is pure electronic-pop. It’s got a great build up during the chorus, and unlike the current trend of forcing cheap, re-hashed hooks influenced by house music, “Lips” never strays into bad territory. Definitely one of the best tracks on the album! – 4/5

3. “Rock n Rule“- I anticipated rocking guitar sounds, but instead the third track is pure club Euro-pop. An uptempo, and uplifting dance track with a dubstep bridge (I’m honestly bored of dubstep now – everybody’s doing it!). It’s still a good song though, and suits Miss A’s image perfectly. – 4/5

4. “No Mercy” – Hard-hitting drums opens this fierce track influenced by Brit-pop music. It was by this time into listening to the album I knew I just knew I had to write this review. “No Mercy” may not make an ideal single, but it’s still an example of a fine album track. – 3.5/5

5. “Over U” – First thing that popped into my head when this song began? “Run Devil Run” and Britney Spears. Which only meant the production was foreign and surely European. And surely enough, they were. Deepfrost are the Norwegian team responsible for this song, and it’s another good addition to the album. – 3/5

6. “Touch (Newport mix)” – The final track on the album is a R&B remix of the title track, and you know what? I actually prefer this version over the one that got released! In my opinion, this production suits the song’s melody better. Was this how “Touch” was initially intended to sound? Because I’m not kidding when I say it genuinely sounds better this way.

As is the norm in K-pop, just about every idol group releases a first single which involves dancing. I don’t know if JY Park forced “Touch” to be turned into a more upbeat version, so that the choreographers to create a dance for it. I like to believe some of the moves in the dance choreography shows how forced it looks. Regardless, this remix gets another 4/5 from me!

Miss A Touch Jia Min Suzy Fei members korean girl group — A more mature Miss A this time around

JY Park’s productions have been a hit-or-miss for me. As much as I believe 2PM’s “Again & Again” is one of best k-pop songs by a boyband, I also rank “Hands Up” as one of the worst by a top-tier group. JY Park is responsible for pretty much every lead single for an artist coming coming out of the JYP label (even though Miss A are managed by subsidiary AQ Entertainment). At first I assumed releasing “Touch” as the lead single was a bit of a stubborn decision by JY Park when there were better tracks like “Lips” and “Rock n Rule,” but after listening to the album in its entirety, I feel Miss A’s comeback will still be successful. I’m sure they will perform the remix version of “Touch” on music programs and the album should win them a few awards in their promotion cycle.

But the real decision to write this review was so that I could give the other songs on the album the attention they deserve. And yes, the headline is a take on the phrase “You can’t judge a book by its cover“. In an industry where the norm for most K-pop albums are: “one great single, rest album fillers,” ‘Touch – The 4th Project‘ is a rare example of when the album tracks outshine the lead single.

JYP released the best K-pop album of last year (in my opinion) and if Miss A’s ‘Touch’ is any indication, I’m all the more looking forward to 2PM’s comeback this year. JYP has already kicked off 2012 with some good music, I just hope there’s more in the pipeline!

My final rating: 3.5 out of 5 (Pretty Good)