[Album Review] LILAC (5th Studio Album) – IU

The next album review is fitting for the theme of this week – reviews which I should have written earlier. And while all of the albums that I intend of reviewing do fall into this category, I think the two I have selected for this weekend are most appropriate for this themed weekend. First up is IU. The nation’s little sister, as everyone has nicknamed her. The reason why I should have written this album review sooner is simply because of the fact that this is IU we are talking about. Even over a month after the album’s release, LILAC (the album’s title and title of its title track) is still ranking high on the music charts, which is why IU is considered to be a digital queen! We haven’t spoken much about the other tracks on the album yet (aside from pre-release Celebrity and COIN), so let’s look at those tracks in further detail!

1. LILAC (라일락) (Title Track) – Click here to read the full review for LILAC. (10/10)

2. Flu – The main element of attraction of Flu, for me, was the pleasantness that the song exuded. Flu is a pop track with a nice bounce to it. It isn’t really an interesting song, but it does also give off some really cheerful energy despite the lyrics are about liken to being in love as like catching the flu. I like how IU keeps consistent throughout the song. Her delivery method, a mixture of whispering and falsettos, really complimented the instrumentation. Altogether, everything worked together in harmony to be pleasant sounding. (8/10)

3. COIN – Click here to read the full review for COIN. (9/10)

4. Hi Spring Bye (봄 안녕 봄) – Hi Spring Bye is a soothing ballad that gets me swaying along to the music and melody. For those who have been following my blog for a while now, you know I liked my ballads. And while Hi Spring Bye ticks my criteria for a good ballad, I found the slow pace of the song to just hold me back from fully liking the song. It is good nonetheless, but it seems like I am just not feeling this style of ballad this time around. (9/10)

5. Celebrity (Pre-release Track) – Click here to read the full review for Celebrity. (9/10)

6. Troll (돌림노래) (ft. Dean) –Troll has this reggae influence that brings a playful tone to the song. I liked the contrast between IU and Dean. IU brings this high tone to the song, while Dean balances it out with his deeper voice. It makes their harmonies quite nice. But while that is the case, I haven’t actually fallen for the song. I don’t really find much of it as memorable as it could be, nor do I have the drive to really return to it after I have finishing listen to one round of it. (7/10)

7. Empty Cup (빈 컵) – Empty Cup is a mid-tempo song that falls into the ballad genre, but also has a R&B influence. It is a relatively short song, in comparison to the rest of the songs on the album. When I listen to the song, I always get caught off guard when the song wraps up quickly. I find her vocals in Empty Cup to be quite captivating, and so I always find the song to seemingly end prematurely. That is Empty Cup’s only flaw! (9/10)

8. My Sea (아이와 나의 바다) – My Sea is another ballad. But what sets My Sea apart from the rest of the internal competition to become the best song on the album is that the ballad is quite atmospheric. And this is largely thanks to the orchestral instrumentation that builds so epically from the start of the song. Her vocals were amazing and stunning in the song. The choir and IU’s spectacular high note (which you know I would be a sucker for) just blows me away. What more can you ask for? (10/10)

9. Ah Puh (어푸) – Ah Puh brings back up the upbeat vibes from the start of the album to the end of the album. But it has a bit of the twist. And that is twist is that there is an indie pop feel. But I feel the indie pop feel is lost as the song progresses and it develops into a straight forward pop song. But I am not too troubled by that. I really like the lines in the song. It is super catchy and makes for an addictive track. (9.5/10)

10. Epilogue (에필로그) – I am very aware that Epilogue has a music video. But due to time constraints, I am holding a review for the music video for the Missed Review segment in the future. In the meanwhile, here are my thoughts on the album’s final song. This is also another pleasant song to end the album with. I really like the acoustic feel of Epilogue along with the vintage touch with some of the instrumentation and the crackles of the record player. The vintage touch also gives off a warm and golden feel, which is definitely a great note to end on. (8.5/10)