Album Reviews – Page 47

[Album Review] Feel’eM (10th Mini Album) – BTOB

March 11, 2017Posted in Album Reviews, KPOPTagged BTOBLeave a comment

A few days ago, I posted my personal review for BTOB’s newest title track, Movie. I also mentioned in the review that I had plans to do an album review for their 10th mini album. And I am trying extremely hard to keep my promises. But needlessly to say, here I am with the album review!

Image result for BTOB someday — Feel’eM (1oth Mini Album) Cover

1..Just Say It (말만 해) – The mini starts off with a jazzy number. It actually sounds quite good. I know this may be only me, but it sounds similar to their title track. The only difference is that Just Say It sounds better. Everything fitted perfectly into the song. From the easily transformed vocals to the (harder to fit in) rap sequences. You really do not expect raps sequences to fit in with a jazz number, but here it works. The vocals are superb, especially those higher notes sung during the chorus. While there was a more defined and ‘louder’ beat in the title track, everything about the instrumental in this song is perfect. The snaps to the guitar dominated instrumental, everything felt right. (9/10)

2. Movie (Title Track) – click here to see the full review for BTOB’s title track (6.5/10)

3. About Time – The ballad track sounded good. The sudden silence acted like a drop, before launching back into the chorus. It should have worked, but I felt it was an unnecessary feature of the song. Once again, the raps sequences are quite nice. The vocals are held back to fit the nature of the song. And while it does compliment the song, it makes the song feel extremely weak sounding. (6/10)

4. Rock N Hiphop (빨리 뛰어) – The song seems like your standard B-side track. It doesn’t sound like a track that would stand out but still fits in with the rest of the album, hence it is included in the tracklist. Listening to the song, I wasn’t that fond of it. The vocals and raps sounded standard. It wasn’t until the end of the track did I start to take notice but by then, I thought it was a little too late. Given the title, I thought this would be a more upbeat and funky track but sadly it wasn’t. (5/10)

5. Someday (Pre-release Track) – The mini album ends with probably the strongest song on the entire release. It is a pity that there is no music video because I would have jumped at the chance to review the song. While it is a slower ballad track, everything (vocals and raps) sounded quite nice. But I feel like the vocals stole the show here. The instrumental was traditional in the sense that is how most slow ballads end up sounding like, but it gave the song a much grander feel. Everything complimented each other and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the track on repeat. (9/10)

Overall Album Rating – 7/10

[Album Review] My Voice (1st Solo Album) – Taeyeon (SNSD)

March 4, 2017March 4, 2017Posted in Album Reviews, KPOPTagged SNSD, Taeyeon (SNSD)Leave a comment

I promised last night and I have delivered! This is my second album review to date. This is also Taeyeon’s first solo full album, with a total of 12 songs. I have reviewed 2 of songs from the album and have linked them in the post below. I am just going to let you know that a lot of the focus will be in the vocal work because they just blow you away in every song. While the gaps between album reviews seem to be quite large, I am hoping that I will be push through next month with 4 different album reviews. I am still open to making changes to the layout of these album reviews, so feel free to leave any feedback in the comments. On we go!

1. Fine (title track) – check out my review for the title track (10/10)

2. Cover Up – Compared to the title track, this song is much more upbeat. Actually, this song would be perfect at any of my friend’s parties this year because this is an example of the song that we would jam to (and they don’t even listen to KPOP). It’s really catchy and Taeyeon shines brightly with the more electronic based instrumental. (9/10)

3. Feel So Fine – It may not be the best song out of the bunch but it is one damn good track. Her vocals just take this song to a whole new level. The track does sound a little generic and doesn’t showcase any new sounds. But it sounds a lot like some of her tracks with but a more heavy instrumental and more bass. (7/10)

4. I Got Love (pre-release track) – check out my review for the pre-release track (10/10)

5. I’m Okay – The song is a very jazzy and soulful number (at least to me). But what stands out about this song is the chorus. The chorus is literally perfection to me. It’s melody and rhythm is amazing. The track is very consistent (which here is a good thing) from start to end. I love the instrumental bridge of the song and her vocals are wonderful here. (9/10)

6. Time Lapse – Probably one of the best songs on the list, apart from the title and pre-release track. It doesn’t pack a punch directly through an explosion of the instrumental or her vocals. The track is kept very neutral and that is what makes it so great. Instead, its impact was after the song finished playing. I literally took a few moments to reflect on the blessing that just graced my ears. That exponential sounding high note at the end was spectacular, which put the cherry on top for me. (10/10)

7. Sweet Love – This particular song had its moments for me. The verses felt bland and I didn’t pay attention to it. But once again, the chorus caught my attention. The way she went higher and higher in the chorus made it sound amazing. Like the title of the song, the instrumental did have a sweet feel to it. The verses did leave me feeling disappointed, though. (7/10)

8. When I Was Young – Probably there is a law out there in South Korea that specifies all albums must contain at least one ballad-like song. In this album, this is the ballad-like track. While it does sound good, it doesn’t really do it for me. Taeyeon has amazing vocals and this is the one track of just a few where her vocals felt underwhelming and bland. The chorus of the song was a little better but it didn’t amaze me as much as the other tracks. (6/10)

9. Lonely Night – I am a little on the fence for the song. I love the instrumental. It sounds like a song that you would listen to when during the night while looking at the stars. The instrumental is very easy going and has a nice jazz inspired feel. The vocals just made the song fall a little flat. It doesn’t utilise her powerful vocals, which I get. We can’t have her blowing us away in every song. But here, it made this track feel boring. (5/10)

10. Love in Colour – Another ballad on the tracklist. This is a perfect track that holds her vocals back. There are no impressive ad-libs or high notes that blow us away. But her vocals deliver the song quite nicely and the balance between instrumental and vocals was ideal. You can hear the emotions sprinkled throughout the song through her voice. (8/10)

11. Fire – Fire launches us back to her powerful vocals. The song delves into the RnB genre, something that I have yet to hear on this album. I love her launch into the choruses here. It was not as impressive as her other launches in the choruses, but it still sounds amazing. (7/10)

12. Eraser – Taeyeon ends the album with a head banger. It was unexpected but I am in love with this song. I started nodding along to the song but as soon as the chorus hits, the instrumental and her vocals are just head banging worthiness. She also raps a little bit the song but it masked by a lot of autotune, so I couldn’t really make out any words (sounded like a blur). And I had to backtrack for a moment because I thought someone else rapped and featured in the song, but nope, it was the queen herself! (9/10)

Overall Album Rating – 8/10

So what songs do you like from Taeyeon’s latest release? Comment below!

[Album Review] Rookie (4th Mini Album) – Red Velvet

February 2, 2017Posted in Album Reviews, KPOPTagged Red Velvet1 Comment

Welcome to the first ever album review. I asked many of you to complete a survey at the end of 2016. Guess what was most voted for! Album Reviews! Honestly, I wanted to do the first album review for another group, who releases their newest album later this month. But after listening to Red Velvet’s latest album, I couldn’t pass the chance of reviewing it!

Rookie (title track) – check out the review published for the song yesterday. (6/10)

Little Little – The track is a really nice and slow RnB track. The track shows off the group’s vocals quite nicely, with that being the main point of the whole song. From the member’s individual parts to their amazing harmony during the chorus, the girls do stand out with this song. The entire song has a nice rhythm that is easy to the ears and is a nice track to listen to when you want to relax. (10/10)

Happily Ever After – I think this track could have been the title track. It has that fun and vibrant sound that I liked with Red Velvet’s past title tracks. It suits the group a lot. I love the wacky sounds here, from the use of xylophones to the “beep beep” sound that your car makes when you lock it. Once again, their vocals are great here. I just feel the chorus could have been a little catchier and less traditional. It would have made the track wackier, suiting the girls even more. (8/10)

Talk To Me – While I don’t think this track would have been successful if it was the title track, I would love to see a performance of this song. The instrumental sounds very interesting and promising for a good choreography routine. While Little Little was slow and Rookie/Happily Ever After was more colourful in terms of sound, Talk To Me is a mixture of both. It is a lot slower, but there are sounds that make it colourful, as well. (9/10)

Body Talk – Hands down everyone because this has to be the best track on the whole mini album. It blew me away when I first heard the song. It may be slow, but it packs a punch, especially when you reach the chorus (especially the last one). The song has a more serious tone than any other track on the album. While it is a lot different, this track does remind me a lot of Heartbreak Hotel by Tiffany from SNSD (ft. SanE). (10/10)

Last Love – This track is actually not by Red Velvet but Wendy’s solo. It’s a ballad and it is honestly a nice way to finish off the album. It sounds very nice, with some people agreeing that this could possibly be in a Disney movie. And I agree with that comment. She has a very nice voice. The song makes you sway along with it. What more do you want from a ballad? (9/10)

Overall Rating of Album – 8.5/10