NOTES: While I do still deeply miss Jessica, I'm glad to see that SNSD's music is still fabulous without her. Additionally, this is one promotional cycle in which Tiffany is absolutely SLAYING. She's honestly never been a bias of mine, but she's been popping up on my radar all over the place in this cycle. I love it when promotional cycles end up showcasing members in a way that makes me love the ones I used to be ambivalent about. SM had me worried with Catch Me If You Can (the choreo was fun and I love hearing EDM in pop tracks, but it just wasn't up to SNSD snuff); and even Party wasn't quite up to the standard I was holding out for. Fortunately, the pre-release didn't set the standard for the album as a whole and honestly, this is quite solidly one of my very favorite SNSD full-album releases ever.

Lion Heart - The first time I listened to it was with the video release, and honestly, I wasn't sure what to make of it. Once I warmed up to the retro feel, I found it quite enjoyable. The lighthearted bubbliness of the rhythmic decorations has an undercurrent of energy that makes the dreamy harmonies and the smoothe melody feel bright and engaging. I found the 3-act aspect of the MV interesting, but odd in that the same song was used over and over, even though the tones of each chapter was very different and there are suitable songs to use included in the album. I think SM missed an opportunity there to get viewers hooked on the album's other tracks. I have to say, the Lion Heart Choreo is adorable and I would LOVE and official dance version. I Give it a 7/10: Me Gusta.


You Think - This one I had a knee-jerk reaction towards delight. It throws back to the Boys in just the right ways to make me squeal, but differs substantially enough to make You Think it's own fantastic experience. The glitz and glamour of the glamour shots in contrast to the streetwise slickness of the tunnel shots is GORGEOUS. In the same vein as Lion Heart, the dreaminess of the verses and the chorus is weighted by the energetic rhythmic elements playing just under the vocal tracks, the difference being that in Lion Heart the percussion adds a bubbliness and in You Think it brings a sassy insistence and a snarky push towards drama. SooYoung's rap breaks the smoothe lay of the melody up in a way I find a bit jarring, but that's a rather small complaint and it's the only one I have worth mentioning. HyoYeon's rap follows it up well and allows for the bridge to slide neatly into place behind it. Over all it's an aggressive and energetic track that's dripping with sophisticated sass. I Give it a 9/10: Blissful!

Party - As a pre-release track, it was okay. It felt a bit lackluster to me when it first came out, but over all it's a bubbly bright summertime celebration that has a great slide of casual energy that makes it delightfully appealing for just about any summer setting. It's beautifully spatialized and the harmonies move the melody sweetly along over the relaxed but still engaging bass and percussion lines.
One Afternoon - The first of the slower, softer songs, One Afternoon has a low key energy and a warm, jazzy softness that lets it slide over the ears in a way that's pleasantly casual. There's nothing in it that demands attention or makes your heart pound, but it's a sweet breath of easy listening that serves as a moment of calm on an energetic album.
Show Girls - This track tricks you into thinking it's going to be another clam track to follow One Afternoon, with sweet brassy tones that play well with the warm tones of the vocals. Then it drops into a high energy bustle with sassy swing of the unexpected with a refreshingly unique charm, before sliding back into the brassy cabaret vibe. It flips back and forth with a carefully timed playfulness that gives the track a delightful whirlwind feel and keeps it from feels scattered or cluttered. I didn't like it as much in the Japanese, but in Korean it's good.
Fire Alarm - Another of the softer tracks, but this one has no shortage of sass or aggression despite it's dreaminess and the halo of warmth in the harmonies adds to the undercurrent of energy by pulling the vocal line away from the thrum of the bassline, adding a stretch of tension that contributes significantly to the punch of the coolly engaging vibe.
Talk Talk - Taking off from the softness of Fire Alarm this track slows things down further, but it amps up the tension and creates a demanding aching in the swing of the melody. The way the sound of the rain falling and the sound of the object of the singer's affection are compared is very sweet, being that both are rhythmically powerful, deep, and comforting. It's a sentiment that rings through the track with the slow and smoothe evolution of the rhythmic elements. The sharp and clean movements of the vocal lines add tension in smoothe waves that belies how narrow the vocal range is. Keeping things confined, keeping the sound of the piano acting as bassline right within the vocal range with the deeper bass being kept to undertones and synth-y echoes, and keeping the high whine of the synth below the highest notes of the vocals, makes things feels deliciously calm and close; like the wrap of a blanket around your shoulders in a thunderstorm. Of the slower songs, Talk Talk is easily my favorite.
Green Light - We move from my favorite slow song on the album to my favorite over all song on it. I suppose I have a weakness for SNSD and the words 'beep beep' because the last song they focused on those words remains to this day my absolutely favorite SNSD Japanese release. Green Light is a bouncy press of melodic excellence. The energy and tension is ramped up by the redoubling of the lyrics, each set of two acts as echos that get closer and closer together; and the sets come in a series with each couplet having more syllables than the last, and then sets of two become sets of three, all of which adds energy while keeping the line on a single note (it's due to the fact that there's no tonal change that the rhythmic change is felt so acutely). And then the note following the rapid syllabic redoubling is a swing up to an octave above the chorus, which makes it feel reaching and tense while keeping it smoothe and sweet.
Paradise - In a synthy slowdown, Paradise moves with a relaxed hum of energy that nicely compliments the album's songs in higher gear. Like Fire Alarm it's a smoothe and undemanding track that stands as something easy to listen to but otherwise a bit unremarkable. It's a great low key track and the bridge is absolutely lovely, giving the track a burst of energy it came close to lacking.
Check - Released with Party this track had me worried that the whole alum would be a lower key, more relaxed sort of release. With the context of the high gear tracks around it to settle my concerns, Check is a chill track worthy of attention. It's cool and collected, moving at an unhurried pace that feels quite alluring as it rides the funky beat below.
Sign - This track keeps the funk of Check in play as it amps up the energy and pulls in the synth-riddled vocal harmonies from the rest of the album to add depth to the spatialization. It's an interesting track that's well worth listening to, but it rests on the edge of experimental in a way that doesn't actually push any bounds, but doesn't feel wholly normalized either. I think it's a track that gives a cool aesthetic to the album, but I would guess that it might feel more at home on an f(x) album than an SNSD release.
Bump It - This one is set to finish off the album and it successfully makes sure that Lion Heart wraps up strong. It's another one that seems like it's going to be a slow set, but it pulls in the energy and ties all the aesthetic points of the album together with huge harmonic swells and funky rhythms in both the vocals and the percussive decorations. On it's own it's a solid track, energetic and sassy, but lower key than it could be and cool with a clean brightness. As the final wrap up of this particular album, it's absolutely fantastic. Every single stylistic throw or experiment touched on in the entire album makes an appearance here in a succinct and delightfully connected reprise of the release. It's delightful.

I Give them a 9/10: Blissful!

NOTES: So the MV's being criticized as having copied Rihana's and I can completely see where it's coming from, but at the same time, We Found Love is a terrible song, so I don't mind at all that Trouble Maker took the idea and made it a million times better. It's sweet and sexy and daringly sensual in all the ways that Trouble Maker is meant to be. The draws on the Dark Knight are also quite fabulous. My only comment on the whole of it is that HyunSeung looks way too skinny, like dangerously, scarily, skinny. Hyuna looks skinny too, but not quite to the extent that HyunSeung does... They've both looked better in Lives than in the MVs so, I'm hoping that it was a diet to get into character as half-dead-druggies, because that's what they looked like . . .

Overall, this EP isn't quite what I'd hoped for, but it proves the rule that one great track can make up for several lack-luster ones. The title track is lovely and the final track is absolutely fabulous, and Attention fun. It's not what I expected from Trouble Maker, but I'm not disappointed.



Also, the choreography is fabulous: Sexy, Smoothe, and Straight-up Scandalous in all the right ways.
(not to mention the fact that these two sexy idiots, and really the whole of their ridiculous crew, are just down-right adorable...)

Now definitely doesn't have the same sort of aggressively catchy hook as Trouble Maker, but it doesn't fall too short of the mark. It has a beautifully smoothe melody, though I wouldn't be able to recognize it on shuffle quite as quickly as I can their first title. It moves really well, and over all, I actually like it better than their first. The melodic lines suit their voices fabulously and mix them beautifully; I particularly love how Hyuna holds the lower line for a lot of it, the exact reversal of most co-ed duos. It finishes off with a nice echo as well.

I Give it an 8/10: Fabulous!

Turn Up the Volume, like a lot of the tracks on Chemistry, surprised me. It's very chill, laid back in a way that I was not expecting Trouble Maker to promote. I like the track's sound, it moves nicely over the beat, and the spatialization is interesting (being that only HyunSeung's line had a choral effect layered in and Hyuna's was made to sound incredibly sharp and clear). No real build though, or energy or power; it's still lovely, but it not amazing.
The Girl Who Wants to Play also came as something of a surprise, less so than Turn Up the Volume, but still. HyunSeung's last Trouble Maker solo is leagues above this one. Amurut was easily one of last year's best songs. In comparison, this one is nothing much to get excited about. On it's own, it's rather lovely, a nice chill track with fabulous rhythms and fantastic spatialization. It's really quite lovely, but it just doesn't have the power of Amurut.
    Also, there's something distinctly awkward about having a song on a duo's special unit album be a 'solo' for one of the duo that features the other... I enjoy that Hyuna wrote the lyrics and helped with the composition, but it still felt really weird having her on the 'solo' track with Hyunseung when it could have just been another track listed as a Trouble Maker duet.
Attention is another interesting track, of the duets, it's the one that feels most organically Trouble Maker to me. There's the unapologetic aggression, the confidence to make a target swoon, and of course the sexy-slick sax. As a track it's tremendous fun. There's no real build and it doesn't feel much like it goes anywhere as it progresses, and the lyrics are pretty empty on their best day, but it's a great party track; sassy and sexy and just plain fun.
I Like is easily the best track on the EP. I was quite surprised to see Flowsik featured: as a Special Unit, it feels to me like Trouble Maker's tracks should essentially be just Trouble Maker. Having an outside come in on a Unit group . . . it just feels strange. At the same time, Flowsik and Hyuna are quite the epic pair (honestly the way their voices mesh and mix and meld through the music almost overshadows the Trouble Maker pair). I can feel a lot of Flow's Aziatix background in the track, the under layers of independent energy and vibrancy (It makes me think of Say Yeah, most distinctly, the unapologetic fun of going crazy). I also feel the sexy-smoothe side of Hyuna's Trouble Maker aura coming through strongly in the delightfully melodic sighs that make gorgeous sliding leaps between pitches. It's panned beautifully and has a steady build and a decent drop, so I am quite pleased with it.

I Give them a 7/10: Me Gusta.

NOTES: The Sleep Talking MV was confusing as hell, I had to watch it like six times before I managed to figure out what scenes they were asleep in and what scenes that were sort of awake for... And I'm still not sure exactly how the girl plays into it all (though I'm leaning towards the idea that their whole psychosis thing is an experiment she's running on how to make boys fall madly in love with you...). Anyway, confusing or not, it was really fun to watch and the choreography was fabulous (especially how they were laying on each other as a magical circle of make-shift beds). It had some interesting visuals & also some cool concepts that I'd have liked to see get a bit more fleshed out. But still, I like it.

Sleep Talking is catchy and clever. It's an interesting sound for them. I'm personally not a huge fan of it, but the song is well made and it moves nicely. It sticks pretty closely to the established median of what NU'EST can do, it literally pushes no boundaries at all for them, so I'm not really pleased with it. Aron's little 'rap' in the bridge is pretty superfluous, which is tragic because I love his voice there, but those lines are completely unnecessary and the space could have been utilized better.

I give it a 6/10: Good Job.

Beautiful Ghost is very cool. I like NU'EST and that sort of chill rock sound, it works really well for them. It stretches all of their voices nicely, really pushing them and proving what they can do. I'd LOVE to hear more of this sort of thing from them. The track evolves beautifully, building ever so slightly as the relaxed rock vibe kicks up beat by beat to make the chorus very high-drama and plaintively forceful. The tension drops back down for the first rap, it's keyed up in a nice post-rap vamp/guitar solo, an dropped back into that tight chorus.
Pretty takes a similarly unique stab at things; the synthy instrumentation is more like what I'd expect from NU'EST, but it's very ethereal and formless, letting the vocals give it a rhythmic base where the bassline has an untonal pattern to it that only takes over in the bridge-transitions. Ara's voice suits the style (and compliments the Boys' voices) perfectly.
Fine Girl feels like a good mix of the previous two, stylistically. The vocals are let to lie a little low in the mix, but it's a breathy sort of subdued sound, so it's passable. This one's spatialized pretty well, being that I actually noticed the efforts made to make it feel spatialized. NU'EST has always struggled with spatialization for some reason (which is odd considering their debut track was fabulous panned and situated in figurative space). Over all the playful track is a lovely listen, though it is just a titch bass heavy for the sound they seem to be going for.
Love You More has a very sweet sound. There's a very slight issue with sibilants and air-pops, but my headphones are designed to pick those up. Aside from that the various string elements give this track a very lovely and intimately earnest feel. The track evolves, moves, has a nice balance and a nice little bubble of space, over all it's quite nice.
Please Don't kicked off and within six beats it was my favorite song on the album, that sweet synth singing high above the rest, the strong rhythm and grounding warmth of the vocals, the pleading in the chorus . . . the tension inherent in every aspect. It's so subtle, the energy resting just behind the beat in the verses slides into the vocals of the chorus, and it lifted up over everything until it comes full circle to settle at the back of the listener's awareness. It's an almost playfully distraught sound, the humor coming from overdrawn angst, and some very real pain being a result of that awareness & futility. This on track has probably bumped their score up an entire point.

I give them an 8/10: Fabulous!

Notes:  I love these boys. I really wish they were more popular, because they have a really unique sound in the kpop world, it's a sort of Aegyo-high sound, but keyed towards an apparent aggression and very rap-focus. I like it. They're also hyper-masculine goofballs in their promotions & MVs which is a unique image in kpop. Usually, it's that the members just goofy BTS & hyper-masc onscreen, BIGSTAR has managed to seamlessly merge the two styles into one. And then, about this album on it's own, I was surprised by it. There's a ton of new sounds for BIGSTAR, which shows great style / concept flexibility, and most of the tracks are pretty well done, but I just didn't like most of them all that much. Run & Run is easily my favorite, with Shake It in second place and Hooligan in 3rd.

Run & Run is a fantastic track. They've got a very high synthy-ness that has BraveSound's signature sound laced inside of it, but is still completely unique. The song is well constructed, balanced and spatialized, making fantastic use of harmonics and ear-attention to draw the feel of the song about the listener without needing to make sweeping gestures of music, all of their songs really are. This song in particular mainly uses the lower harmonics and the high sound effects to spatialize. The vocals are remarkably crisp, held inside a bubble of sound that's not hit with interference by any of the other elements, which is unfortunately rare for kpop. A lot of kpop tracks have 'fuzzy' vocals, that sound rough because other parts of the song's sound overlap destructively with them.

I give it a 8/10: Fabulous!

Be Brave works well as an Intro because it's dramatically different than anything else they've released. Of course, we all know there's a few interesting lines in it. I'm cool with the porn star reference, sexuality is something that Korea, and the rest of the world for that matter, really need to develop a healthier relationship with . . .The notion two lines later does bother me however, the 'kill the girl' notion. I'm pretty sure that he means kill as in make fall in love, but still, not my favorite notion. *shrugs* Other than that, I'm okay with the arrogance vibe. Arrogance is fine in my book as long as there's respect for the fans. Musically speaking, it's a unique sound for them, much deeper, with much more typical rap-star sort of vocals and has a much more straight-up aggressive style than the songs BIGSTAR has released previously. I like the genre expansion for them, especially with the element of the electric guitar, but I would worry that they might fall into proto-typically dull American rap. The song's form is pretty simple, but there's a few really great rhythmic surprises, and some really strong style experiments. I like this song, & I'd like to hear more like it from them in the future, but I'd be sad to see it become their usual.
Hooligan has a great vibe. Lyrically, it's a nice F the world, I'm awesome sort of thing. Agian, it's not at all like anything they've released before. It's another genre-expansion, though this one is a bit closer to their norm, with even the rap sections being focused more on the upper range than not. The chorus is catchy and the verses demonstrate fabulous rap-skills, but over all the song doesn't seem to take a listener anywhere but around in small circles. Still, I like hearing this from BIGSTAR, there are a few moments of really good harmonic expansion, and some neat, sidestepping movements of rhythm & melody. It's not my favorite song from BIGSTAR, but it's still a pretty good track and it would be nice to have them give this genre another shot in the future.
Shake It is another completely unique song, but this one has been done fabulously. It has an utterly unique sound, but not at the expense of style or sophistication. The sections are all very specifically defined and evolve as the song progresses, there's elements that are a bit too repetitive, but the lyrics are made use of thematically. It's well spatialized and the harmonic elements are well placed for emphasis. It's much closer to their usual style than the first two non-title-tracks, and the crisp vocals sit nicely in the bubble that exists most of their songs.
Poisonous Girl has a similar feel to what you would get by squishing the previous three non-title-tracks together to make a single song. Lyrically it's fine, if a bit repetitive, and melodically it has interest and harmonic counterpoint, and there's some good rhythmic transitions... It's decently balanced and spatialized. I particularly don't like the ultra-deep voice, but honestly I just don't really like this song as a whole. Technically speaking it's a solid track, but I'm really not feelin' much love for it. I don't have any specific reason, I mean it has a neat flair to it and it's well executed; and with the exception of the dying-frog voice, everything in the song is necessary and used well. I just don't like it.

Over all i give them a 6/10: Good Job.

Notes: I wasn't going to review this album, because I was really late in getting around to listen to it, but it's honestly too great to ignore. It's musically the strongest release f(x) has ever put out and it's the best album SM has released so far this year.

The RumPumPumPum MV was meh. With only a few cool shots and little to separate it from the thick of kpop EDM, RumPumx3 was hanging on the coat-tails of Electric Shock's success. It should NOT have been the track to win the MV, the album has so many better choices that it's really quite tragic... Can I get a re-do, please?

Scoring Notes: technically speaking the average of the 2 scores is 8.75, but I gave them a bonus .25 for the fact that this is an incredible album period, but for f(x) it's entirely unheard of and should be duly rewarded. Not to mention, it is a tremendous step in the right direction for both f(x) & for SM as a whole.

RumPumPumPum is a decent song, it really is, but in the face of all the other songs on the album, it's an incredibly weak title track. Certainly it has a unique sound and it's very well spatialized, but it feels strikingly similar to past f(x) releases, had they been executed with half the care this was. The production values in this are far higher than most of f(x)'s past promotional tracks. Their voices are utilized in ways that actually work for their voices, not pushed or pinched into what SM wants. Rather, what the girls have to offer is taken and manipulated from there. It's catchy and fun, and really a good song for them to promote with, my only really issue with it is that most of the rest of the album is better.

I give it an 8/10: Fabulous!

Shadow is that artsy track for the teaser and it's lovely. Like RumPumx3 it has obviously high production values, the girls voices are used rather than force-molded, and it has a unique sound. It's not my favorite, personally the style is just not one I like, but it moves very well, the melody evolves, the light harmonies are all beautifully additive, the warm under-fill is supportive and interesting. All in all a well done track.
Pretty Girl is fantastically aggressive, and it still makes good use of the girls' voices, which are on the light and airy side of things. The harmonic support for the chorus gives a good feel of strength and the historically wonderful anthem-pulse of 'boom-boom-clap' is thrown in very well, to push the rebel / celebration idea.
Kick is another aggressive song. It fits their traditional style a bit more than the rest of the tracks, merging aspects of their recent synth-heavy EDM with LaChaTa's strong rhythms and vocal push, the instrumental sections get a bit repetitive, but not quite enough to be actively irritating and the pre-chorus sections are just beautiful. Very well produced and spatialized.
Signal has a unique sound in a fun retro throw. Again, well produced and beautifully spatialized. The harmonies are smoothe and lovely, the melody floats. Melodically it doesn't do too much for me, but it's well balanced,and the members switch in and out with graceful jumps and the chorus . . . gorgeous.
Step brims with tension, right from the beginning it puts a listener on edge. It has a unique, artsy flavor and mixes the light and smoothe melodic vocals with rhythmic sound effects and the solid feel of Amber's raps well. The harmonic evolution through the verses is fantastic. Lyrically it's not the most interesting, but it's very fun. The bridge is breathy and breath-taking in all the right ways, and the transition back is beautifully done.
Goodbye Summer was not what I expected at all (not least of all because I didn't notice there was a male guest featured before I hit play. . .). It's a more than solid song: harmonically & rhythmically strong; melodically, it moves pretty well, and the call-response is very nice. The bridge is great, showing off obvious vocal talent.
Airplane washes over the listener with a beautiful wash of building tension and beautiful melody. It's absolutely gorgeous in how it moves. The light and airy pre-chorus vamps into the EDM drop well. I personally an not a fan of the first half of the chorus, but I can see how it really does work, and it blends into the the second half very well. The synth pattern in the chorus is very familiar, like achingly familiar. I can't remember what it from, but I've definitely heard that pattern before, which is another reason I'm not simply melting over this song. It's so well done that were it not for my gnawing 'where have I heard this?' feeling, I'd be a puddle of goo. I think it's from an IAMMEDIC song... maybe Perfect? or maybe One? NOPE, WAIT IVE GOT IT!! It's Spectrum. It's the chorus from Spectrum, which makes sense, since SM bought the licensing from Zedd last summer and can't be bothered to write new music when they could recycle.
Toy really should have been the title track. Structurally, it seems all over the place, at least at first glance, but each section is logically strung together, the first verse push a certain sort of tension and the chorus pushes an entirely separate sort, both are then brought together for the second verse a light melodic rap which is just spectacular, and the chorus comes back to push the high melody feel, broken elegantly into my Amber and an EDM break that utilized synth strings to build an edgy, orchestral sophistication of the candy-pop melody the synths take in the next verse, which has bounced back to a rhythmic focus to finish out just how it started. It's a gorgeously cyclical journey of musical progression. And as for an MV . . . oh it could have been beautiful, halfway between Electric Shock and (SNSD's) Gee with a throw to (2NE1's) I Don't Care . . . there could have been rag-doll choreography and over-done make-up and masks and mannequins and magical reversals and time-freezes and maybe even a murder (or at least curses and evil magical trickery bits)!! Oh, it really could have been incredible.
No More is another retro throw, this one even further back. Melodically it's absolutely lovely; and harmonically, it's even better. It's arranged to let their voices set neatly in the middle of the mix, which is tricky with voices like theirs. The song doesn't really go anywhere, the bridge is more like a landing on a staircase or a random streetcorner mid-journey than anything else, and it circles back around without any decisive evolution, but it's really lovely to listen to. The melodic change at the end almost alludes to a destination, but it doesn't settle enough to make it a solid idea.
Still, great track, fantastically fun to listen to.
Snapshot is yet another unique track, lounge-y and still solidly a dance track with just a bit of jazz and blues. It has a fantastic attitude and great aggression. The chorus is the weakest link and it's still strong enough to get me grooving. Technically speaking, it's on the weaker side of things, especially on this album, but it's one that I just happen to really like.
Ending Page is a great power ballad sort of song. It has clear roots in the success of Beautiful Stranger, with a very similar melodic and rhythmic base, but the chorus lets the voices stretch and soar in a way that Beautiful Stranger can't touch. Harmonically, it's gorgeous, though it repeats through the song rather than develops. The acoustic touches are well done differentiating it further from Beautiful Stranger while linking it up with the rest of this album (namely Goodbye Summer). It's a great track to end with and it's a fabulous thematic finish to the album.

I give them an easy 9.5/10: BLISSFUL!

Notes: This release was a cool genre expansion for them, but I thought it felt a bit unbalanced to me, JunHyung had a LOT of lines, not that I really have problem with it. I would love to hear Hyunseung rap though, like really rap, and Yoseob too possibly with bouncing call & response lines to help them keep rhythm with JunHyung like YooChun & JaeJoong had in Been so Long...

Top Track Notes: I like it best when it's hard to choose. I picked two this time because Intro's only a minute and a half so I'm calling it a partial song. The next on my list is easily How to Love and then I'm Sorry. Over all, a great release.

Shadow is a solid track. There's an impressive use of harmony, elegant counterpoint. The melody sits high in the listener's awareness but the fill supports it well and the gritty beat keeps everything grounded. Rhythmically it slides along with a sort of smoothe regularity that's broken up by decorations that compound and lead the song to develop well. It's fluid and incredibly catchy, as expected from these fabulous guys. Haunting and beautiful and yet still it's still just a fun track to have playing at a party.

I give it an 8/10: Fabulous!

Intro has a sweet multi-dimensional beat. It's beautifully spatialized and the chant-vocals contrast nicely with the rap. The rhythms develop energetically, and the dedication is just lovely. Bad ass Gregorian monks meet SPN & Buffy at Boys in the Hood. I feel like a cherished little princess and a kick ass evil sorceress / demon slayer at the same time.
How to Love is soft and sweet. I like the pseudo raps Yoseob and DooJoon had with JunHyung double-tracked for support and actually I just love the double-tracked-other-voices in general. Sometimes it's support (as in the raps) and others it's for harmonic interest and it really works well. The oohs in the bridge slows it all down without putting the breaks on the melody. It all just flows together in a smoothe & polished track.
Be Alright starts off very refreshingly. It then slides right into the synth-heavy R&B Beast does oh so well. Again, the double-tracking and the harmonic decorations are layered in fantastically. It makes the singer-transitions seamless. Lyrically this one doesn't evolve as well as the others, but it's catchy as hell and you can sing along by the second chorus.
I'm Sorry was not my favorite as a single. I think mainly it just wasn't what I was expecting. I took a while to warm up to Beautiful Night when that came out of the blue too, and that's one of my favorite songs from last year. This one has already started to grow on me. It feels very summertime chill, late night poolside in a fancy resort with a broken heart and a sweet cabana boy willing to open up some liquid courage, after hours and free of charge (I'm aware that it has next to nothing to do with the lyrics, but I'm a writer and that is the fic I would put to this). Track wise it's not exceptional, but it is constructed well and it has significant harmonic interest, & like all Beast songs worth talking about (which is quite frankly almost all of them), it has a great sense of space and energy.
Will You Be Alright  kept up the cabana boy idea in my head. Maybe I just really need a vacation, preferably with Beast on a beach in the middle of nowhere, but that's really what is sounds like to me. A little country-western twang was thrown in under the main melody too, some of the guitar decorations are very country. The track isn't incredible, but it's nice relaxing music that is melodically interesting enough to really listen to. I would not be surprised to hear it in a drama OST.
You're Bad initially reminded me of an acoustic-rock Fiction, but that only lasted a few seconds. The stretch in the chorus contracts nicely into the second verse and the rap bounces in with cool flair and out with the same smoothe swag. The bridge feels like it slows down, using the same trick from How to Love but the drums here bring up the energy before it settles.
Encore wraps it all up with spark and sass. It's great fun and energetic, the high synths bounce through it and the mid-line vocals just float. The lower lines fill it out and mesh harmonically with the high trills and the bass is just fabulous. The one thing is . . . someone should have told them that Encore is a French word and instead of pronouncing it 'An-core' it's 'On-core'. Usually the Engrish doesn't bother me, but this one kinda does for some reason. *shrugs*

I give them a 9/10: Blissful!

NOTES:  I've been holding off with reviewing the MV because I'm confused about the "ver. B" aspect. I'm hoping for a truly epic "ver. A" to come out and blow the one we currently have out of the water. "ver. B" is okay, they look great, but when I heard they were using a Hollywood crew . . . I was hoping for more.

Destiny's intro is too long. Well, it sounds almost exactly like my alarm clock so I think any of that saw tooth wave bombardment is too much. The song has it mixed well, so it's not as irritating (it was way too high in the mix on the MV, so I was worried). Aside from that, I love the verses, they build tension and let the chorus just fall over you. Also, each verse is delineated in some way, the fill is different, the feel is different, it's very subtle but very good. The raps are all unique enough to feel individually valuable. The chorus is catchy and fun, a nice smoothe slide of sound. It's not my favorite Infinite track of all time, but it definitely lives up to my high standards for them.

I give it an 8/10: FABULOUS!

Inception is sweet and smoothe. The harsh synths in contrast with the light and bright piano tones with the sweet vocals set nicely in the middle rolls over the ears beautifully. The melody moves along the harmonies are well integrated. Over all a good track. I didn't feel special spark in it, but it's a really nicely done track.
Going to You has a fantastic undercurrent of energy that just keeps building and building. It's wonderful and ties thematically to the lyrics in the best way. The chorus manages to release enough tension to keep it bearable, to give the listener room to breathe, but also keeps pushing the tension up ever so slightly. The bridge is a nice plateau and the drop afterwords is breath-taking, and made especially so by the sfx of heavy breathing. The counterpoint is elegant, particularly in the places it's left out of. The ending is beautiful, a pause, an affirming echo, a quiet fade . . . and it does it all with only the slightest bit of reverb.
Mom has a lovely melody. You almost never hear idol groups make a piano-voice duet ballad. The distinct lack of a beat in the first two minutes make it all the more remarkable. The sweetness and sincerity is truly wonderful. It's beautiful. Live, it must be absolutely amazing. The fill comes in mainly to give the song scope and creates this lovely feeling of space and earnestness. It pitch supports the weaker singers,  delineates the sections, it generates build, it's absence makes the strong singers shine and pulls the listener into a cozy embrace. Beautifully done.

I give them an 8/10: FABULOUS.

NOTES: I wasn't a big fan of the MV, but I did greatly enjoy the idea behind it and it suits the expansion of A-Jax's image. I think DSP did well with this one. DSP isn't the most famous of companies, but they've regularly stood even with SM as more than adequate rivals. I LOVE the ballads on this release so I hope to hear some more of them in the future!

(TopTrack Notes: I had trouble deciding this one. Technically speaking, ComeBack is the best song, so that is why it's the one I ended up choosing. The one I Like the best is Fantasy. And then lyrically, Thank Ya is the best and it's a close follow up to ComeBack technically speaking. So yes, there was much trouble in defining the TopTrack. ^_~

Insane stands up as a solid comeback track. It's not spectacular, but it plays around with rhythm very nicely and the melody moves over ever-changing beat with a pleasantly smoothe stride. The harmonies lift it up and press it forward. Lyrically it's a bit boring, and the whole of the chorus is painfully simplistic, but that does make it easier to sing along with.

I give it 7/10: Me Gusta.

Don't Break My Heart makes for an interesting intro. It starts the release off on the same rough and tumble vibe as their last release, which is good, adding in the smoothe vocals they got to show off then too. The high synth adds great energy and doesn't interfere with the vocals, it also messes nicely with the rhythm. I thought the mix is a little bass-light, not enough sub-bass resonance for the drama they wanted to convey. It is also structured to be pretty repetitive and the lyrical evolution is next to zero. The melodic movement is restricted, but there are some good elements of counterpoint.
Come Back is proof that you can never go wrong with snaps. The synth-vocal counterpoint in the intro is GREAT, and continues to be throughout the song. The pitch-bend in the bass is fabulous, especially with how it pushes the vocals around. Between the bass and that swooping high synth, you can really feel the push-and-pull of the song's meaning as it bleeds into the vocals. The song moves beautifully through the vocal parts and the raps and each section is delineated with an elegant subtlety that I adore. The basline is incredibly simplistic, but it really works here.
Fantasy is great fun. Quirky and filled with great energy and use of spatialization. It felt a titch bass-light, but at the same time I could tell that any more bass would have created vocal interference and THAT is one of my biggest pet-peeves, so I approve on shorting the bass. There's enough fill in there to keep the feeling of space alive. The melody is catchy and moves pretty well, the sections are well defined.
Thank Ya is a fantastic ballad, perfect for A-Jax. It's strong and rough enough around the edges to suit A-Jax's image beautifully. I like the vocal croaking-thing (I know there's a real word for it, but it's early and I'm still sleepy), it manages to tie the rough side of the image to the smoothe and sweet vocals. The melody has great movement and evolves well as it progresses. Lyrically, I think this is the best in the album, because it takes the time to slow down and explain, and to let the meaning develop as the song progresses.

I give them an 8/10: FABULOUS!

Give It To Me is a lovely track. It's smoothe and smoldering and yet excitingly intense with the high-energy piano and strings. The pattern of the bass is refreshing too, after a summer of dance-tracks with bass-on-every-beat-and-only-the-beat. The instrumentation is well spatialized and balanced with the vocals. It's also terribly catchy and the performance of the voices is beautiful. It's a track with a decent shape, but the shape isn't structured to hold much more than attention. As a flashy promo track it's perfect, but it's not the best for listening to independently. And yet there's too much complexity and detail for it to be relegated to BGM. It would make for GREAT workout music.

I give it a 7/10: Me Gusta!

Miss Sistar is bubbly and bright, bringing in the RnB style of smoothness that carries through the concept. The English is fun and the deep voice is great against the girls' sopranos. It's a great and energetic intro.
The Way You Make Me Melt is very relaxed. Geeks' appearance is lovely. It suits the song and the girls' voices very well. The song has a simple structure but not a boring one and it's well balanced. The mix is a bit bass heavy, and as someone addicted to the lower freq levels . . . when I think the bass needs to be turned down it NEEDS to be turned down. It's fabulous music for just chillen in the summer sun.
Bad Boy has a lovely bright toned melody that's fantastically catchy. The song moves very well and the rhythms are wonderfully intricate. The vocals are are all strong and well complimented by the instrumentation.
Summer Time is another bright track, filled with fantastic energy. It's great summer-party music. The song's fun, and catchy, and well balanced, it even moves well, but it lacks a certain spark for me.I can't specify a reason I don't love this track, but I don't. It's a great track and I really like, but I just don't love it.
A Week makes me very happy. It's a nice relaxed track with this subdued energy. It moves well and I really like the rap/soprano interpay in the bridge. The harmonica is a nice touch as well.
Crying makes for a nice ballad, particularly in compliment to Give It To Me. It has a vague sad-show-girl vibe, and good build. The volume increases and the pitch raises and the fill becomes fuller in a very elegant raising of tension.
Hey You has a great Euro-dance/Anthem feel. The intro and the first verse has the vocals mixed a little oddly, they sit very high in the mix. Once it gets into the 1st chorus everything's fine. The chorus is lovely and it contrasts well with the rap verses. The bridge is fun, but I feel like they could have made it a bit more dramatic by cutting more of the instrumentation. I still like it.
If You Want stands as another direct compliment to Give It To Me. It's more lounge-singer and the high synths are a fabulous balance to the more sultry vocals. The piano and the bass lend a great live-venue vibe, and the synths draw in an element of whimsy. The bridge is surprisingly well suited to it's place. All in all, a good track.
Up and Down is breathy and sweet. The bass gets a bit muddled and really feels unnecessary for the most part, annoying background buzz. Other than that the song moves well and is quite fun.

I give them a 6/10: Good Job!

Notes: I was kind of disappointed in the MV. I was hoping for something more suit-porn related. Sure I know they were going for gangster, but you don't have to be a street thug to be a gangster. I was hopping for something like Mob Boss, top dog in high fashion with the tats of earlier days... They gave us a taste of it with the little bursts of story, but not enough.

Overall, the album is great, easily marketable to fan both inside and outside Korea, and it proves that Henry does have what it takes to go solo. I'll forever think of him as part of Super Junior, but still, he can go far on his own.

Also, I think this is one of SM's best releases this year so far. I'm not sure if I'm happy about that, or sad that it's taken them so long to gear up for 2013.

Trap started out beautifully. Right from the get-go, I was happy with it. The classical instrumentation and the street-wise beat go fabulously together. It's a pretty low-key track it doesn't build tension through pacing, but rather through raising the pitch as the song progresses. I like the bridge very much; it's a nice classical overlay that still feels very street-stuck. I even like Taemin and Kyuhyun's brief appearances, their voices wrok very well with Henry's I very much approve of it. I would have liked it better if the MV had told a more complex story. It's a great story telling song. The MV's story was a very basic love-lost thing. I was hoping for something like I Remember (Bang YongGuk & Yang Yoseb).

Ah well, I give it a 6/10: Good Job.

1-4-3 has a nice bounce to it. The build up is also really well done, the melodic line is balanced and cleanly shaped.The song itself is also really cute. 1-4-3 as the number of letters in I-LOVE-YOU and then 4-8-6 as the strokes in 사랑해. It's a good lesson in Korean slang, and an adorable ode to a love with an outsider which definitely appeals to non-Korean fans (like moi). Overall it's a nice upbeat song that isn't upbeat simply because it's fast. I like it.
My Everything is a nice chill, almost campfire sounding song. I love the relaxed vibe of the guitar in contrast to the beat. It builds nicely and balances all the parts, the chorus doesn't explode but instead washes nicely over the listener, especially with the violins and the piano in the background. The English is an interesting add, I've got no complaints with it. All of the transitions have a nice lean-in pick-up of at least two beats and still the transitions are dramatic enough to create solid movement. The bridge is lovely and amps up the tension while taking away instrumentation and distraction (something too rarely done these days). The ending comes up suddenly but in a way that leaves you nicely breathless rather than lost. It's a good solid track.
Ready 2 Love starts with subdued tension that continues to build throughout the piece. It's well spatialized and really makes a listener move. Again it's a low-ish key song, not really all that fast, I'm guessing around 120 bpm, but it feels like it's going way faster than that, which give it this wonderfully dizzying feel of tension and mental release when tied to Henry's high-line vocals. Very nicely done, and again the ending comes up quick but not in a bad way.
Holiday screams vacation in every way most delightfully. It's very fun and light, even with the heavy beat. It's loose and freeing, a great summertime track. The claps and the rapid, loose-toned vocals give it a very organic feel. It speeds up slightly in the choruses and, uniquely, it makes the listener very aware of that fact with short vamps just beforehand. The double-bridge sort of thing is very nice, and quite unique. And the song calls to what everyone is thinking about, their stresses and how they need to just get away. It's a good track and very easy to relate to.
I Would shows off Henry's piano and violin skills beautifully, both playing and composition. It also brings out the unique smokiness  of his voice, it's not quite rough, but it's on the tight and definitely not the typical solo-ballad-singer voice. It is very nice to listen to though. The English is a nice touch too, this whole album has been very cleverly geared towards international fans.This song is well structured and well balanced, and just nice to listen to.

Overall, I give these tracks an 8/10: Fabulous!