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Welcome back to Earcandy Express! Just press play and enjoy all the music reviews!
The ballad/ dance Queen is back!
Lost Star starts off the album with a simple guitar rift followed by a somber sounding Ji Young. After a few measures, the song picks up slightly with drums, but continues in the mellow, jazz sound. 보통 (As Usual), the lead track, follows with Ji Young’s raspy singing style laced with heartbreaking lyrics. The song is gorgeous and she has so much emotion in this song, but personally when I think of ballads, I’m not usually think of the spring time and honestly I get tired of hearing ballads so much; it would be nice for her to mix it up a bit more. How ironic, ëˆˆì€ ì™œ ê°ëŠ” ê±´ë° Â (Why Close Your Eyes?), a dance track comes right after. The beat is electronic and very “clubâ€, but the verses are pretty lackluster compared to the powerful notes she’s hitting in the chorus. Following is another dance song, Bad Girl. I really like the use of auto-tune in this song; it’s used very sparingly on Ji Young’s voice, but it sounds great in the chorus: transform into a bad girl.
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After two dance tracks that have you all in high spirits, it’s time to slow things down with ì•„ì´ìº”ë“œë§í¬ (I Can Drink) , another ballad about heartbreak. I have nothing really to say about this song; it’s beautiful but as I said earlier, I like more variety from her. ì•„ë¬´ê²ƒë„ ì•„ë‹Œ 듯 (Nothing) is another slow song, about – what else- heartbreak. I absolutely love Love Game. The beat is fun, the lyrics are cute and although it’s nothing groundbreaking, it definitely has a nice sound.
I know I was bashing ballad a few seconds ago, but ì‹œê°„ì´ ì§€ë‚˜ë©´ (Over Time) isn’t so dramatic and tear inducing that I just hit skip. I really like the use of the violin paired with the piano; absolutely gorgeous. 안해요 (Don’t), more ballad-y goodness, which sounds pretty and very soundtrack-ish.
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너무 ì‹«ì€ ì¼Â (I Really Don’t Want To) is a little more upbeat- just a smidge- but at least it’s not another ballad.
The one thing that I can say about this song is that it’s really acoustic sounding, with the guitar being the primary instrument. The album ends with 무시로  (In and Out Of Time), another ballad. A very emotional ballad at that. I thought they would at least try to put an upbeat song. I do like that the song has a slight Latin influence undertone, but that’s about it.
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I love Baek Ji Young’s voice; it’s rich and raspy and emotional and pretty. But, as I’ve said before, being a great singer does not mean that you have to neglect other genre’s. This album was alright, the songs were great, but I wish there was a greater balance of dance tracks and ballad tracks. I rate this 3.7/5.
The ballad/ dance Queen is back!
Lost Star starts off the album with a simple guitar rift followed by a somber sounding Ji Young. After a few measures, the song picks up slightly with drums, but continues in the mellow, jazz sound. 보통 (As Usual), the lead track, follows with Ji Young’s raspy singing style laced with heartbreaking lyrics. The song is gorgeous and she has so much emotion in this song, but personally when I think of ballads, I’m not usually think of the spring time and honestly I get tired of hearing ballads so much; it would be nice for her to mix it up a bit more. How ironic, ëˆˆì€ ì™œ ê°ëŠ” ê±´ë° Â (Why Close Your Eyes?), a dance track comes right after. The beat is electronic and very “clubâ€, but the verses are pretty lackluster compared to the powerful notes she’s hitting in the chorus. Following is another dance song, Bad Girl. I really like the use of auto-tune in this song; it’s used very sparingly on Ji Young’s voice, but it sounds great in the chorus: transform into a bad girl.
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After two dance tracks that have you all in high spirits, it’s time to slow things down with ì•„ì´ìº”ë“œë§í¬ (I Can Drink) , another ballad about heartbreak. I have nothing really to say about this song; it’s beautiful but as I said earlier, I like more variety from her. ì•„ë¬´ê²ƒë„ ì•„ë‹Œ 듯 (Nothing) is another slow song, about – what else- heartbreak. I absolutely love Love Game. The beat is fun, the lyrics are cute and although it’s nothing groundbreaking, it definitely has a nice sound.
I know I was bashing ballad a few seconds ago, but ì‹œê°„ì´ ì§€ë‚˜ë©´ (Over Time) isn’t so dramatic and tear inducing that I just hit skip. I really like the use of the violin paired with the piano; absolutely gorgeous. 안해요 (Don’t), more ballad-y goodness, which sounds pretty and very soundtrack-ish.
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너무 ì‹«ì€ ì¼Â (I Really Don’t Want To) is a little more upbeat- just a smidge- but at least it’s not another ballad.
The one thing that I can say about this song is that it’s really acoustic sounding, with the guitar being the primary instrument. The album ends with 무시로  (In and Out Of Time), another ballad. A very emotional ballad at that. I thought they would at least try to put an upbeat song. I do like that the song has a slight Latin influence undertone, but that’s about it.
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I love Baek Ji Young’s voice; it’s rich and raspy and emotional and pretty. But, as I’ve said before, being a great singer does not mean that you have to neglect other genre’s. This album was alright, the songs were great, but I wish there was a greater balance of dance tracks and ballad tracks. I rate this 3.7/5.
