It’s no secret that SNSD made a cross over to the Japanese market, starting with remakes of their popular Korean hits ‘Gee’ and’Genie’. Their first album sounds pretty good.

The album starts with their first original Japanese track, Mr. Taxi. Mr. Taxi is a synth filled pop song that is definitely a step above their Korean releases. The quality that they put in is really evident. My favorite part of the song is the middle 8 when the song kind of slows and you can really hear their voices. They could’ve done without the layer over their voices though, especially Taeyeon. Genie follows and I can hear this song a million times and prefer the Korean to this. I like that unlike their other remake of Gee, they actually sang in Japanese and not throwing in random Korean words.

You-aholic starts off with a broken beat; almost like a computer malfunction. This song is heavily influenced by the ‘80’s sounds, especially the drum pattern with the beat. The song is fun and okay, but not something that I have on repeat; it sounds like one long chorus, I can’t tell the difference between the verses and the chorus. I do like the fact that more of the other members are heard in this song, instead of the usual Taeyeon, Jessica, Tiffany and Seohyun. Run Devil Run is about the same as the Korean version; it’s listenable and there’s nothing really new about this.

 Bad Girl starts off pretty powerful, led by a powerful yell from Taeyeon and a trail of ‘oh’s’. Then the song goes downhill; it’s like they didn’t really know what key they wanted to sing this in and vocally it’s all over the place. Beautiful stranger goes for more of a rock sound, with a electric guitar being the primary instrument used. I would like this more if their voices weren’t layered the entire verses. Also the chorus is pretty lackluster, especially with the build up; this song is pretty disappointing. I’m in love with the HERO follows with more synth; this song isn’t as bad as the previous track. The verses I can do without but I like the chorus and the middle 8 is gorgeous!

Finally a good new track! Let It Rain sounds like something someone like Rihanna might sing, very pop-ish. Props to the songwriter, this song just agrees with their voices and the chorus is nicely executed. Gee has been around the block and all over the place and I’m just tired of this song. This version is just annoying, like their trying to sing too cute; I’m not feeling this at all.  Another great new track is The Great Escape; the verses are blah, but the chorus and the middle 8 are so good. This song is pretty much a Taeyeon and Jessica fest, nothing wrong with that, but it would be great if some of the other members had a chance to stand out.

Next is a remake of their last Korean single, Hoot.  I wasn’t too fond of the Korean version and this one isn’t anything special. The album finishes off with Born To Be A Lady, the beat in the intro is very deceiving. I was expecting something pop, then it abruptly stops and turns into a mid-tempo ballad. This song is in an awkward spot.  The chorus is also pretty awkward with it’s English lyrics, I mean they have two members fluent in English and they can’t ask them to help with the English? I’ve never understood that, but whatever the song is still pretty okay.

This was pretty good, but they better have a fantastic album next release. I reate this album 3.5/5!