I fucking love Check, You Think, and Lion Heart.
That is all.
Well, fine, let me elaborate further.
Usually when it comes to Soshi's Korean albums, there's always that one song that (in my own humble opinion) blows the album's title track out of the water. And usually, that awesomeness is barely promoted, if at all. For the Mr. Mr. album, that song was Goodbye. For the I Got a Boy album, it was Baby Maybe. For The Boys, it was Trick.
You'd think the same would happen with Lion Heart, but you'd be wrong.
The latest album actually has two title tracks, namely Lion Heart and You Think, and I'm happy to say that they are my top two songs of the album.
Honestly, though, when the teasers for new singles came out I didn't really like any of them, not even the teaser for You Think (which almost everyone else loved, it seems). I was worried that Party was going to be a corny aegyeo-fest like Kissing You (except without the box set, but with worse dancing), that Lion Heart was going to be a My Oh My-like borefest, and that You Think would just be a rehash of Run Devil Run. Considering the disappointment that was Mr. Mr. as well as all the drama surrounding Jessica's departure, at that point I was almost ready to give up on Girls' Generation entirely and just wait for Taeyeon to go solo.
Party
Thankfully Party wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I mean, sure, the chipmunk voice in the chorus almost drove me insane when I first heard it, and the choreo really was sub-par for Soshi, but as I watched the MV I couldn't help but get infected by the happiness and joy that filled the whole thing to brim. I felt that the girls might have intentionally filmed the MV with very little seriousness, as if it was all just for fun. With that in mind, I just sat back, relaxed, and simply enjoyed the sight of pink-haired Taeyeon and her members as they danced like little kids on the beach. After all, even SM idols deserve to take a break from their image of perfection and just go full-on dork mode from time to time in their music videos.
I was a bit jealous when I read about Soshi hosting a giant party for K-SONE to celebrate the release of Party. Those lucky Koreans...
Check
Who would have thought that they'd bundle this sexy, sexy song along with the quirky-cute Party? Check isn't as sensual as TTS' Whisper, but it comes pretty close, and I love it.
I thought SHYY (that's Sooyoung, Hyoyeon, Yuri, and Yoona) were well-utilized here. It's always a smart move to let the less-powerful singers of the group shine vocally whenever a song allows them to, as in the case here. Also, I felt that Tiffany's obligatory attention-grabbing parts (in this case the countdown and the "CRAZY!") actually enhanced the song instead of being a distraction, which is a very nice change of pace.
My only criticism of Check is that it's a bit too long. I felt that they repeated the chorus once too many at the end, so what I did was I fired up Audacity and edited out a big chunk near the end just so that I could enjoy re-listening to the song.
Lion Heart
Boy was I wrong about this one! Far from finding it boring, Lion Heart has become one of my all time favorite Girls' Generation songs ever. Here's just some of what's great about Lion Heart:
- There was so much humor in the video. And not just in a "funny fail moments" kind of way (though there were those), but also because the scenes and the acting and even some of the dance parts were intentionally comedic (my favorite was when Yuri walloped the lion-man with an oar, as well as the tiger-man scene).
- The video had a story. They even divided it into three "chapters" (all named after songs from the album), which flowed logically into each other. The fact that it's not just a love story allowed for some very interesting story elements.
- The girls looked absolutely gorgeous. And I mean every single one of them, not just my favorites. They finally found a stylist that knew how to make everyone pretty, and who didn't curse any of the girls with a horrible hairstyle or an ugly outfit.
- The song itself is simply superb. It's equal parts classy and playful, and I find myself comfortably humming to it even in public. Lion Heart is one of those catchy songs that you wouldn't mind sticking in your head because it's just a great song.
It seems to me that the Lion Heart MV is meant to be a "fixed" version of the I Got A Boy music video concept. The two are obviously similar (slumber party at the beginning, one guy dating all the girls, the uber-bright colors), but everything IGAB did wrong Lion Heart did better. It has a better story, better wardrobe, better acting, better song, and it has pizza. Hence, Lion Heart for me is the "Super IGAB".
You Think
The English demo version of this song was leaked some time ago so some people were able to listen to Sara Forsberg a.k.a. SAARA (the songwriter) sing her own song before SNSD's version of it came out. I listened to the demo after I first saw the official MV, and for some reason (unlike a lot of YouTube commenters I've seen) I actually liked Soshi's version more. SAARA is a good singer, but I think Tiffany, Taeyeon, and Sunny's vocals simply sounded more interesting and pleasant to me, plus the chorus of the Soshi version is a tad bit less repetitive.
Also, there's something about the English lyrics that rubbed me the wrong way. I felt that it was a bit too cold, and it makes the singer sound a bit too full of herself, a problem I find in a lot of Western music. This is kinda ironic given the message of the chorus: "That guy isn't as cool as he thinks he is." Well, back at ya, girl.
I was afraid that the Korean lyrics had the same problem so I'd been hesitant to look it up. But for the purpose of fairness in this review, I just gave in and Googled a translation, and it turns out it's not nearly as bad as I feared. The Korean lyrics expressed the pain of heartbreak in a more genuine manner, which made it a bit more relatable. It was also more poetic than the English lyrics, so props to the Korean lyricist for that.
Now let me quickly review the other songs in the album, starting from the ones I liked the most.
Fire Alarm
This is my top 4 song of the album. It's not exactly title track material, but it's reasonably entertaining and interesting. I just love it when Taeyeon starts songs (which might explain why I love Lion Heart so much), so naturally the "Danger! Danger!" part was my favorite, even though I keep catching myself singing "Stranger Danger!" like the fucking retard that I am. >_<
Talk Talk
Another good song, probably top 5 of the album for me. It's just a nice slow jam that reminds me of some TTS songs. It's a bit weird that they used the same title as another song from a previous SNSD album, but that's more of a nitpick than anything.
Paradise
I could have sworn this song sounded awful when I first heard it. My first impression was that the "P-p-p-paradise!" part was the only good thing about it and that the rest was haphazardly sung, as if the producers took the very first practice recording and slapped it onto the album. It's a shame because I thought Paradise had so much potential, if only the girls had been allowed to fine-tune their lines a bit more.
Then something happened. I don't know what sorcery made this song sound so much better after my third or fourth listen, but I've grown fond of it now. It's got a sweet sound that reminds me of Vitamin from The Boys album.
Now if only I could figure out what happened to change my perspective.
Sign
It took me several listens to even remember how this one sounds like. Aside from the interesting "I see the light" part near the end, Sign is pretty much generic electropop. But I think it's growing on me the same way Paradise did.
어떤 오후
The simple Bossa Novaish sound could serve as an okay background music while eating fancy paella kimbap with kimchi. "One Afternoon" might lure some people into an unexpected afternoon siesta (or is that just the wine-soju cocktail?), but I myself am perfectly fine with this kind of easy-listening music.
예감
Remember how people said I Got A Boy was three decent songs all jumbled together in an weird way? Well, I have the same complaint with "Bump It". It's like the composer wanted to make a classy dance song, and ended up with a ballad-club Frankenstein monster.
Green Light
This would have been an okay (though forgettable) song if not for the annoying "I'm coming!" parts. What's worse is that they didn't even pronounce the phrase consistently, so it ranged from "I'm comin'!" to something that sounds like "I'm cumming!". They should have made Jessica do all those parts... Oh wait.
Show Girls
Embarrassing. :(
***
Conclusion: All in all, I'd happily choose eight of the songs from the Lion Heart album to put in my regular playlist. Although there was one song that I just couldn't stand listening to (guess which one), I think I can safely say that this is the best Girls' Generation album to date.
Rating: 8 Dukongs out of 10
The English demo version of this song was leaked some time ago so some people were able to listen to Sara Forsberg a.k.a. SAARA (the songwriter) sing her own song before SNSD's version of it came out. I listened to the demo after I first saw the official MV, and for some reason (unlike a lot of YouTube commenters I've seen) I actually liked Soshi's version more. SAARA is a good singer, but I think Tiffany, Taeyeon, and Sunny's vocals simply sounded more interesting and pleasant to me, plus the chorus of the Soshi version is a tad bit less repetitive.
Also, there's something about the English lyrics that rubbed me the wrong way. I felt that it was a bit too cold, and it makes the singer sound a bit too full of herself, a problem I find in a lot of Western music. This is kinda ironic given the message of the chorus: "That guy isn't as cool as he thinks he is." Well, back at ya, girl.
I was afraid that the Korean lyrics had the same problem so I'd been hesitant to look it up. But for the purpose of fairness in this review, I just gave in and Googled a translation, and it turns out it's not nearly as bad as I feared. The Korean lyrics expressed the pain of heartbreak in a more genuine manner, which made it a bit more relatable. It was also more poetic than the English lyrics, so props to the Korean lyricist for that.
Now let me quickly review the other songs in the album, starting from the ones I liked the most.
Fire Alarm
This is my top 4 song of the album. It's not exactly title track material, but it's reasonably entertaining and interesting. I just love it when Taeyeon starts songs (which might explain why I love Lion Heart so much), so naturally the "Danger! Danger!" part was my favorite, even though I keep catching myself singing "Stranger Danger!" like the fucking retard that I am. >_<
Talk Talk
Another good song, probably top 5 of the album for me. It's just a nice slow jam that reminds me of some TTS songs. It's a bit weird that they used the same title as another song from a previous SNSD album, but that's more of a nitpick than anything.
Paradise
I could have sworn this song sounded awful when I first heard it. My first impression was that the "P-p-p-paradise!" part was the only good thing about it and that the rest was haphazardly sung, as if the producers took the very first practice recording and slapped it onto the album. It's a shame because I thought Paradise had so much potential, if only the girls had been allowed to fine-tune their lines a bit more.
Then something happened. I don't know what sorcery made this song sound so much better after my third or fourth listen, but I've grown fond of it now. It's got a sweet sound that reminds me of Vitamin from The Boys album.
Now if only I could figure out what happened to change my perspective.
Sign
It took me several listens to even remember how this one sounds like. Aside from the interesting "I see the light" part near the end, Sign is pretty much generic electropop. But I think it's growing on me the same way Paradise did.
어떤 오후
The simple Bossa Novaish sound could serve as an okay background music while eating fancy paella kimbap with kimchi. "One Afternoon" might lure some people into an unexpected afternoon siesta (or is that just the wine-soju cocktail?), but I myself am perfectly fine with this kind of easy-listening music.
예감
Remember how people said I Got A Boy was three decent songs all jumbled together in an weird way? Well, I have the same complaint with "Bump It". It's like the composer wanted to make a classy dance song, and ended up with a ballad-club Frankenstein monster.
Green Light
This would have been an okay (though forgettable) song if not for the annoying "I'm coming!" parts. What's worse is that they didn't even pronounce the phrase consistently, so it ranged from "I'm comin'!" to something that sounds like "I'm cumming!". They should have made Jessica do all those parts... Oh wait.
Show Girls
Embarrassing. :(
***
Conclusion: All in all, I'd happily choose eight of the songs from the Lion Heart album to put in my regular playlist. Although there was one song that I just couldn't stand listening to (guess which one), I think I can safely say that this is the best Girls' Generation album to date.
Rating: 8 Dukongs out of 10
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