Released under the name "The Artist", 4MEN's latest full-length album aims to show more than just powerful ballads with its surprising take on higher-energy R&B songs that carry this group's unearthing vocals to new heights. There are traces of the classics, and then there are treasures of new proportions. Currently comprised of Young Jae, Kim Won Joo, and Shin Yong Jae, 4MEN first stepped onto the Korean music scene as a quartet back in 1998. During an era when raw talent was all we asked for, 4MEN saw to it that their voices were heard. Now, with several EPs and number one singles under their belt (Baby Baby and Confession, anyone?), 4MEN are back this year to remind us that they still have it. === Track List: 01 I Feel So Nice 02 Puzzle (????) 03 I Love You (???) 04 Unrequited Love (??? Feat. ?) 05 Once While Living (??? ???) 06 Oasis (????) 07 It's Not Working (????) 08 Just Leave (?????) 09 Love Sick (???) 10 My Girl (? ??) 11 I Do (??? ??) 12 Never Leave You 13 Can't Forget (?? ??) === 4MEN have never lost their grip on the power of the ballad, but we find ourselves enjoying a very distinct side to them in this collection of songs. Listening back to "Andante", 4MEN's 2006 album, the feeling in their music and overall style was noticeably grand, timeless, and melodramatic (listen to "??? ??" for reference). With 'The Artist', we're taken down to those very heart-wrenching tropes, but this time, from a completely new perspective. — "I Feel So Nice" (intro track) feeds us a quick morsel of what the album has to offer; jazz styles, crisper compositions, and of course, mind-blowing vocals (I Feel So Nice). It then makes way for the second track, "Puzzle", where we hear 4MEN serenading their emotions through exhilarating melodies and bright harmonies. The song builds in thin, quick layers, ferociously mounting beautiful coats of singing one after another. By the middle eight, "Puzzle" is soaring, reminding us why 4MEN is one of Korea's most successful vocal ensembles to date (Puzzle). - "I Love You", the lead single, does what any 4MEN single does best: starts off gently, then builds into this momentous ballad that allows all three members to belt their voices to their highest potential. It's very Korean in that it's highly emotive and conscious of its elaborate composition. We hear the strings, the acoustic guitar, and drums coexisting as one to add depth and richness while 4MEN are exchanging one "saranghae" with another. It explodes like we expect it to, and ends as softly as its opening notes (I Love You). Following the lead single are a couple tracks that take us back to the fairytale arrangements that exist well beyond this collection of songs. It's that overly pretty characteristic about Korean ballads that make them stand out, and 4MEN embrace it wholeheartedly in "Unrequited Love" and "Once While Living". In the latter, the tension is thicker with strong suspension and fluid transitions, but it's not as over the top, as 4MEN tend to get with these ballads. Shin Yong Jae, who takes the lead in every song, remains in control and displays the great technique and skill that he has become respected for (Unrequited Love). As one of the mid tempo tracks on "The Artist", "Oasis" allows 4MEN to explore a quick pace, swift melodies, and sharp hooks. I enjoy ballads and love hearing fantastic vocalists sing them, but I've always maintained that it takes the up/mid-tempo tracks to really test an artist, and 4MEN pass with flying colors in "Oasis". The song is very chill, but at the same time overtly intricate. It encompasses the seasonal atmosphere, while still delivering the passion and charisma of 4MEN (Oasis). - "It's Not Working" follows up with a return to the moody ballads. What's good to hear in this song is the other members, who aren't on display as frequently as Shin Yong Jae. The song is very well done, although it lacks a tiny dose of that special quality that lies within previous tracks. Coming from 4MEN, though, that isn't really saying much against their level of artistry. If the middle of the album was fairytale and fantasy, then everything henceforth is the classic R&B styles that just so happen to be 4MEN's musical forte. The eighth track, "Just Leave", is best summed up as soulful, sensual, and luxurious. The roaring lower register of Young Jae sounds absolutely beautiful here, and I almost wish I heard more of it throughout the rest of this album; it sounds warm when he isn't belting, and enthralling when he is (Just Leave). "Love Sick" is reminiscent of the smoothness of Boyz II Men (with whom they've held a concert with already). It's tame, but in 4MEN lingo, that really means it's only less explosive than other tracks. In this case, that approach is appropriate since the overall feel is soft and colorful (Love Sick). — As we reach the end, we start experiencing my favorite section of "The Artist", as it's these final tracks that hit the hardest and left me with very few words on my tongue. In "My Girl", 4MEN sound more free than anywhere else on this album. As a soothing track made of a simple instrumentation and a few R&B snaps here and there, "My Girl" delivers a sweet piece that is a whole lot of love to the ears. 4MEN's harmonies are at their slickest here, and that's good news for us because they're all over this song (My Girl). Right on its heels is "I Do", the eleventh song on the album. Rather than the trio singing in unison, they alternate "I do's" between the three over a subtle piano line and swooping orchestration. The highlight of this song is definitely the middle eight, where they effortlessly hit some of the highest notes we'll hear on "The Artist". It establishes their incredible range as singers, and cements them - as if they weren't already - as untouchable vocalists in the Korean music industry (I Do). - "Never Leave You" hands us another epic ballad. As always, it's very regal and constructed like many slow songs we've heard earlier. It rises as every 4MEN ballad does, and builds like it should. Young Sae sounds fantastic, and Won Joo carries a lot of the vocals just to hand them over to Yong Sae, who then blows them away like the boss he is (Never Leave You). But if any one song is the essential element that it would require to take an album over the edge and into the territory of a perfect score, it is the iridescent "Can't Forget". This song transcends beyond all things you have come to recognize of 4MEN by lifting all the weight of their previous songs, and quite literally floating like nothing I've heard this year. "Can't Forget" is a tranquil envelopment of more than just music, but a seamless link between the mind and soul. It takes you out of the now, and it's that boundless freedom that music is all about. === 4MEN have crafted another exceptional piece of work. Rather than chilling us to the bone as they've done with albums past, "The Artist" is filled with warmer melodies and uplifting arrangements that give all three members the opportunity to blow us away. "The Artist" is flawlessly composed, produced, and delivered. 4MEN are stellar singers with raw talent to boot, and this year, they've treated us with another collection of songs for us to relish, as they keep doing what they do best - sing. — Overall Rating: 5/5 — What are your thoughts on 4MEN's album? — Suggestions for a future review?  Hit the author up on Twitter (@rothsresidence) or via e-mail (arnold.arteaga@allkpop.com)! — Note: This article does not reflect the opinions of allkpop, only of the author.