TEEN TOP, one of Korea's youngest boy bands, has come back with their newest mini-album entitled, 'Roman'. Upon first listen, 'Roman' sounds like a lot of Niel accompanied by a few other vocalists with relatively less singing parts. In fact, that's exactly the case with this album. So let's get it out of our system right now: Niel sings about 80% of the songs. He sings so much, that even on-screen, all you see is Niel and his famous kisser. At this point it almost feels like that's how things are going to stay for this boy band, so there's no need to meander around the obvious too much - Niel is the group's driving force. Without him, there is no TEEN TOP. — Track List: 01 No More Perfume On You 02 Beautiful Girl 03 First Kiss 04 The Back Of My Hand 05 Tell me why 06 ?? ???? (Inst.) — 'Roman' opens with the lead single, "No More Perfume On You", and we're greeted by a strong Europop-influenced instrumental coupled with a sweet and engaging melody. Right away, we can decipher two things: this is an up-tempo single, and man, is it catchy. It's like the perfect pop song for a boy band under the age of 19. It's chockfull of energy and it only grows from verse one. By the time the chorus ends, TEEN TOP have already plowed through two tanks of adrenaline and they're halfway through their third. The chorus is melodious, and it fits really well with the beat. It's simple and easy to follow, which is what a pop song should be all about. TEEN TOP's lead singles have always been fast-paced and high-energy, and "No More Perfume On You" certainly stands as a strong pop song next to its predecessors. It's quite possibly their best one as well, so TEEN TOP's definitely showing some growth here. - The album proceeds to the next song with "Beautiful Girl". While it isn't as high on perfume as the lead single, "Beautiful Girl" delivers in an entirely different way. "Beautiful Girl" is a mid-tempo R&B song, featuring a simple beat with gratuitous claps and glossy electronic nuances to boot. What probably makes this song so appealing is TEEN TOP's timbres. Considering their age (and the fact that they may or may not be done with puberty), their voices really lend themselves to make relatively simple melodies that sound extremely pleasant to listen to. This song doesn't sound new or innovative, and yet TEEN TOP have unleashed their squeaky voices to convince me otherwise. - "First Kiss" follows and most of it is rap, words I think CAP and L. Joe are more than thankful to hear given their short appearance in most of this album (not as short as Ricky and Changjo, though). The song has a light sense of sensuality to it, and it's here that overusing Niel becomes a misgiving. Niel can't take on all song types, and while it's clear that he's being used purely for his vocal range, there isn't nearly as much depth in his voice to reinforce the sensual singing TEEN TOP is so desperately attempting to achieve with this song. "First Kiss" is well-produced, but lacks dimension and soul. Something Niel can't bring on his own. - If there's one song worth praising on this entire mini-album, it's "The Back Of My Hand", hands down. More than being a stupendous ballad, it gives us the chance to hear the rest of the gang in full bloom!  It felt like this moment would never come, but here it is and it couldn't have sounded any better. "The Back Of My Hand" is not off-the-wall-crazy as we're used to seeing from these guys, but it's certainly not a bad idea to calm TEEN TOP down for a second, because they sound great on this song. What's most surprising is that the other three vocalists aside from Neil - Changjo, Chunji, and Ricky - are, low and behold, not as inferior as we may have thought. Chunji in particular really shines here, and his timbre is probably my favorite. It's insurmountably smooth and all the tiny melismas he throws in gives me the shivers. Chungjo and Ricky, who are hardly used, could potentially blossom to be competent undertones, or even worthy of full verses, because they carry the choruses really well and it's sad to hear them harmonizing in the background. Such is the fate of a boy band when you have one member with killer chops. Niel also impresses. Niel shows signs of a lower register, and he should really tap into that. I mean, his voice is only going to get deeper, so might as well.

- The last song brings us full circle to the TEEN TOP we've come to know. "Tell Me Why" is the better up-tempo track on this mini-album. It's charming, wonderfully composed, and full of life. Big props have to go to the songwriters for whipping up a colorful tune that fits TEEN TOP like a glove. The way the second verse pulls back and offers a whole new flavor that we weren't served in the first minute of "Tell Me Why" definitely deserves a nod of respect. It satisfies every inch of my electronica pallet without ever going overboard. ==== If there's one thing worth criticizing, it's the obvious line distribution (or lack there of) among TEEN TOP. Sure, Niel is a great singer - he has proven that he can handspring his way through a marathon, schlepping from one end of the globe to the other, all while singing his head off. His stamina on stage freaks me out, only because it's jaw-dropping how much choreography he endures as he's literally singing a full song all by himself. But the thing is, TEEN TOP is a boy band, not a one-man show. And the fact that I can barely distinguish between their voices is both a sad truth and a frustrating one. A boy band must function as a complete unit, not function incompletely, and that's the case with TEEN TOP. The songs on 'Roman' are really good, especially because they resonate with that youthful vigor of TEEN TOPTop, but if they were shared in a more efficient way so to allow all the various timbres in the group to shine, these same songs would sound a lot more powerful. A catchy Euro-pop instrumental will only take you so far. — http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrWTc4lG8lI — Overall Rating: 3.9/5 — What are your thoughts on TEEN TOP's latest mini-album? — Suggestions for a future review? Hit the author up on Twitter (@rothsresidence) or via e-mail (arnold.arteaga@allkpop.com)! — Rating Overview: 0 – 1.9 ; poor, without any redeeming qualities 2.0 – 2.9 ; mediocre, but with some saving graces 3.0 – 3.9 ; good, with noteworthy highs and lows 4.0 – 4.9 ; excellent, with minimal flaws 5 ; superior, and as near to perfection as the song/album can be — Note: This article does not reflect the opinions of allkpop, only of the author.