JONGHYUN - 'BASE'

Jonghyun proves he's all about that 'Base' with his highly-anticipated EP. Jonghyun is the second SHINee member to release a solo album, following last year's 'ACE' by Taemin. This album is most certainly his. He wrote the lyrics to all the songs and had a hand in the music for 5 of the tracks. In an interview before a live showcase Thursday, he revealed, "To be honest, I am not confident singing ballad songs. Fans have loved my ballads in the past, but I am not really good at singing them. For this album, I focused on introducing my style of music..." What style is that, you might ask? Read on to find out.



The album opens with "Deja-BOO," a neo-retro, full-bodied piece of funk. The lyrics talk about turning back and familiarity, so apparently he at least gets a little of the concept of deja vu, which is the sudden weird feeling that something happened before. Jonghyun's tenor works well here, and Zion T.'s rap line is masterfully inserted, never jarring or off in timing. Apparently the tune was a sizzler, shooting to No.1 on real-time music charts. It's not hard to see why the SHINee singer said that he really liked this song.�

The second track is "Crazy (Guilty Pleasure)," a very hooky song sung over an insistent piano riff and a very singable chorus:�"michin geot gata" ("I'm gonna go crazy"). Iron's husky rap adds edge and makes the track even more danceable. It's very easy on this beat-junkie's ears, and there's no guilt in enjoying this track.



Next up is "Hallelujah," a high-sounding ballad with a choir-like backing chorus. That's hardly the tempo I'd shout that word at, but that's not the point. Jonghyun's vocals here are earnest and soulful, conveying the emotion of the song quite nicely. "Hallelujah" references praying, angels, and God, and here he equates his relationship to religious ecstasy. It's a clever turn, and the track is short enough so I'm not bored.

"Love Belt" is a duet sung with Younha, who is known for her R&B hits. The lazy vocals are smooth and silky, blending effortlessly with the strum of a guitar and laid-back beats. Apparently they're trying to repair a relationship gone bad, and the sustains and vocals are extremely relaxing. Younha and Jonghyun kill it here.



"NEON" continues in much the same tempo as "Love Belt," but the vocals are much faster and impart a sense of urgency that makes the tune very different. It has beats that stop being beats and end up as synth distortion. The lyrics are interesting as they have that wounded ballad feel, but the melody defies that. They talk about a girl who shines brightly and whom he can't live without. I like the layered vocals when he sings over a chorus of a smooth harmony: "NEON."

"MONO-Drama" features a piano as the primary instrument and it treads into power-ballad territory, where multiple elements combine with Jonghyun's powerful belts. This is a song that showcases Jonghyun's distinctive range from sweet to urgent to highly emotional. Make no mistake, it's the vocals that carry this song and do so well.�



A simple mid-tempo track, "Beautiful Tonight" has R&B elements, but more properly falls into the pop realm with studied, steady vocals straying into falsetto at the end.� It's slow and minimalist and talks about missing a girl he met at a party that lasted too long. There's nothing wrong with this track, but it didn't make much of an impression on me. �

There's a hidden song on this EP, as well: "Fortune Cookie." Laden with falsetto and a disjointed stop-start melody, it's easily the weakest track on the album.� It's also the shortest, making me think that this is a more playful than serious attempt at songcraft. Maybe there's a reason it was hidden...



I can hear elements in this album that remind me of Prince, Michael Jackson, Steely Dan, and Lenny Kravitz (during his pre-fame 'Mama Said' period), but never slavishly following any one of these luminaries. This EP blends soul, R&B, and funk together into a polished product, barring a couple clunkers. I like it. If he was trying to get away from his boy-band roots, I'd say he succeeded admirably. It's an album that does take risks, being different as it is from the traditional K-pop canon. The great thing is that he wrote it himself; he decided what it was going to sound like based on the music he enjoyed. How cool is that? I'm hoping this isn't just a one-shot deal. I'm looking forward to hearing more from Jonghyun.

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