Minah - 'I am a Woman too'
Track List:
01. It's Strange Really (feat. Kanto of Troy)
02. I am a Woman too
03. Colorful
04. It's Strange Really (inst.)
05. I am a Woman too (inst.)
Girl's Day vocalist Minah has dropped her mini-album, 'I am a Woman too.' Five tracks appear on the new release, including a collaboration with TROY's Kanto (who has been enjoying success as a featured artist). Minah, along with Sojin, is one of the original members of Girl's Day. This is her first solo effort.
The album kicks off with "It's Strange Really" with Kanto's raps starting off the song. The time-worn gimmick of juxtaposing a honeyed voice with raps again pays off here. It makes the track bounce, and the acoustic guitars and stripped-back music during the rap portions give the track an impertinent feel. You can almost see Kanto grinning during his delivery. Of course, Minah's vocals help, too. I've always felt her voice was pretty, and it's highlighted here.
"I am a Woman too" continues in the same vein as the first track, and that is perhaps unfortunate. There's not enough to distinguish this track from the first one, except the lack of Kanto, though that alone is not enough to doom it. It's just not that catchy and is a letdown after the sweet hooks of "It's Strange Really."
The album picks up again with "Colorful," which I would have chosen as the lead single. The notes jump from one to the other with rapidity yet fluidity, and Minah kills it here. The song is a breathless ode to a hypothetical boyfriend with evocative lyrics like "let me fill my heart with your color." Minah hits her stride again on this track.
In a curious circle, today's K-pop songwriters have been influenced by R&B and funk, just as it influenced Western rock n' roll back in the 60's and 70's (would that be A-pop?). While retro has always been a part of K-pop style, the soul aspect is practically ever-present nowadays.
This album is a slick homage to "blue-eyed soul" -- R&B as presented by white singers. While the topic of cultural appropriation is beyond the scope of this review, let me say that this album is a mixed bag. The song "I am a Woman too" is okay, but it didn't grab me the way the others did. Minah always nails it, on every song. There wasn't a tune on here that wasn't out of her range or felt forced or strained.
That being said, perhaps it's too sleek, too produced. I can tell that the girl sings her heart out, but the songs simply aren't that memorable. I didn't find myself compelled to dance or sing along. I felt like it was trying too hard and ended up being a pale shadow of what it was supposed to be, like playback vs. a live show. There are songs that you love when you first hear them and songs that grow on you the more you listen. This album had precious little of the first and none of the latter.
MV REVIEW
My feelings about the song notwithstanding, the video was sheer artistry. They could have gone the sexy route, as I've always found Minah easy to look at, but they chose a more artsy direction instead.
Symbolic and eye-catching, the scene is set in a ramshackle building of some kind. She sings and appears around various clocks. There's all sorts of detritus on the floor, glass and shattered plaster and who knows what else. Soft light, an uncomfortable bed, and a huge teddy bear make up the rest of the set pieces.
There's not really a plot, but many of the scenes indicate loneliness. From a dripping ice cream cone to scenes where she desperately hugs a teddy bear, she conveys heartbreak and isolation well.
The costumes were not too over-the-top, either, and fairly appropriate (except for the glitter shorts in the dance sequences, which can be forgiven). It's certainly not boring and gives the song more life than it had as just an audio track. One of the rare cases where the MV is better than the song.
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