JJ PROJECT – VERSE 2
Track List:
1. Coming Home
2. Tomorrow, Today
3. On&On
4. Icarus
5. Don`t Wanna Know
6. Find You
7. The Day (Jinyoung solo, CD ONLY)
8. Fade Away (JB solo, CD ONLY)
It's been five years since JJ Project's 'Bounce,' and now the two GOT7 members, Jinyoung and JB, are back with a new summer release. This one has 8 new tracks if you count the CD only ones, which are solo tracks by Jinyoung and JB respectively.
"Coming Home" is a quiet, unassuming piece. It's an R&B beat throughout, with synth waves carrying the tune. Jinyoung adds the adlibs in the chorus, echoing JB's "Coming Home" with falsetto. The chorus is almost indistinguishable from the rest of the song, and it made my interest flag. It seemed kind of bland overall.
The title track, "Tomorrow, Today," is sung with a little more heart than "Coming Home," and that makes all the difference. There are more highs and lows here, it's a catchy tune. It's low key, but intriguing. I'm not the biggest fan of JYP as a songwriter, but he did a good job here, capturing some of the angst of being a teen.
"Icarus" is among the better songs, having some chill house elements. I'd rather hear interesting chords all day than something I've heard before, so this is a breath of fresh air to me. The falsetto even blends in well, mixed with more clean vocals. Icarus is the mythical figure who flow too close to the sun and died when the wax from his wings melted and dropped him. In my opinion, this flies higher than he did.
"Icarus" is among the better songs, having some chill house elements. I'd rather hear interesting chords all day than something I've heard before, so this is a breath of fresh air to me. The falsetto even blends in well, mixed with more clean vocals. Icarus is the mythical figure who flow too close to the sun and died when the wax from his wings melted and dropped him. In my opinion, this flies higher than he did.
"Find You" is one of the best tunes in here, having more in common with "Bounce" than most of the others. I was waiting for a good club-banger. And we get the distinctive chorus and the nice uptempo beat. The amazing thing is that it still blends well with the rest of the songs on this EP, mainly because of the low-key delivery of the main verses.
CD ONLY TRACKS:
"The Day" is sort of soft pop tune, folksy in its own way, and features gentle vocals by Jinyoung. He has a good voice, uniquely suited to ballads and softer numbers. He seems to be having a bad day here, having a hard time being alone as he quietly tries to escape his memories. It eventually gets a slow R&B beat, but he never really changes tempo. It ends as quietly as it began, which makes it a good ballad in my estimation.
"Fade Away" sees JB unleash his own falsetto in a mid-tempo tune, again leaning toward folk. Mostly though, his vocals are sharp, they have an edge to them that lends some emotional heft to the song. The "fade away, away away" makes an effective hook. In some ways, I prefer this tune to Jinyoung's solo.
Hopefully, this gives you guys a taste of what the album sounds like. They did a good job if you're one for softer tunes. And they handle the vocal duties well, even surprising me in some places. I was hoping for something a little more upbeat, but that's just my take. Overall, this is a satisfying album and good news for those who have been eager for these two to make a comeback.
MV REVIEW
The boys seem listless, as they take a road trip into the country, perhaps to unwind. If they were supposed to be depressed, they play their parts extremely well, with puppy dog eyes, hung heads, and just a general lack of enthusiasm. All of these go together to convey the illusion of two boys who have lost the zest for life.
This is the scene we see, along with generous rural shots. They boys tool along in a pickup truck at times, changing locations only briefly and we don't see that much of where they're going. There are no dancing or wardrobe changes, but there doesn't need to be. This is becoming increasingly common. At the end, they seem to smile a little more at home, realizing that you can't run away from your problems.
And that really is the moral of the story. Wherever you go, there you are. Even meditation will bring you back down to earth and you'll just have to face what's in front of you eventually. They couldn't have picked a more beautiful location, with a symbolic endless road stretching to the horizon, and almost nothing but grass for miles, broken by the occasional farmhouse.
Did I like it? Well, it was okay, but it seemed a little listless, like the song and the boys. It wasn't terrible, and it went right along with the general theme of the song. It was simple and direct, and my sole WTF moment was when they lie down in the middle of the road. If you're a fan, or you've got a bias in there, it's probably worth checking out for that.
Score
MV Production..........8
MV Concept..............8
MV SCORE: 8.3
Album Production.....8
Album Concept.........8
Tracklisting...............7
ALBUM SCORE: 7.7
OVERALL................8.0
SEE ALSO: Actor Park Min-jae passes away from sudden cardiac arrest
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