[MV & Album Review] Rain � 'My Life'

AKP STAFF

RAIN � MY LIFE

Track List:

1. Goodbye (Feat. Jo Hyun Ah of Urban Zakapa)
2. Baby Baby
3. Again
4. Sunshine
5. Gang
6. Again (Inst.)
7. Gang� (Inst.)
8. Sunshine (Inst.)

Rain is back with his first-ever mini-album 'My Life!' He's been fairly quiet since 2014's 'Rain Effect,' apparently preferring to focus on his acting career. A couple singles in 2017 reminded us of his musical talent, and now we have a full-blown comeback. The 8-track EP has 3 instrumentals and a pre-release single, but you still have 4 brand new tunes including the title track. �

"Goodbye" is a stripped-down ballad -- just the way I like them. Jo Hyun Ah has an awesome edge to her voice that gives this tune some great feels. It's a great counter to Rain's slight hoarseness here, and their vocals combine nicely. It's a pre-release track, but it's nice to hear it again. "Baby Baby" is a low-tempo pop tune on acoustic guitar -- at least at first. It's a cool melody after "Goodbye," refreshing and gentle. After the two slower tunes, we get "Again." This track is an R&B ballad, and very heartfelt. It also lacks that annoying endpoint, preferring to make its point without Rain having to scream over the music.

"Sunshine" is more of an upbeat, cheery tune, and has R&B written all over it, and has some island-style beats as well. It's also a welcome change of pace. "Gang" is big, bold and in your face, with some synth blasts at the beginning. It's definitely an outlier on the album, and I can understand why they promoted with it. It's a sick hip-hop jam�and demands your attention. It's also hella catchy. I could mention something about this tune being a desperate attempt at relevance, but I'd rather just enjoy this rather awesome bop.

I still think the standout tracks here are "Sunshine" and "Gang." Particularly "Gang." It's nice to see him back making music, because that's what I was familiar with, until the drama 'My Lovely Girl.' The singer knows how to bring it, and it would be interesting to see a live show for this material. He's good at what he does -- and it shows here.

MV REVIEW

Rain pulls up in a Jeep Wrangler and joins his crew. Why a Wrangler? Because Range Rovers cost at least 4x as much. Rain is all decked out in leather, and so are his backup dancers. There's not much to actually describe here -- it's a performance MV, mainly.

And perform they do. This gaggle has some impressive moves, including Rain himself. The way they effortlessly fall prone and then roll and stand again makes it even better. They do this like they were born to it. I also like how they adjust it for the R&B style pre-chorus. The movements become smooth and slow. And then they crank it back up when the synth starts again. The choreo is pretty impressive, even if the ridiculous full-body getup with a�mask at the end (combined with the dance) makes Rain look like a gorilla.�

Overall, it's not a bad video. It has more dancing than you can shake a stick at, and they're not doing this halfway, which is a good thing. Frankly, it looked kind of badass in places, which I think was the point. Not the best MV I've seen all week, but not bad, either.