[Album and MV review] Paul Kim – 'Maum, Part. 2'

AKP STAFF

PAUL KIM – 'MAUM (HEART), PART. 2'

Track List:

1. Hero

2. But I’ll Miss You

3. Overload

4. HOLIDAY

5. The Reason for My Spring

On the heels of his 2019 EP, Paul Kim releases the second part of 'Maum.' It's got five new tracks, and if it's anything like his first, there'll be a video for every song. The first part topped music charts, so it's a fairly safe bet the second one will do so as well.

"Hero" starts out primarily guitar-driven before gaining momentum with strings and even a subtle piano. He gets quite emotional as he sings about a hero who makes everything all right. "But I’ll Miss You" is a piano-based ballad. He gets quite tender on here and sings about a breakup. The song goes in directions where you expect it might, with the music rising coinciding with his voice. It all ends as gentle as it began. On the next song, Paul Kim sings about how his life is on "Overload." It starts out slowly before gaining a sort of jazz-inspired beat. He sings about going insane and liking the fact that he's weird, and that's why he didn't text back. But throughout the track, he admits that he's just making excuses and is lazy. One of the more playful tunes on the album.

It takes a bit for "HOLIDAY" to pick up, and have him sound genuinely excited about a vacation. It starts out very slow, and I was wondering if he really wanted to go on this holiday. But he sings about "waiting for this moment," and how he's "on his way." He beats a little around the bush before he reveals that he's meeting someone, perhaps a romantic encounter. "The Reason for My Spring" is sung with quite a bit of falsetto. The primary instrument is guitar, but the vocals are the real star here. Yes, he can do tender, but there are parts where his voice is deeper and stronger than usual. And it's all to profess his love for a certain special someone.

So what we have here is a pretty solid collection of acoustic hits. There's a strong folk/jazz aspect running through these, and a generous dose of coffee house singer-songwriter. He's able to express himself fairly well, though his lyrics are more workmanlike -- there's only the tiniest bit of metaphor, and he talks about his feelings more plainly. But that's part of his charm and is no doubt why this EP is dominating the charts too.

MV REVIEW

BUT I'LL MISS YOU

"But I'll Miss You" is a sad MV. It's packed full of cute scenes, so you never get too melancholy. Such as a chance meeting in the aisles of a library, an office party where they throw papers into the air, or just a quiet, intimate gathering in a cafe. Each time, Kim and his love interests are together.

But there are scenes where they are definitely alone. Kim hangs out in his office, leaning against a desk. She sits at a table, looking at Polaroids and missing him. Oftentimes there are people around them that vanish, leaving them in solitude.

I like how this is done. And together against the song, the scenes are emotionally affecting. It could be happier, but that would defeat the purpose of the song -- both the MV and the song remind us that sometimes we end up alone.

OVERLOAD

By contrast, "Overload" is fairly humorous. In it, Kim plays an office worker, overworked, and overwhelmed. At first, he's stuck with boxes of files, eating ramen, hiding behind those boxes, folding his legs to fit inside a mop bucket, etc. Before long, he's back in the office. We see him carrying coffee, sitting at his desk, pinning things to a bulletin board, and opening a desk drawer full of candy to pig out.

And it's not all fun and games. We see him carrying some of those boxes with files on top which promptly fall on the floor. In one sequence, he checks the time and strolls quickly into his office. In other sequences, he might be riding a toy car down the hallway. He changes outfits several times, indicating he might be different characters in this little comedy of errors.

All this is interspersed with odd scenes of him on TV, or sandwiched between dozens of yellow balloons, or yellow balls falling on him. Regardless of what scenes you find most interesting, Kim makes a fairly effective actor. And "Overload" was fun to watch.

Score

MV Relevance...........9

MV Production..........9

MV Concept..............9

MV SCORE: 9.0

Album Production.....8

Album Concept.........9

Tracklisting...............9

ALBUM SCORE: 8.6