Track List:

1. U-TURN

2. PARADISE (ft. Han Sungwoon)

3. WATER GUN

4.  QUESTION MARK

5. IF I (ft. BIG Naughty)

6. RAIN DROP (ft. Lee Na Eun)

My familiarity with RAVI is comprised almost entirely of his time promoting with the rest of VIXX and his prior comeback, "ROCKSTAR," however, this solo artist's newest comeback release offers a much more relaxed summery soundscape. His latest EP, "Paradise," hosts an upbeat and tropical pop sound that contrasts significantly from his prior releases. 

RAVI's main promotional single is aptly entitled, "Paradise" as the EP's title suggests and features former Wanna One member turned soloist, Ha Sungwoon, on vocals. RAVI is a frequent aggressive rapper and his use of autotune has always been at the forefront of all his soundscapes, so color me surprised when Sungwoon's vocals and the 2016 tropical house trend felt revived when I sat down to experience "Paradise" for the first time.

The other songs on the album also have a sort of summery, "on the beach with your friends" kind of feeling evoked from the natural use of steel drum and tropical house beat in "Water Gun". RAVI continues to create a pleasant and inoffensive soundtrack with a few features like BIG Naughty on "IF I" and Lee Na Eun on "RAIN DROP". 

Arguably, the b-side track, "QUESTION MARK" actually left the largest and most impact on me given its infectious melody a and infectious beat, the rest of the album was otherwise virtually unimpressionable. Overall, the album is neither a hit nor a miss, it's simple in concept and straightforward in meaning. With "PARADISE," RAVI has created a palatable soundscape without many surprises or risks.

MV REVIEW

Immediately, the first thing I couldn't get out of mind when watching the MV were the Jay Park aesthetics and energy. From the boat on the water to the shirtless flowing top, RAVI channeled his summer energy in this video with Sungwoon. Again, we see shots of icy blue waters, summery palm trees, sports cars, and an immaculate fruit spread in paradise, yet nothing is out of the ordinary. It seems once again that the MV ticks all the boxes for a good K-Pop MV, yet lacks one thing: risk factor. 

That being said, the production value on this MV is great considering the scale of the company involved. Moreover, the simplicity actually worked to their favor in this particular MV and song. "PARADISE" is reminiscent of the type of music that reigned supreme in K-Pop's past generation, and the care-free MV gave me nostalgic memories into fun, summery and colorful MVs like "Island" by WINNER and beach MVs like "Yacht" by Jay Park.

SCORE:

MV Relevance…..7

MV Production…..8

MV Concept……..5

MV Score: 6.7

Album Production…...7

Album Concept……...6

Tracklisting…………...7

Album Score: 6.7

Overall: 6.7