This review reflects the opinions of the author and not necessarily those of allkpop.

Track List:

1. Forbidden Island

2. Candle light

3. 2000 Miles

3. Without you

4. Talk to me

Soloist Ha Sung Woon is back with his 4th mini-album, Mirage. This 5-song album is packed full of the artist's trademark vocals and captures quite a lovely energy and spirit that's nice to listen to when cooking, cleaning, studying, or working. Sung Woon selected the intro track, "Forbidden Island," as the title for this release, which I feel was a great decision. "Forbidden Island" has good song composition and is catchy and easy to listen to. It's hard to feel negatively about any factor of this song because of how palatable it is overall. In particular, Sung Woon's high note at 3:38 is to die for.

The next song is "Candle light," a fun and light-hearted song that's just as airy in delivery as the title suggests. Sung Woon has a certain fluttery aspect to his vocals that gives off a wistful energy well here.

"2000 Miles" had an intro that was a little off due to the intense vocal filtering that blips in and out of the song's duration. The filtering is not my favorite effect, as it made the song feel a bit more dated than it needed to. Luckily the song does pick up when the first chorus transforms into an upbeat electronic sound. 

"Without you" is a love song that has a classic Ha Sung Woon feeling. The song is emotional, fleeting and full of a sense of longing. Aside from the vocals, the guitar is the focal point that carries the melody well. The album finishes with "Talk to me," a song with a synth introduction that leads into loud drums and guitar. The song is downtempo and not my favorite, as I felt it didn't really build up or have any progression that made the song exciting. However, I can't deny Sung Woon's ability to convey emotion well in this song.

MV REVIEW

Ha Sung Woon's MV for "Forbidden Love" shows that you can be minimal in K-Pop and not everything needs to be over-the-top and overstimulating. "Forbidden Love" MV is sleek, simple, and straightforward - very similar to Sung Woon himself. Various simple shots of him with visually intriguing decorations adorning the space around him give a straightforward feel that works positively in his favor for this music video. The song seems to suit the video fairly effortlessly and vice versa. The concept is not super original, but the video is done well, which ultimately gives it a pass. The shots of Sung Woon in the ocean are particularly striking, as many artists opted for green screen ocean effects in their MVs this year.

SCORE:

MV Relevance…..7

MV Production…..7

MV Concept……..7

MV Score: 7.0

Album Production…...7

Album Concept……...7

Tracklisting…………...7

Album Score: 7.0

Overall: 7.0