Released on September 1st, 2011, NEVERLAND came at a time during U-KISS’ promotional activities in Japan, where they achieved success with fans. The group then returned to South Korea with prior plans on making a new album. Collaborating with pop artist Paran and working with various American producers and an American composer for the tracks, SOME DAY and NEVERLAND, the album NEVERLAND was born.
A minute long intro builds up the idea of a fantasy world and slowly prepares the listener before jumping straight into the following track. The title track, NEVERLAND is undoubtedly an upbeat, dance track with catchy verses and a bridge that leads to the chorus perfectly. Written by US composer JD Relic (known best for covering popular K-pop songs and singing them well in English via YouTube), NEVERLAND shows the strongest points of U-KISS as they “stay forever young.” The chorus, although a little repetitious—is very memorable and almost mesmerizing with the single line “neverla-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-land” that is repeated three times—very catchy! Minutes later, the track fades out with a ‘whoosh.’
Baby don’t cry carries a slower, ballad sound but shows no signs of slowing down. Starting exactly from where NEVERLAND left off, Baby Don’t Cry cools the pumped energy that NEVERLAND provided and jumps into an RnB/ pop number. The chorus in Baby Don’t Cry comes across as very powerful.
Strong piano chords introduce the power ballad SOME DAY. With gentle cooing vocals, the chorus is uplifting and powerful, aided by another powerful chorus with a very simple melody and several layers of synthesizers. SOME DAY was released as a stand-alone digital single but is also included on the sophomore release, NEVERLAND. An instrumental version of SOME DAY is included on the album.
Distant sirens in the background can be heard in the thoughtful piano ballad, Take Me Away. U-KISS members’ voices completely submerge the listener into the melody. Beautiful harmonies accompanied by piano beautify the track, and really do capture a softer side to U-KISS.
In the latter half of the album, Obsession picks up the pace again with another energy infused dance track. The vocals feature a bit more rapping that the other tracks on the album, but a fast dance beat and plenty of synthesizers frame the lines “you are my obsession,” which seems to level it out and give a reason for the pace of the song.
The sound of the thunder and a loud “hey!” in the beginning few seconds of TOP THAT make a powerful beginning to the track. High pitched “la la la’s” help make an interesting sound in the backing track and also form part of the beat.
The album ends with Dasi Mannapsida (U-KISS with PARAN), the beginning of which includes live audio from U-KISS members and accompanying commentary (with plenty of laughter as well) that then flows into a rough live performance. The actual studio recorded song starts a few minutes later, and is a soothing, acoustic ballad with clear vocals.
Overall, U-KISS’s second album is surprisingly good. The tracks on the album are ordered perfectly and sound like a playlist rather than just an album. The first five or six tracks start from a high energy and boil down to a few slower songs, but pick up again so the album ends in a high-energy state. Memorable, catchy choruses and soothing vocals that contrast to synthpop beats seem to be U-KISS’ strong points!
