Jaurim's new jewel is a strong album with a few faults...
Jaurim are one of the most recognised (and recognisable) rock bands in Korea so, needless to say, their return after a lengthy hiatus due to Kim Yuna's marriage and pregnancy was welcomed by both local and overseas fans.
The album opens with the mid-tempo track Oh, Honey! The song displays Kim Yuna's trademark nasal vocals perfectly. Musically, it's more of a traditional pop song with a few rock elements thrown in for good measure. The song is quite reminiscent of some of the older, more quirky Jaurim songs and is definitely a good way to start their comeback album.
This is followed by Hangbokhan wangja, which has a slightly jazzy feel to it but somehow simultaneously sounds like a typical French song. There is very little development throughout but it is easy and enjoyable to listen to. Something Good follows this. It is a very sweet sounding song and the vocals are very light, somewhat contrasting to Hangbokhan wangja. There is something instantly likeable about it, or at least not dislikeable. It is easy to find yourself humming along to the more up-tempo sections of the song but it never gets carried away with itself.
Drops has a slightly electro-pop feel to it, whilst still definitely maintaining an indie-rock sound. Kim Yuna's vocals are particularly cute as they take a higher pitch than we are used to hearing from her. It's quite a strange sounding song as the music has an electro yet slightly ethereal feel to it, giving the entire song an almost creepy feel to it - kind of like a haunted carnival or something similiar.
20Segi sonyeonsonyeo opens with a light guitar sound before treating us to a more powerful pop song, which definitely contrasts the previous song. The vocals are light yet powerful and the music is simple yet memorable. Bandibul follows on, bringing the album down to a slower and more relaxed speed. For those of you familiar with Kim Yuna's solo material, this song will be treading on familiar ground. It's a beautiful jazzy ballad containing a lovely piano refrain and brushed percussion. It's easy to forget that this is a song from a rock band rather than one of the light jazz groups.
The next track, Carnival Amour, seems to have been taken as the lead song from the album and it's easy to see why. The song is dramatic and powerful for the most part but once it reaches the chorus it slows down and turns into an altogether more delicate song. Normally it would be the other way round, with the song peaking at the chorus and having less conspicuous verses, but this song works very well and is completely different from anything else theyve recorded. It definitely carries the carnival vibe, making the title perfectly fitting.
A more traditional rock vibe is present in the aptly titled Love Rock'n Roll. The song sounds like a underground 70s rock song and has a deceptively catchy chorus and some impressive guitar work throughout. It is one of the most fun sounding tracks on the album and is easy to dance along with.
While 27 seems to be a standard Jaurim song, Yesnal offers something more ethereal. The song is very sparse and light and is interesting to listen to at least once. It possibly doesn't have as much replay value, but would probably be good if you fancy listening to something a bit more relaxed. On the other hand, The Devil kicks off with a throbbing bass line, which is somewhat unexpected as it wouldn't sound out of place in an industrial or dance song. It doesn't completely carry on in this vein, as the bass line becomes less noticeable as the song continues and takes on an almost disco sound before a almost heavy metal solo comes in at the half way point.
As the album draws to an end, the boys get a chance to sing! Poor Tom, as the title might suggest, has a quite depressed feel to it. The emotion is expressed through both the tempo and tone of the music as well as through the passion in the vocals.
The album closes with Blue Marble, a classic Jaurim ballad. While the song is pleasant enough, it seems unfortunate that on an album with such diversity and one which the band is clearly trying to do new things within their music that they should choose such a mundane song to close with. There's not much progression in the song, it just simply seems to plod along quite happily.
The album gets off to an exceptionally strong start but, sadly, seems to tail off towards the end. The songs such as Carnival Amour and even The Devil (which gives the album a much needed boost towards the end) that push the boundaries of Jaurim's music are simply fantastic to listen to and if the album had more moments like these it would possibly be their best album to date. Their choice of sticking to a tried and tested formula on several of the songs is what lets the album down. It is definitely a strong album but there is definitely room for it to be a little stronger.
