Album review

Jay Park - 'New Breed' (UNIVERSAL MUSIC)

Why we recommend it: Though a few tracks offer something new, for the most part, the album is recommended for Jay Park's fans.

Recommended track: "Clap"

One and a half stars out of four

Jay Park, the former member of a popular boy band 2PM, has released his first full-length album, "New Breed". The 15-track CD includes five songs from a mini album "New Breed Part 1" put out in December 2011.

Undoubtedly, Park has the smooth moves and crooning voice. However, his vocal range is limited and requires savvy producing to make listening to multiple tracks enjoyable.

Unfortunately, half of the numbers on "New Breed" are indistinguishable from one another. The long list of featured artists – Dynamic Duo, Tiger J.K., Dok2, and so on– offers a break from Park's monotone voice.

The title track "Know Your Name" is a dance song that highlights the flatness of Park's vocals. The cliche lines such as "even when the night ends, lets continue this" do not help. Often the lyrics sounds awkwardly manipulated to fit the flow.

"I Love You" got much publicity as a song produced by Rob Knox of The Y, an R&B/pop production group consisting of Justin Timberlake, James Fauntleroy and Knox. The electronic beat is catchy, but Park's vocal sounds especially nasally on the track.

Cleary Park wants to shed his K-pop star history and announce himself as a tough artist, seen in his "Turn Off Your Phone". Starting with "You are dolled up but I am sorry because all of that will be coming off", Park goes on to say more scandalous things (for Korean mainstream singers). It sounds no different from "Stars", one of the songs from the mini album; just the romantic lyrics replaced with scandalous ones. More importantly, the lady's man repertoire coupled with Park's boyish voice produces a high pitch Trey Songz-wannabe.

Park fairs better on the up-tempo and grungy tracks "Enjoy The Show", "Clap" and "Up And Down", which carry the hostile and arrogant attitude of hip-hop.

Especially, "Clap" which features the rock star couple Tiger J.K. and Yoon Mi-rae has the beat and the steam that make it notably edgy. These are songs that Park can use to reinforce his new image as an independent artist as opposed to a member of a kitschy boy band.

―NOH HYUN-GI

Available from YESASIA

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Se7en - 'New Mini Album' (KMP HOLDINGS)

The build-up to this new six-track mini album was extremely effective, albeit brief. The YouTube teaser for the single "When I Can't Sing" showed the artist with the track's producer Park Jin-young performing a snippet of the song.

The unprecedented collaboration between Se7en's agency YG Entertainment and Park's own JYP Entertainment was enough to catch the tabloid headlines and take the blogosphere by storm.

The results are certainly impressive, showcasing the singer's ripening talent through back-to-basics R&B. Although written by Park, the singer's words resonate with the decade-old career of a former teen idol. It shows a certain progress into maturity, thinking about love and fame in a different light.

It was a smart choice for the lead single because the other tracks are utterly forgettable, recruiting the same old tricks by the same old in-house producers, like Teddy, Choi Pil-gang and Hahm Seung-cheon, among others.

- KWAAK JE-YUP

Available from YESASIA