I was having one of those humdrum weekends, where I do nothing but lie in my bed, binge-watch movies and TV series, eat, sleep, browse Facebook and repeat everything from the top. I've been seeing a lot on my news feed about this group called TWICE (from JYP Entertainment), particularly the "face" of the group, Taiwanese member, Tzuyu. So I watched the music video of their debut single, "Ooh Ahh". One thing led to another and I found myself listening to CNBLUE's "Cinderella". I had no idea they had released an album after their "Can't Stop" EP in 2014. I know. And I call myself a "fan". LOL. I was just too busy last year and I didn't have time for K-POP in my life then. Okay. Except for BTS.
Moving on, I immediately downloaded their "2gether" album and listened to it. My initial reaction was, "Eh?" If it weren't for the fact that I know vocalist Yonghwa and lead guitarist Jonghyun’s voices by heart, I would have never thought that this was a CNBLUE album. Not that it was the bad kind of change. I think it’s brave for these guys to dabble in some electro-pop and EDM. It’s just not “my jam”.
CINDERELLA - Very disco. Very electro-pop. If I didn't know that this was a CNBLUE song, and if I didn't recognize Yonghwa's voice, I would have dismissed it as "just another K-POP song". While it is catchy, it wasn't the CNBLUE "sound" that I got used to. It definitely took a bit of time (like I had to listen to it 4 or 5 times) before I finally KINDA liked it.
HIDE AND SEEK - Very funky. Very head-bobbing. The jazzy, saxophone sound reminds me of an Ariana Grande song. It's quite enjoyable to listen to.
ROLLERCOASTER - Electro-pop, with some guitar licks, but it failed to amaze me. It was just "alright". The guitar solo was pretty awesome, though.
DOMINO - Very... synth-pop...? It has the "feel" of one of The 1975's songs in their new album. I don't really get why they had to feature Whee In from the girl group Mamamoo in this song. She only sang like 3 or 4 lines at the end of the song. I mean, her voice was pretty and all that, but it didn't really have a strong impact on the song. It was just out of nowhere and there was no significance to it. The song would still sound good even without her part. Just saying.
HERO – Very… ME! Now THIS is a CNBLUE song. Pretty cool rhythm and melody. Lee Jonghyun's distinct, husky voice makes this song even more likable than it already is. I have to say this is closer to CNBLUE's music style. It's very alternative-rock. I'm not sure what Yonghwa is singing about but I caught some words like "Superman, Batman, Spiderman..." so I feel like it's an empowering song. One of my fave tracks and apparently, Jonghyun wrote it!
DRUNKEN NIGHT – Another very electro-pop track, bordering a bit on disco. The guitar sound all throughout the entire song was pretty sweet and the song is very upbeat as well. What I love the most about this song was the melody of Yonghwa and Jonghyun's voices. Guitarist Lee Jonghyun also penned this one.
CATCH ME - Very Maroon 5, at first. It reminds me of their song "Coffee Shop". It has the same beat and rhythm. The guitar riff and adlibs were pretty cool. It's closer to CNBLUE's patented sound than any other song in the album. There is an infectious, '80s dance-pop feel to it as well.
HOLD MY HAND - Very jazzy. I guess this is the sound that they're going for in this album - jazzy-rock. Once again vocalist/guitarist Yonghwa's smooth and whispery vocals brought life to this song. It's reminiscent of a Bruno Mars song, in my opinion. The backup vocals and the finger-snapping sounds added a nice touch to it.
CONTROL - Very forgettable. Although, I have to say that the guitar solo here was pretty awesome. Jung Yonghwa's Konglish, on the other hand, was quite distracting... in an adorable way. I don't know why, but he has that way of pronouncing Korean words which make it sound like an English word AND vice versa. It's quite amusing and you can definitely hear it in their debut song “I’m A Loner”.
RADIO - Very upbeat and pop. It's like something I would hear playing in a club or a bar. It was very EDM towards the end. Like, really. Heavy EDM. Not really my "style", but it's a fun song to listen to.
FOOTSTEPS - The strumming and plucking of the guitar at the start, along with Yonghwa and Jonghyun's beautifully blended, stripped-down, harmonious voices were freakin' awesome! This is my fave track in this album. It's closer to the CNBLUE style and sound that I got accustomed to and I loved. The hook is catchy and upbeat, but it's not trying too hard to be electro-pop or pop-rock. It's the perfect song to end the album. AND it's written by the incredible guitarist/songwriter, Lee Jonghyun. Of course.
All in all, it's too electro-pop, too jazzy, too EDM for me. I've always liked FTISLAND's songs more than CNBLUE's, but that's because I'm more biased towards rock and that's more of the former’s forte. But I've always thought CNBLUE's musicality and songwriting skills trump FTISLAND's better and rocker songs. I can't remember the last CNBLUE song that I went bananas over. Don't get me wrong. I still love these guys. I think they're an amazing bunch - they write their own songs, they play their instruments and they perform like they were born to do it. But they suddenly went in a slightly different direction, which, for some, might be good because it shows that they are maturing and bravely expanding. But not for me. I don't like it when my favorite bands dabble or experiment in other genres. Especially genres that I'm not really fond of. The only thing I'm grateful for is that there were still a handful of songs in this album that maintained the CNBLUE "style" which is alternative-rock with a bit of pop. I still support them, whatever genre they decide to head towards, but I can't say I'm still a SUPER FAN of their music. I just hope their upcoming album, “BLUEMING”, would not disappoint me.
