The underdog of the K-Pop industry, U-Kiss is back with their 3rd Major Album, Collage, which was released on 7th March. This album also celebrates the return of their rapper, AJ, who was studying at Columbia University (whether his return is permanent is still a question to be answered), anyways, it’s nice to see the lovely r^2 pi rapper back!
Although some would say their comeback this time around seems a tad bit rushed (with hardly any teasers and stuff just dropping out of nowhere), the album seems quite promising and having a rushed comeback would not necessarily mean the album produced is also rushed (?)
Anyways, on to the review
01. Step by Step (intro)
An instrumental piece which builds up into dubstep, not a great fan of dubstep, but I don’t totally hate it, although it does seem overused, especially in the kpop industry. Thankfully it’s only used in this intro which is only 48 seconds long, so I forgive them, although it’s not bad, but the album can probably do without it, still. (3/5)
02. Standing Still
The main track, which they are promoting, which I think was a great choice. I absolutely love the use of guitar strumming in this song, especially in the beginning to help build up the song, and then the beat kicks in. This song definitely has “U-kiss” stamped all over it. The one thing I like to point out is the amount of english used, especially in the chorus, which I think is there way of showing that they know how big their international fanbase is, and to show their appreciation to their international fans, which I think is a good idea. Oh, and can I mention, how much I love the guitar solo bit just before the rapping (I love my acoustic guitars ok? XD). The rapping is a bit iffy but I like the line “so cold when you do it to me like that, frostbite but karma’s gonna bite back”. There’s also the use of the word “kerosene”, I guess having 3 fluent english speakers is definitely a bonus XD Anyways, if you can’t tell already, I love love love this song _A_ (5/5)
03. Can’t Breathe
Another upbeat song, although there’s no surprise there, this is U-kiss afterall. I like the chorus in this, especially the falsetto parts, it’s actually pretty addictive. One thing I can’t help but hearing is the line “I can’t let you go, girl you make me so, naege malhaejwo say yes” which I keep mishearing as “I can’t let you go, girl you make me so, naked…”, I can’t be the only one hearing this, right? (I’m sorry) I’m not too keen on the overlapping rapping with the chorus though, reminds me of SHINee’s minho and his rap in “hello”, and it just seems a bit messy (4/5)
04. Missing You
I like the little bubbly things in the background (technical term for this has escaped my mind so this will do for now), which makes the song seem pretty sweet. But this song overall is ok, it’s not amazing and is pretty average, and doesn’t seem to stand out much (although I do like the use of wind chimes just after the middle 8). It can be a bit forgettable but not terrible and unfortunately not amazing either (3/5)
05. Bad Person
This was different. Especially the pauses between the “naega nappeuda” bits, which made it definitely different and it stood out. Also I like the contrast between the almost staccato-like “naega nappeuda” compared to the long notes held in the chorus. Although, maybe because of the pauses and all the long notes, the song seems to drag out quite a bit, which is the song’s downfall (4/5)
06. More Painful Than Pain
Soohyun’s and Hoon’s duet, which definitely showcases their voices, from the soft and gentleness at the beginning, and then as the background builds up, so do their vocals, so’s not to be swallowed up in all the strings. Although it may sound like your usual k-pop ballad, it really does show off both’s gentleness and powerful voices, which I think is the main point of giving them this duet – not to make a song that you would say is special or different, but a way of showing how under-rated their vocals are (4.5/5)
07. My Reason
Kevin’s solo, and my god, it’s so saccharine, which I guess suit’s Kevin’s personality to a T. Although it does seem weird how you would put one ballad after another, without thinking of the problem that they may sound similar, however the duet vs Kevin’s solo is defintiely very different. Whilst the duet was to showcase their voices, this solo, for Kevin, in my opinion, is to show the sweetness of Kevin and his voice, which might be why he didn’t do a duet with someone else (I mean who else can sing such a saccharine song with him? XD). Of course, people are also wondering who the female rapper is, and to be honest, the song could do without it, as it seem to ruin the sweetness of the song a bit (3.8/5)
08. Party All the Time
AJ’s and Eli’s duet, this is literally them having fun and messing around, whilst not really seeming to take things seriously, which I think totally fits their image. Although the singing parts, seem a bit of a struggle at parts, but the “part all the time” parts are definitely extremely addictive. Definitely lots of fun, although very repetitive, but I guess that is the point of the song. And can I just say I love whoever says the “high” bit after the “put your hands up” because it just sounds like they really are high on something (lol). Although it’s very fun and can be very addictive, it’s not really my cup of tea, being a bit too repetitive that it may get irritating if put on repeat for too long (I’m sorry, don’t kill me) (3.5/5)
09. Sweety Girl
Sweet Lord, I thought my Itunes started to play One Direction, but then I remembered, I don’t have any One Direction. Although, I have nothing against 1D (I should actually be proud, being British and all, and them currently “taking the world by storm” but meh, not my cup of tea). But why, I must ask myself, does this remind me of 1D, surely bands like McFly, did something like this years before, and yet the first thing that came to my head was “why are you playing 1D, itunes?!?!”. Anyways enough of random ranting, the song itself, isn’t bad, it’s very sweet and different from the usual U-kiss, which, I guess, means that they’re trying to do something new. Although it feels weird. Extremely weird, for U-Kiss to do such a song, although not terrible, just…weird. Somehow, though, the rapping actually fits in this song. But this song is very chirpy and definitely reminds me of summer (oh how I wish it would come sooner) (3/5)
10. Cause I Love You
I like this song, yet for some reason, I feel like it’s very familiar, like it’s been done before. Although I do like the chorus, and it’s a very fitting track to end the album, like it feels like a good day’s work finished kinda feeling (I don’t know). It definitely sounds like a song, you would listen to whilst going on a long trip, it also gives off that kind of feeling where you’re on a trip somewhere and you’re looking forward to your destination…this songs gives me too many different feelings lol. (3.5/5)
11. More Painful Than Pain (Instrumental)
Instrumental of Soohyun’s and Hoon’s duet, and you can clearly hear all the instruments which just sounds absolutely beautiful and makes you appreciate the song more. I really like that they added this instrumental to it, although I guess they probably just put it there to fill some space, but it’s definitely not bad. Plus, I personally love listening to instrumentals, so no complaints here (4/5)
12. Standing Still (Instrumental)
Instrumental of the main track, loving how you can hear the acoustic guitar strumming and what not, as well as the beats really claerly. I would probably love to listen to this whilst working on something or if I ever feel the need to go out for a jog, as it’ll probably get you pumped. And like I said before, I just love instrumentals, so I’m probably pretty bias here (4/5)
Overall score: 3.8/5
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This album definitely screams “U-kiss”, which I think is definitely a good job, because it shows that they have their own sound and they know how to use it without sounding at all boring, although at the same time they seem to be experimenting with a few other sounds (a la sweety girl), it’s nice to know that even if the experimentation may backfire on them, they still have their own sound to fall back on. Although some people do wonder whether this album will be able to beat their Neverland album, in my opinion, Neverland is still better, but that doesn’t mean this album is terrible at all. It’s nice to see them secure with their own sound whilst trying out a few different things at the same time.
Sources: lyrics
Asian Love For Music 