IU's Modern Times album review
I was quite intrigued when I heard the teasers for this. The old-school, bossa nova style used in most of the album is a refreshing change from what is usually heard in K-Pop, but during my first listen some tracks sounded similar and sort of blended into one another. I like "the Red Shoes" but as a main song, in my opinion the feel of it is still similar to previous hits from IU such as "Good Day" or "You and I". "Between the Lips" has a really sensual vibe that has bewitched me, while "Modern Times" is really fun to listen to. I thought "Bad Day" was going to be a boring ballad, but it soars in the end and leaves me all teary-eyed although I haven't even looked up what the lyrics mean. The duets with the old singers fall into the 'meh' category because I don't really like their voices and singing style. Sorry, sunbaenims? "Wait" could've been better if half of it wasn't an instrumental. While I seem to have many songs in the 'okay' category this time, I feel that some of them might still get up a notch as they grow on me the more I listen to them, such as the duet with SHINee's Jonghyun. In conclusion, a pretty creative, unique album with several gems and a lot of potential. 8/10
Favorites: 입술 사이 Between the Lips (50Cm), Modern Times, 분홍신 the Red Shoes, 싫은 날 Bad Day
Okay ones: 우울시계 A Gloomy Clock (feat. Jong-hyun), Obliviate, 누구나 비밀은 있다 Everybody Has Secrets (feat. Gain), 을의 연애 Love of B (with Park Ju-won), Voice Mail (Korean Ver), Havana
Kinda meh: 아이야 나랑 걷자 Walk With Me, Girl (feat. Choi Baek-ho), 한낮의 꿈 Daydream (feat. Yang Hee-eun), 기다려 Wait