Album Review: Brian Joo – ‘Unveiled’ (mini-album)

Album release date: 2011
Genre: Kpop, R&B/pop/ballad
Rating: 3.5/5                
Review by: jct

Up to this point in his career, Korean-American R&B singer, Brian Joo has been best known for slow romantic ballads either as a solo artist or as a member of R&B duo, Fly To The Sky. But in his latest release, Unveiled, Brian branches out slightly and adds more up-tempo and mainstream materials to his usual mix of songs. Although the songs are more maintream, the results are still favorable.

More Mainstream

The album begins with a strong track, “눈물의 구성요소 (Components of a Tear)” which is a mid-tempo R&B/ballad with smooth vocals and nice piano and strings sounds about the pain from a past love as he sings, “Add a little salt and water, as it gets mixed in/Let it go out of my eyes, you’re the reason for my tears.” The title track, “사랑하다 끝났어 (Loved, It’s Over Now)”is a mid-tempo R&B/ballad about a broken heart, with smooth vocals but somewhat bland. The other tracks in the album ranging from up-tempo R&B/pop to mid-tempo R&B/ballad, are all nicely crafted.  Also, deserving mentioning are the English versions of the first two tracks, “Domino (눈물의 구성요소 English Ver.)", and “It's Over Now (사랑하다 끝났어 English Ver.)”. It’s important to note that although the track “Domino (눈물의 구성요소 English Ver.)” maintains the same melody/music as “눈물의 구성요소 (Components of a Tear)”, the context of the song is different. The song, “Domino (눈물의 구성요소 English Ver.)” is actually about falling deeply in love as he sings, “I’m falling into something real and I can’t stop myself/ I’m knocking over everything and you just caught me.”

There are a few drawbacks in this album, one of which is the vocals. It’s not that Brian doesn’t sound good on this album; his vocals are still intact and smooth. The main problem is that most of the songs on this album sound way too common and mainstream. Thus, his vocals sometimes lack the fire and passion. There are very few passionate moments, and most songs give off an overproduced feel to them. However, his attempt at updating his sound for a younger/more modern audience in this album is still quite good. To his credit, he still manages with ease in the up-tempo and mainstream music.  

The album has some slight drawbacks, but Brian’s attempt in updating and advancing his music is still a good effort and the results are favorable. Overall, Unveiled is recommended for those whoe enjoy R&B/pop/ballad.

Tracklist

1. 눈물의 구성요소 (Components of a Tear)
2. 사랑하다 끝났어 (Loved, It’s Over Now)
3. 나도 약속이 있었으면 좋겠다 (I Wish I Had A Promise)
4. 24
5. Song 4 U
6. Domino (눈물의 구성요소 English Ver.)
7. It's Over Now (사랑하다 끝났어 English Ver.)
8. 사랑하다 끝났어 (Instrumental) (Loved, It’s Over Now)