The second song, titled “Set Me Free“, hits a little harder than the title track, and in some ways, gets a lot of things right that “Tarantallegra” got wrong. For starters, the rap section (delivered by Bizzy) functions properly and effectively. It’s not dropping in between verses as a poor, looped transitional tool, but rather aids the flow and intensity of the song in all the right places without becoming repetitive.
The song reminds me of a remastered male version of Britney Spears‘ “Womanizer“. The propelling backbeat and pulsating synths weaken my knees when I listen to it, and Junsu’s auto-tuned falsetto ad-libs only intensify the Brit-Brit comparisons. You could literally perform the choreography of “Womanizer” to this song, that’s how great of a carbon copy it is.
It’s a decent warm-up club banger at best, and that’s more than anything I can say about the lead single, so this one’s a winner among the up-tempo tracks in the album.
“No Gain” is the first of several mid-tempos. It’s a simple vocal-piano accompaniment with a generic drumkit. While the arrangement is nothing new (verging on dull), this is what Junsu has become over the years. He likes these R&B/power pop songs with a lot of drama and smooth qualities, and this song possesses both.
Unfortunately, the generic-ness of it all didn’t do much to help this song stand out, even with Junsu giving me all of that lush, whiny singing that I love to hear*.
*Was it just me or did Yoochun appear a few times in this song?
Then the album really hits the breaks with the OST track, “사랑이 싫다구요“. Thus far, the prettiest thing on the album. Junsu is one of a few singers that I love to hear on ballads as equally as I do on up-tempos. A lot of idols are fit for only one side of the coin, and that’s perfectly fine, but Junsu’s range and vocal depth is so fucking profound that he can sing anything to perfection. He has the very rare quality of making you melt with his voice, and he does that with flying colors on this song.
Considering that this is indeed an OST track, it explains why the production is a tad more complex than anything we’ve heard so far. It’s gentle, perfectly paced, and the chorus soars. All of the intricate elements in the instrumental really complement Junsu’s delicate vocal performance, like the subtle whistles in the background and the small glides of the electric guitar. All of these details keep the song interesting, which is always nice to hear in a ballad, because the last thing you want is a slow song that bores rather than captivates.
“돌고 돌아도” follows the lead of “사랑이 싫다구요” and delivers yet another gorgeous ballad. This one hits me a lot stronger than the previous one, as it welcomes a refreshing choir of female voices (unless that’s also Junsu; I wouldn’t doubt it) that break up the listening experience for me. I always like to hear sweeps of freshness in a song, kind of like that feeling of relief when you take off your headphones after an hour or so of wearing them, and that’s what these female voices do for me in this song.
One of the best tracks on the album, definitely.
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I have only listened to the album once. That pretty much sums up how I feel about this album.
Good review. One of the things I dig about Junsu is his bold ambition. However, execution is something entirely different. There didn’t seem to be a consistent theme tying all the musical elements together in this album. It almost felt like three different mini’s: k ballad, dance & r&b. I kind of feel he should’ve done 3 separate mini albums. Even with the album’s weaknesses, I still look forward to more work from him. Decent first solo effort from him and I love “Intoxication” and “Lullaby” the most.
I pretty much agree with this review completely. When I first listened to the title track it took me a while to even identify where the chorus was since it barely stood out.
Indeed, Junsu is one of the most talented vocalist out there. I appreciate that he tries to do more and expand his skillset but please leave the producing to the real professionals. The production value of most of the songs in this album was so amateurish. I really only liked Lullaby…
FINALLY someone who has the same opinion as me… “The bare and haunting instrumental was the best aspect of “Tarantallegra””
so true!!!! i absolutely LOVE the instrumental it just LACK the awesome lyrics to fit the epic instrumental…
i love this album, it’s way better than “in heaven” imo. but i gotta admit, whatever they (jyj) trying to sell to us fans the next time, please don’t be a cheapskate… hire a proper producer to edit all this mess, work with more song-writers out here. if all south korea producers/song-writers chickened out, there’re tons out here who want to work with them if cjes/jyj looked them up seriously. and it’s not kanye west is the only one around. dear cjes, i know you’re doing business. i get that your boys could still sell million won with cheaper production cost. but if they truly are musicians, they can do better than this. no. they SHOULD do better than this.
Is it just me, or is “Around and Around” sound A LOT like a mash of OSTs, especially “fox rain” from MGIAG???
It feels like a cluttered album. And I love JunSu and his voice is beautiful, but I’ve had to listen to it a few times to pick out the good parts.