Fanboy & Fangirl Review Super Junior-M's 2nd Mini-Album 'Perfection'
11:10 PM Album, Mini-Album, Perfection, Review, Super Junior M, Too Perfect 5 comments
Super Junior M's 2nd Mini Album 'Perfection'
Release Date: 2011.02.25
Itunes - YesAsia
01. 太完美 (Perfection)
02. 命運線 (Destiny)
03. 幸福微甜 (Love is sweet)
04. 表白 (Off my mind)
05. True Love
06. 吹一樣的風 (My all is in you)
Fanboy:
Well, I consider myself a Super Junior fan and when I saw that their new album was titled "Perfection", I was certainly hoping it would live up to its name. Not necessarily, but I still liked it.
Track 1: "Perfection" - It's no wonder why SM chose this as the lead track, because this is my favorite song off the album. Granted, it's not a lot of people's favorite (due to too much auto-tune), but I'm somehow drawn to this song's catchiness (and choreography).
Track 2: "Destiny" - I guess one word to describe this song would be "sweet". It's pleasant to the ears. Not my favorite, but it sounds like one of those songs you'd find in a romantic comedy movie soundtrack. Particularly at a part where the boy runs to find the girl. Discovers her. Confesses his love for her. And then, they kiss. And then, this song plays.
Track 3: "Love is Sweet" - This song reminded of one SHINee's early songs off of their first album ("Four Seasons"? Or even "One" off their "Hello" repackage). Again, it's another "sweet" song (I would hope. Judging by the title here...). Not my favorite. It was just ok to me.
Track 4: "Off My Mind" - It seems to me that Henry is utilized a lot in this song. He's becoming one of my favorites now. (Side note: I'm really disappointed that Henry didn't use his amazing violin skills in this album. That was definitely needed and very much missed.) For some odd reason, I liked this song. It was a catchy up-tempo track and seems like it could have success here in America (thanks to Henry). My favorite song after "Perfection".
Track 5: "True Love" - This track seems like it could have come off a Korean drama soundtrack. I guess you could say it's one of those feel good songs. For some reason, I picture this song being used as opening credits to an 80s sitcom where each cast member turns to the camera and smiles as their name flashes across the screen. However, it's not my taste.
Track 6: "My All is in You" - I think this is one of the best vocally-powered songs on the album. Kyuhyun and Ryeowook really shine on this one. I think this is my 3rd favorite song on the album. Mainly because I appreciate true vocal talent. It was a nice song that seems to have a nice emotion behind it.
I'll be honest, when I first listened to this album, I really liked it. However, as I listened to it two more times, I realized it wasn't as great as I thought it was. I feel like the album doesn't have a long-lasting appeal. I think I'll really be only listening to, at most, 3 songs weeks down the road.
I know you're not really that crazy about Super Junior like I am. What did you think, Fangirl?
Fangirl:
No, I'm not too crazy about Super Junior, but I do really love some of their songs. That stayed pretty consistent after listening to this album. I'm no ELF convert, but there are some songs on the album that I really enjoyed.
I would like to preface this review by saying ballads are mostly not my thing. It often takes whole lot of repetition or back-story for them to grow on me. But on to the album -
"Perfection" isn't my favorite on the album like it is for Fanboy, but I enjoy a power dance track now and then. It's not "perfection" exactly, but it is catchy and dance-able.
"Destiny" is a typical SM ballad that builds to an interesting electric-guitar-fueled bridge. Like I said, I usually don't go for ballads, but I have to admit I was tapping my toe by the end of this song.
"Love Is Sweet" is... another ballad. At least SuJu M has the vocal talent to pull it off.
You're so right, Fanboy - Henry really shines in "Off My Mind". Not only did he sing the song solo, but Henry composed it as well. It seems we had many of the same thoughts about this song. It occured to me that this song would do well in America, too. I hope to see much more from Henry in the future. The boy is talented!
Excuse me while I dig the pixie dust and starshine out of my ears. I'm sorry Zhoumi, I know you worked hard composing this song but "True Love" just isn't my jam. I don't know how much more of those tinkling chimes I can take...
Now "My All Is In You" is the kind of song I can dig. A beat you can snap your fingers to, gorgeous vocal harmonies, a catchy chorus. And we finally get to hear Kyuhyun's soaring voice. I dare say I like it even more than Super Junior's Korean version (사랑이 이렇게).
I like Super Junior M best when they skip the ballads and "cute" songs. Unfortunately, that makes up only half the album. Except for a few select tracks, "Perfection" didn't do it for me.
What did you think of Super Junior-M's mini album?
Let me give my two cents:
"Perfection": Took a few listens for this to grow on me, because I really don't like to hear my boys' voices autotuned, but I really like it now. 2nd favorite on this album.
"Destiny": This is actually a very Cpop style ballad, and I absolutely love it. My favorite song of the album.
"Love is Sweet": If you know Jay Chou's music, you know that this is very typical of his compositions. The lyrics are by Fang Wen Shan, who is a very well-known lyricist and has worked with Jay Chou a lot. It's not an easy song to sing, and they made good use of the members' voices.
"Off My Mind": Henry's solo! Perfect English pronunciation is a plus for people who are annoyed with accented English. This is the only other song besides "Perfection" that sounds Kpop. It's a joint effort between him and Zhou Mi as well, props to them!
"True Love": not my favorite style of song, but sufficiently cheery and fun to listen to when you're in a mood.
"My All Is in You": I personally am liking it more than the Korean version, and I think the vocals here more powerfully conveyed the song. It also feels very different from the Korean version to me.
I have to say I liked this much better than their last mini-album "Super Girl" or even the full album "Me". That's despite the fact that this is mostly slower songs. The overall feel is more Cpop than Kpop, which may disappoint Kpop fans, but absolutely delights me. It's an album that's great to relax to, but definitely not for when you want to be pumped up.
Also want to point out to fanboy you said you'll only listen to 3 songs down the road, but that's already half the album, which is a decent percentage in my book.
Thank you for your thoughts, kaorupanda. I guess should say that I said "at most" 3 songs. It could stay like that, but in all honesty, it'll probably dwindle down to just the one ("Perfection") (and maybe "Off My Mind").
I personally liked this album more than Big Bang's. Biases aside. It was refreshing to hear the other members more besides the typical KRY.
Yes, thank you for your thoughts, kaorupanda.
Like Fanboy, I'm pretty unfamiliar with C-pop, so it's nice to hear the perspective of someone who is. "Destiny" has been growing on me, though I don't think it will ever surpass "My All Is In You". Love that song.
I'm worried for Super Junior M's promotions, though. Zhoumi is now the only fluent Chinese speaker, now that Hangeng is gone. How are they going to do it? :(
they released a korean version of Perfection.
I must admit that i actually prefer the korean version, just because to me, the style of the song is more suitable to k-pop than c-pop.
Besides the fact that most of the group is singing in their natural language (save for Henry Zhoumi), the style is more suitable for k-pop.
That said, i can't say i hate the chinese version either... lol...it's certainly different from the normal chinese songs we hear from chinese groups nowadays.
Yes, I saw the Korean version, starrieskies. Actually, both songs sound essentially the same to me, so I don't really care for one version over the other. Though I have been hearing a lot of people say the song sounds more appropriate in Korean, than in Chinsese~
Thank you for your comment!