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Album Review: YooA - Bon Voyage

Every now and then, an album will come along which I have to review every track of. I will also assign an overall score of the album by averaging the scores.

I love YooA's new album. Usually I am not so much into mini-albums and EPs but boy is this one consistent. Over the course of five songs there is no dud. Only one other mini-album managed to do this in 2020 (Alla Vaikunthapuramloo Soundtrack).

Bon Voyage (Full Review)

Normally I would not say anything on an already reviewed, but my old review is easily the worst I have written this year and some of my points are not even legitimate. The song does have backing vocals (I must have been distracted when writing that review). Though the rest of the reasoning is legitimate, the song is a breath of fresh air in 2020, so I am updating the score. I expect it to grow further.

Rating: 9/10

 

Far

Initially my pick for the worst song this album, the sheer strength of the drop chorus has made it one of my favorite b-sides this year. Though the verses could use some energy, YooA fills them with a boatload of charisma. The tropical vibe, unlike in 'Nonstop' are used to make the song more adventurous. I think this might become a cold northern USA beach trip ride favorite. The drop chorus is one of the most massive in this style, and recalls Sunmi's 'Heroine'. I think it may just grow on me a lot.

Rating: 8.75/10

 

Diver

This retro trend has left us with a lot of faceless songs, without a plan or identity. Diver is unlike this. If it were in a weaker album or been a single, it might 9.25 or something higher. But it is consistent and thus I will try to be harsher to Diver. Diver is filled to the brim with the idea of being funky. It is not funky because funk is trendy, this is the good old funk we have been missing. I never really how charismatic YooA's voice and performance was until this album, and 'Diver' is the perfect example of this.

Rating: 9/10

 

Abracadabra

To me, 'Abracadabra' is all about that main hook of a chorus. The rest of the song is part song/ part chant.  But the chorus reminded me of the era when songs were willing to expirament with weird choruses. I doubt this song's longevity, thus I dropped the score overall by a point. But boy YooA is charismatic.

Rating: 8.5/10

 

End Of Story

It seems every Korean album must end with a ballad, not that I mind it. Occasionally I wish for a more unique structure (Ballad in middle, Tears on Dance-floor to close things on a high), but I am happy with the ballads so far (sometimes) which end the albums. End of Story is actually quite a good album finisher I envision myself playing it while doing school. Despite this, it is still the weakest track in the album by far.

Rating: 8.5/10

 

Overall Score: 8.75/10

Thoughts: The best albums in any language released this month so far. The only thing harming it is the lack of a total standout. Though I suppose 'Bon Voyage' is slowly becoming that. I am now so looking forward to the next Oh My Girl Full/Solo album.

Edit: So 'Bon Voyage' has definitely stood out over the last month or so. In fact, I am surprised that the album is even better now than it was in September.