[ Information ] Artist : Lee Hyori 2nd album : Dark Angel Released on February 11, 2006 Publisher : CJ Music [Order this CD]

[ Lee Hyori - Vol.2 : Dark angel ] Tracklist : 1. Get ya' 2. Gipi 3. Straight up 4. Dark angel 5. Dear boy 6. Gyeo-ulsigeon 7. Closer 8. Humcheobogi 9. Shall we dance ? 10. Noye 11. E.M.M.M 12. 2 Faces 13. Majimak insa   [ Review ] 1. Get ya' This first song introduces well the atmosphere of the whole album : R&B. We discover from the start the deep voice of Lee Hyori, very beautiful and which fits very well this universe. The different electronic sounds in the song are like some of Britney Spears' latest releases, for example in "Toxic" or "Do somethin' ". It seems like the producers were inspired by this singer a lot for this song. 2. Gipi This song is more a traditionnal R&B song, with some strange sounds added again, but really less than in the previous song. There are also some raps in the background, done by a male singer. It is a little repetitive but good for those who like today's R&B music. 3. Straight up This song is in the same style as the previous one, very R&B like with a background rapper, but it is not as repetitive and strange. The chorus is quite addictive. It could really be an American R&B song. 4. Dark angel For the song which has the name of the album, i thought it would be more original. It is a little in the atmosphere of the first song but a little slower. This one is less interesting than "Get ya' " : almost the same, but less good. 5. Dear boy This song is different from the previous ones, the melody is more original, although it is always inspired by R&B music. Lee Hyoli sings softly in the chorus, and there is also a good rap made by a female singer this time. 6. Gyeo-ulsigeon For the first time, this song is a ballad ! Although the music is very beautiful, with an acoustic guitar for the main part and some violons behind, Lee Hyori sings so slowly and softly, and the melody is so simple that the whole thing is a little too slow and there is no change is the power of the instruments, i wouldn't listen to it entirely. 7. Closer So, let's go back to Lee Hyori's real universe ! An R&B feeling, acoustic guitars associated with different sounds that were not used before like tomtom, which gives a particular atmosphere to the song. This song has a little African atmosphere , with a good rhythm which makes it quite addictive. 8. Humcheobogi From the beginning of the song, we know that we are back to the old American R&B music. There are even tiny sounds that make you feel like you are listening to an old disc. The beat is slower than the other songs, with a lot of bass in the song, and Lee Hyori's voice is deeper to give the good feeling to this kind of song. 9. Shall we dance ? Fast violons, associated to a strange music, inspirated by R&B music... how could i tell you what this song is like ? The chorus has no big difference with the rest of the song, so it feels a little repetitive. Fortunately, there is a rap part but the music doesn't change at all and you can get annoyed quickly by this strange mix. 10. Noye We are back again to real R&B music, which includes Lee Hyori's very soft voice, and a repetitive music in the background. Fortunately, there are some electronic sounds which change the music and create some new melodies in the background, but for a few moment only. 11. E.M.M.M The beginning of the song sounds like... a rock song ! Actually, it is a mix between R&B and some electronic guitars in the background and in the instrumental parts, and it makes a quite good environment. At least, it is different from all the other songs. The only bad thing is that the melody of the guitars is always the same in the back so there is always a repetitive feeling, even if there is a very short slow part in the song. We can feel that it is not Lee Hyori's universe, her voice isn't really good to sing rock songs. 12. 2 Faces This song is almost a ballad, except "Gyeo-ulsigeon", it is the slowest one in the album. It is a traditionnal R&B song, in which Lee Hyori is again gone with a male singer but more present than in the other songs, especially in the chorus. So it looks like a duet, and the harmony made by the two voices and the rhythm is very pleasant. 13. Majimak insa It is the last song and it is the second ballad of the album. Lee Hyori's voice gets very slow and soft again. A little too much for me, she could sing a ballad with her full voice, here it looks like she really tries to use a small part of her voice only. Contrary to the first ballad, in this one the music is more present, it changes more and the whole thing is calm and beautiful to hear. But i think it is a little too calm for me because of Lee Hyori's voice. Finally, it is a beautiful way to finish the album, but the song itself has nothing very particular. Conclusion I got this album after having heard three songs of Lee Hyori that i liked a lot since the first time. But they were not from the same one, and i was a little disappointed of this one. At first, some songs seem very good, like "Get ya' ", "Straight up" and "Dear boy", but finally many songs are repetitive and there are no excellent songs from my point of view. Fortunately, Lee Hyori's voice is deep and beautiful, so it fits perfectly to her R&B universe.