The last time we had seen this talented duo was back in 2014 with their debut album ‘Play’, with the exception of the collaboration between Suhyun, Lee Hi and IKON’s Bobby in 2014 with the single ‘I’m Different’. But we’ll be seeing the charismatic sibling unit again with the release of the second half of their album entitled ‘Puberty’ which should come out later on in the year. Without further ado, here’s the album review for Akdong Musician – Spring!
- 1. Re-Bye
Straight off the bat, we’re introduced to the album with a farewell rather than the expected greeting. It’s a smooth jazzy number that hardly contains the warmth of which Akdong Musician often provided with their past releases. It seems to be the odd one out in this mini-album with its cold attitude, refusing to be naive to the reality of the world.
The music video painted a façade of a young girl who dreamed of stardom, having to endure unfair treatment from the leading actress in the play. There’s a series of accidents which follow on, all of which surround the aforementioned actress leading to suggest that perhaps Suhyun was behind the actions. Perhaps jealously was the pushing factor in this. However, that didn’t appear to be the case here in the slightest. Instead, it had turned out that the sibling duo were undercover detectives who found out the culprit within the last minute of the MV. The message of this could imply that you can’t put blind trust into people, regardless of how friendly and nice they may appear. Because they might just turn out to be the kind of people you would rather avoid.
“Re-e-e bye Wave your hands without a regret Re-bye.”
See more: [Song of the Week] AKMU – ‘Re-Bye’
- 2. How People Move
Upbeat is the first thing that comes to mind with this next title track. The concept is an interesting topic, it’s filled to the brim with a child-like fascination of even the most simplest of human motions. It compares living as a human to either a toy or a rock, being able to make conscious decisions.
It’s a fun tune overall and the music video really does inspire the imagination by capturing a vibrant and creative set to accompany its musical partner. There’s an abundance of colours, an assortment of has its own charm with a few sprinkles of cuteness as the pair’s comeback shows them being more confident than ever. It really does capture the playful dynamics of their relationship.
“It’s a relief that I’m a human out of all the countless living creatures.”
- 4. Haughty Girl
Leading to the third track of this album, it’s a much more mellow song in comparison to the main two. The concept looks into the workings of a modern day relationship which gives off the impression of being complex these days. It’s often the case where you may not know where you may stand with a person, whether they’re actually interested in you or not. The impression that we get from the song is that it’s almost like a cat and mouse game, sometimes the intentions of each person isn’t crystal clear which leads to each of the two misunderstanding the situation.
“If you like me then tell me that you like me.”
- 4. Green Window
This is perhaps similar to fellow label mate Lee Hi’s title song ‘Breathe’, the purpose is to bring some kind of comfort to the listener. To give hope to people who feel frustrated with their situations, who may feel like they don’t have control over their own lives or have experienced failure. The pace of the song picks up, it tries to motivate others with the encouraging statement that no one is good at the start, the title of this particular song looks to give that window of opportunity to others to remind the listener to not forget about going after what you want to achieve in life. It seems to act like that flicker of hope in that sense, the only person who has a direct impact on their lives is themselves and the choices they may.
“You have to come out in order to let the world change.”
- 5. Every Little Thing
Once this song started off, it reminded us of Disney like vibes. It’s nothing but feel-good music. It looks at the simple things in life. There’s a similar message in this song like with Green Window, it’s about enjoying every aspect of life and not being too caught up with the obstacles that life often drops in your path. It puts an emphasis on savouring each moment like it’s your last and like the lyric below suggests, to stop sometimes to take the time to smell the roses.
“We ran without rest and missed seeing the flowers.”
- 6. Around
The vibe is almost akin to the opening number in this mini-album, Chanhyuk injected part of his own experiences into this piece. It seems that he didn’t have a sense of belonging and he was made to feel like he was different from other people. Sometimes, people can find comfort in being in isolation, however it can certainty be a lonely place if you feel like you don’t fit in. He wanted to connect with others who may have difficulties expressing their emotions as it was stated that he had his own perception of understanding the words that people say.
“Here or there, there’s no place for me.”
