This is not an area that I would claim expertise in, but I've been fully absorbing this album as of late and felt quite interested in giving an album review on Hyorin's debut album, Love & Hate. Everything is from my own personal experience when listening to the album, and undeniably cognitive biases come into play.
When the news of Hyorin's debut first came out, it was largely expected (good vocals in just another idol group?) yet, honestly, not too anticipated by me. Just a matter of personal taste - I can't stand songs that are overly mainstream pop with too much on an emphasis on ensuring that the singer belts as much throughout the entire song in order to showcase their vocal abilities. I sure thought her album would be filled with songs along those lines. But when the tracklist came out, I must say I had a change of attitude due to my preference for songs with solid rappers and in my book, Zico and Geeks can do no wrong. And I wasn't proven wrong.
I will go for a song by song review, before giving my final thoughts on it.
1. Lonely
One of my favourite songs from the album, a really nice ballad which surprised me quite a bit. I was acutely aware of Hyorin's ability to churn out high notes and sing powerful songs, and I always thought that she was limited to that. This song made me bite my words.
I really enjoyed the melody of the song, the slow-paced vibe and how she handled her song with her husky and toned down voice.
2. One Way Love
Quite a typical K-pop song in my opinion, nothing too exciting about it yet I wasn't annoyed by its presence in the tracklist as well. It is quite a public-friendly medium tempo pop song. I do feel that it has a distinct Sistar taste to it. The rap break, which she had to undertake with the absence of her resident rapper Bora, was an effort quite questionable as the song could have done without it.
I do have to say though, while it is in no way a bad song, I felt that there were better title tracks in the album. The dance.. Was quite embarrassing to bear.
A solid ballad that showcased her vocal skills. I enjoyed it, but wasn't too wow-ed by it.
4. Stalker (ft. Mad Clown)
I am quite a fan of Mad Clown since he does deliver powerful yet emotional raps that do have an old-school flair to it. Seeing him featured on the album was a pleasant surprise and I really did enjoy this song. I feel that they are quite a good match as his rapping style matched the powerful vocals, and I do have to say this as there are cases when powerful vocals seemed too forced on a chiller rapper (Ailee and Geeks, anyone?).
5. Massage (ft. Dok2)
Another song of a genre that I personally really like so I do have quite a biased opinion on this song despite not being a stand-out song for me. Certain bits in the song did feel a little awkward.
6. Closer
A good R&B/swing vibe which Hyorin handled really nicely, and I enjoyed the overall laid-back 60's vibe about the entire song. The chorus did sound a little forced and didn't match too well with the entire song.
7. Red Lipstick (ft. Zico)
Hands down my favourite song of the album. As I've mentioned, Zico can do no wrong in my book and the entire song was both fun, emotional and intriguing throughout. I feel that Hyorin does best in such a particular style emotional ballads since it showcases her vocal abilities without it coming forth as too out of place. And have I mentioned Zico?
8. Falling
I cringe every time this song plays. Anyone can pick out the Beyonce - Listen vibe from the song. I did feel that the bridge and bits of the chorus had potential to become another great song but it didn't. One of my least enjoyed song from the album, though I felt that I could understand this song's presence just because every singer needs to belt here and there.
9. O.M.G (ft. Lil Boi of Geeks)
A fun, poppy song that is public friendly while not losing too much of either Geeks or Hyorin's style. I like it and felt that it's presence was extremely suitable in this album just to bring some lightness to the album.
10. Tonight
A good followup to the fun sounds of O.M.G. Tied the album together nicely, and the entire song just felt well made.
Overall thoughts
I was glad that her debut album was an extremely solid one that is honest-to-god full length - quite uncommon for Korean idol soloists but one that was definitely warranted and appreciated. This album very well showcased the malleability of her vocals and secured her position as one of the best idol vocalists around, with a (in my opinion) good awareness of her own vocal style and music direction. The entire album, despite the variety in styles, did not feel repetitive and it also made me feel that there's an overall cohesive vibe about them.
While there were parts about the album that I felt wasn't needed, I have to say that I enjoyed this album very much and there were many aspects of this album that made me re-look my opinion of her as a singer.
7/10
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