Yes I know, it’s late, but I couldn’t write this at the office, because I knew that I would start sobbing. It is time for the review of Jonghyun’s Posthumous album Poet | Artist. All of the proceeds of the album are going to Jonghyun’s mother and a non-profit organization for suicide prevention. I’m not going to write some long introduction, because quite frankly, I’ve already sobbed like 3 times when trying to listen to this album, for the obvious reasons, and also, as I anticipated, this album is amazing.
So let’s go track by track, where I tell you all about the album, and ALL of the points where I started crying:
- Shinin’: This is the main single from the album, and quite frankly, it is phenomenal. Extremely well written and catchy. Did I cry? YES. As soon as they get to the chorus he sings “Always be with you”, and out come the tears. I did move this song to my playlist though so that when the pain dies down, I can at least listen to his amazing vocals. The song has a dance vibe to it like you would hear it in a club. This is the kind of song that I expect from Jonghyun. Uptempo, serious body roller. This song is similar to something that you would have heard on She is (좋아), his first album.
- Only One You Need: Another uptempo dance song, and when the beat drops in the chorus it was like magic. This song did not make me cry as the first one did. Quite frankly, I jammed out to this one hardcore. The beat is so good that you can’t help but dance when you hear it. I will definitely rate this song as tear safe for all of the other Jonghyun fans out there.
- Hashtag#: We are taking the tempo down with this song, moving into more of a smooth Jazz sound where Jonghyun’s vocals truly just fly, as this song really allows him to show off the different layers of his voice that you don’t get to hear in the first two uptempo songs. Still, a head-bopping song that is as well written as the first two songs, but quite frankly, I expect nothing less from Jonghyun. This song, for me, also tears free.
- Grease: If I had to describe this song in one word, that word is sexy. The beat in this song is honestly to die for, and Jonghyun uses a great contrast between staccato, marcato, and legato notes. In non-musical terms, staccato is a short, accented note, marcato is when you putt more emphasis on the note when you start singing it, but you can sustain it longer, and legato is when the artist strings the notes together more. You can hear it quite a bit in the chorus, and the verses. He also does an amazing job of using dynamics throughout the song as well. The background harmonies are also fantastic as the chords aren’t your standard chords, they’re jazz chords, and he uses them as a lot of songs would use the piano to indicate the chord progression. Honestly, this is probably one of my favorite tracks on the album because of his use of dynamics and the general music styling that I feel like are lacking in a lot of pop music today. These are also the things that distinguish the mediocre from the great.
- Take the Dive: More of a mid-tempo song that moves throughout with heavily accented bass and drums to move you through the chorus. It contrasts extremely well with the guitar that plays throughout the whole song and helps the verses move. Honestly, the chorus and verses have such a great contrast between the two that the song really moves through all of the different sections. It doesn’t drag anywhere. Jonghyun also layered his voice on this song in a different way than the previous track, as starting in the first chorus, he layers his voice with an octave jump. The song really just shows how strong his voice is even in falsetto. He then switches into inverted chords which really pull the higher notes to focus. The song overall has a really good balance to all of the different pieces of it. This is another song that got added to my playlist. Yes, I did cry here, but not because of the song itself, but more about how such an amazing composer and artist’s voice will no longer be heard after this.
- Sightseeing: There is more of uptempo jazz feel on this one. I really like how this song ties in sounds from the outside world, like footsteps, cats meowing, and cars honking in the beginning. The electric bass line in the song is great, and I love it when he brings in the trumpets with the mutes on them starting in the chorus. And then later he adds in a trombone, and potentially a baritone. Not my favorite song on the album, but I really love his use of brass in the song, as it really makes the song different from a lot of what you hear today. No crying here.
- Rewind: This song is definitely an uptempo retro-sounding song that slightly reminds me of this seventies song called “Groove is in the Heart” which I think I heard on one of those one-hit-wonder TV shows. I think his use of the whistling with the echo, in the beginning, is really interesting, as well as the fact that through this whole song he isn’t really singing, he is whispering all of the notes like sprechstimme (speak-singing). The song is honestly really different, yet again from a lot of the tracks that you hear today, and for that reason, I do truly enjoy it. Did it make it in my playlist? No. By this point in the album, you really get to see Jonghyun’s ingenuity when it comes to writing music, as he plays with all of the different elements of a piece of music in a new and different way. Insert high levels of sadness without tears over how I will not get to hear more of this.
- Just for a Day: This is a little bit more of a conventional sounding song that the previous one. I love how he plays with the contrasting rhythm between the acoustic guitar and the other rhythmic elements on the track, such as the clapping sound, as they are both actually of the beat of each other. The guitar starts its progression half a beat before the percussion, so it gives it an echoing sound. He builds on this echo with the different layers of the vocals that he adds in throughout the different sections of the song. What I love about the second verse is yet again the inverted chords in the vocal part. So in a regular chord, for example, you would have the notes of a C major chord C, E, and G played from bottom to top in that order. An inverted C major chord can move one, or both of those top notes to be below your “base” note (C), so it would be either E, G, and then C from bottom to top, or G, C, and then E. It makes the piece of music have a different feel to the chord. Jonghyun also typically uses Jazz chords instead of the typical major scale chords. It makes his music very unique. No crying here.
- I’m Curious: Jonghyun has enlightened us with another beautiful mid-tempo song. This song mixes jazz elements and elements you would find in modern pop songs like the song has one of those breakdown moments. This song also shows a really great side to Jonghyun’s voice because he “smoked” it out for this song. He is singing the whole thing more raspy and breathy. It doesn’t have as much of a vocal range exhibited as the last song, but here the focus is more on the rhythms he is building, and how they play with the beats he is building. Honestly, I love the retro feel of this song. I feel like I would have heard it in a 1920s speakeasy. Not my favorite track, and I didn’t cry, but I still enjoy it.
- Sentimental: Jonghyun has graced my ears with a beautiful jazz ballad mixed with a modern rhythmic section. It is a beautiful, magical thing, and I love every single second of it. I even love how he breaks the rhythm of the word “Sentimental” into a cadence that is very unnatural to hear, but so rhythmic at the same time. Yet again, he really plays with dynamics, his musical styling (just like in Grease) and the whole song has beautiful movement to it. Honestly, I am just 100% in love with how he mixes old and new musical elements in this song. It’s like Jazz, mixed with a little bit of R&B. In my playlist? No. Did I cry? No, I luxuriated.
- Before Our Spring: Just Jonghyun and a Jazz piano. This song is a beautiful ballad, and a beautiful way to close the album. The lyrics are absolutely beautiful, as it talks about (rough translation time) “Before our spring comes, before its warm, can I see you once?”. I also love how the song trails off a the end repeating 그땐, 그땐, 그땐, trailing off like a piece of poetry, which is what the song really is. The song highlights his falsetto extremely well too, as the whole thing is sung in it. It really adds that dreamlike feel to the song that is just phenomenal. I love every second of this song. I did cry the first time I heard it. This time i was more focused on the lyrics
K-Points: 7,522/5
Honestly, guys, this album from start to finish is 100% perfection. Every single song on it conveys such emotion and feeling that no matter how much it hurts me to listen to it, I cannot stop. This album is 100% one of the absolute BEST albums I have ever heard in any genre. All I can do after listening to the whole thing is sit and luxuriate in the silence, pondering everything I just heard. I recommend you all do that as well after listening to this album. Every single song was so different, but all of the pieces fit together so well to make one, full, complete album. This judgment has nothing to do with the fact that Jonghyun is no longer with us. This is 100% because he poured his heart and soul into every single moment of creating this album, and it shows.
You all need to buy this album. Do not just stream it. All of the proceeds from this album are going to Jonghyun’s mother and non-profits specifically aimed at suicide prevention. If there is 1 physical album you need it is this one, and I’m going to make it easy on you, because here is a link. Go buy it right now. You will never regret it (side note, if you want to see the contents, of this album, you can read them here).
수고했어요, 종현아….
사랑합니다.
–Rachel
