Album Review: TVXQ (동방신기) New Chapter #1: The Chance for Love

Well, after slamming the Monsta X album yesterday, you will be happy to know that I actually found an album that I really enjoy. TVXQ has made their comeback (finally) after they finished their mandatory military service. The album is called New Chapter #1: The Chance for Love (you can pick up a copy here) and it is actually really damn good. I think you all will enjoy it. I will point out though, after watching U-Know and Changmin (Max) on I Live Alone, I don’t think I could ever regret buying anything TVXQ. They are such weirdos, and I love it. Changmin disclosed that he is preparing himself for when robots steal all of our jobs, and U-Know is honestly just strange in general…. watch the show. You will bust out laughing.

I do a lot of my album shopping on Music Plaza LA. Additionally, if you have never used Music Plaza before, this link will get you an extra 5% off of your first purchase!

You can also order a copy of the album from an eBay, as they typically have good prices. Plus, with eBay, you can save a little bit of money by using the E-Bates extension on your browser, as it will save you 2% on all album purchases, which definitely adds up.

What is E-Bates?

E-Bates is a cashback site that gives you money for purchases you may have already made. They even have an extension for multiple browsers so when you go to a website that uses Ebates, it will automatically pop up the cashback button to make sure you are saving money. I use this all the time, and I got over 80$ back from them for purchases I was going to make anyway. That’s about 3 more albums I can buy!

If you’ve never used EBates before, you can use this link to get $10 when making a qualified purchase of $25 when using EBates. You will also get whatever percent cashback is being offered from the site you are purchasing from.  Sephora, typically has 4% cashback, through here. Sokoglam typically has 3%. These percentages Many other major retailers are on there as well.

TVXQ (동방신기) New Chapter #1: The Chance for Love, Track by Track:

I’ve already listened to the album a number of times, although I did take a momentary break to listen to Super Duper (it’s so dumb, but so catchy) Okay, on to the music:

1. Love Line: TVXQ starting out with some really solid ish! I really like this track to the point that I only listened to half the track before it ended up in my playlist. I love how it is a bit softer, and really highlights their singing style, as most of the background track is just clapping and acoustic guitar. They do have a few electronic elements to it. The whole track is very nicely layered, as you can hear every little piece of their solid harmonies over the music. This song would be really fun to rearrange as an a cappella piece, as it has so much movement to it that it would sound impressive. Perfect way to start an album. Good job guys.
2. The Chance of Love: This song as well is just phenomenal. It has some super jazzy vibes to it, and of course, the harmonies are yet again fire throughout the whole track. This track did make it into my  playlist as well. It has a super sexy, funk sound with this deep bass line going through the whole track. It really grounds the sound. It actually reminds me of a Maroon 5 track that we may have heard like 6 years ago (my favorite time period for Maroon 5). Yet again, the track is very balanced, and you can hear every little piece of the audio, nothing overpowers any other part. Big fan.
3. Broken: I like this track too, and I think it is a perfect transition from the previous two tracks, as it isn’t so drastically different that you are like what happened, but it is also an obvious shift. I don’t like the harmonies as much in this song as I did in the previous two songs, as I think there is definitely a bit more that they could have done with it, and too much of it is in unison. This track totally sounds like something that I would have  heard with an early 2000’s boy band. For that reason alone I love this. As boy bands are life. This didn’t make it into the playlist though, as it isn’t something I would be happy to have shuffle into my head.
4. Only For You: They took the tempo back up a notch for this one, and we have a serious electronic vibe going on, but not like a club song.  I think this would be too tame for today’s clubs, but like a club full of drag queens from RuPaul’s drag race, I can see. It has like a smooth club feel to it, and the transition from the previous track to this one was very smooth. For that reason. It migrated into my playlist, even if it is just for those piano chords in the chorus.
5. Puzzle (U-Know Solo): Here we go again with the retro club vibes. I love how this track sounds, especially when the beat drops in the chorus. The song really moves too, as the sound changes really propel it forward. By this point in the album, I have officially decided that I do not regret pre-ordering a copy of this.
6. Closer (Changmin Solo): So for Changmin’s solo track, he took a very different approach than U-Know. But this is anticipated as the two are basically exact opposites. Whereas Changmin went for a slower, sexier sounding song (cause Changmin totally paints himself as extremely sexy), U-Know went for an upbeat club song (He’s an Energizer bunny). Both tracks present a nice contrast to each other, and I think really show off their personalities. Neither of the solos ended up in my playlist
7. Bounce: Okay, so this song is not the song from the first JJ Project album, and it sounds nothing like it either. This song has a bit of a swing feel to it with the sax that they have playing. Also, they get their ASMR on in the chorus. Thank you, for keeping up with trends, TVXQ.  I approve.  This song although I like it, didn’t make it into the magical massive K-Pop playlist. I do like it though.
8. Wake Me Up: Okay, I usually do not like whenever electronic elements are mixed with more classical instruments, like piano, guitar, and a drum kit, but when they do that in the beginning of this track it doesn’t phase me, especially cause it drops out as soon as they start singing, and then the song moves into more of a jazz, big band feel, complete with trumpets and tambourines. I honestly really do enjoy this song, and I think it definitely presents a nice contrast to all of the other tracks that we have heard on the album so far. I do wish though that when they were mixing the track that there was just a wee bit more trumpet in the parts leading up to the chorus, as I feel that they under-utilized them, when they could have built some strong chords with them.
9. Lazybones: I would say that this song is the first true ballad on the album, as it is mainly piano, strings, acoustic guitar, etc. You can also tell that the strings that they use in this track are either 1: a really orchestra or 2: a really really good recording of them. As I used to play the violin, I get really pissy when I hear fake strings that don’t sound like strings. It makes me angry. This does not. I think it was done very well. Also, when they get to the second chorus, and do those beautiful harmonies. Just yay. Oh, and then the extra vocalists come in, which is even more yay. Thank you for building a beautiful ballad that I approve of. I like it. Not playlist worthy, but I would totally try to learn this song myself.
10. Without You: Another sexy Jazz track! Yay! IF you haven’t figured out after reading my post on Heize’s Wish & Wind, I really love jazzier songs. Now, this song isn’t nearly as jazzy as what Heize did, as it borders more on 2000’s boy band ballad style, but it does have a few elements that are jazz. Now, this song is totally not my favorite track on the album (that would be Love Line, people), but it isn’t bad. It just feels more generic to me. It doesn’t stand out for me, but I don’t hate it.
11. Sun & Rain: Yay for more N’Sync sounding songs. This track really reminds me of one song off of the N’Sync’s Strings Attached album,  “I Thought She Knew” as they use almost the EXACT same harmony progressions and melody line as that track does. I don’t remember exactly which track that is, but as soon as I heard this, I was like, I know I have heard this before…. hmmmm. And then I was like, yes N’Sync. Then I was like, no wonder I like TVXQ. They are currently reminding me of my favorite boy band from my childhood. I don’t hate it, it just doesn’t feel original. I do appreciate it for it’s simplicity though.

K-Points:473/5

Parts of this album do sound very similar to my favorite early 2000’s boy band.  Overall though, it is a really solid album, and I don’t have any issues with it, or regrets for pre-ordering it. A number of the songs have made it into my playlists, and I still listen to them.

Should you buy a copy? I don’t think it’s necessary, as you can stream it. I don’t consider this a “I need to have this in my collection” but, it is definitely a nice edition.  There is only 1 version of it though, and the photos do look pretty from the teasers I’ve seen…. I did totally just purchase it ahead of time because Changmin and U-Know are weird. I like weird.

What is your favorite track on the album? Who do you like better in TVXQ? Let me know in the comments below.

사랑합니다!

–Rachel