I have not been this stoked for a solo comeback in ages. My boy from EXO, Chen is finally coming out with his own solo music! He is so incredibly talented and has the voice of an angel. He deserves to have as much solo music as he wants, and I will enjoy every second of it. Chen April and Flower has been a long time coming, and I’m looking forward to every single track on here.
I ordered both copies of the album from MusicPlaza in LA. This is a store that was recently added to my “Where I Buy the K-Goods” page. This is a link to the exact one I’ve ordered. I got both copies for $33.99 plus shipping. You can also get a copy off of eBay here for$19.99 plus shipping. Plus, with eBay, you can save a little bit of money by using the E-Bates extension on your browser, as it will save you 2% on all album purchases, which definitely adds up.
What is E-Bates?
E-Bates is a cashback site that gives you money for purchases you may have already made. They even have an extension for multiple browsers so when you go to a website that uses Ebates, it will automatically pop up the cashback button to make sure you are saving money. I use this all the time, and I got over 80$ 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.
Can I get it on Amazon?
Yes! You can pick up a copy using this link here for about 25 dollars (not as good of a deal), with free shipping if you have Amazon Prime.
If you don’t have Amazon Prime, you can get a 30-day free trial using this link here. I will not lie, the free 2-day shipping, plus all of the free music and videos are totally worth it. I also now use it for books for my Kindle Paper White too, and it is honestly a life saver. They have a program called Kindle Unlimited where you can check out 10 books at a time, read them, and put them back in the Kindle library. The program cost $7.99 a month, and you get the first 30 days for free with this link.
How do I read this post?
I recommend that you put the album on in the background, and read through it while listening to the track that I am talking about. It will help you understand what parts of the music I’m referring to when I talk about different instruments and different vocal parts. This is what I recommend for all of my song reviews.
Chen April and Flower Track By Track:
꽃 (Flower)
So, the first thing that I noticed when I started listening to the track was how gorgeously rounded Chen’s vowels are when he is singing. They are absolutely gorgeous and they help him reach those higher notes in the verse in the mid range of his voice. Honestly, his voice fits in perfectly with the light, lingering piano tune. They both manage to create the same level of emotion throughout the whole track.
Overall, I adore this track. Chen’s voice is so clear, and full of emotion. He expertly uses his breath and vocal control to get that light, airy feel that we don’t get to hear him do very often. Normally, as a member of EXO, he is the one who crushes the high notes, so it is wonderful to hear this softer side of him that is far closer to his true essence. Thus far, this album gives me the feels.
사월 이 지나면 우리 헤어요 (Beautiful Goodbye)
So, I did actually film my thoughts to this track, you can watch it here:
As you all probably noticed, because the single is a ballad it was a lot easier to go into detail of his singing technique and how he uses his breath to get the point of the song across. This entire track is done expertly. His breath support and control are unlike anything I’ve heard in a long time. Dare I say it, this mini-album thus far is on its way to replacing Yesung of Super Junior’s mini-albums Spring Falling and Here I Am as my favorite ballad albums. That is a hard thing to accomplish.
하고 싶면 말 (Sorry Not Sorry)
As I always am, I’m going to be perfectly honest with you all. Chen’s vocal abilities are unparalleled. From the first note of the song you can hear how well trained he is. He is every voice teacher’s dream. He knows how to drive sound. Using vibrato to evoke emotion instead of just holding notes is a piece of cake to him. On top of all of that, Chen takes a simple piece and gave it so much color. This track and this album (so far) make me proud to be an EXO-L.
What i especially love about every track thus far is that even though they are all ballads, you can distinctly hear the different message of each song. Unlike the last track, and the first track, this track is sung with a lot more certainty and strength to his words because it is a break up song. He has no regrets, o he is singing with more strength.
사랑의 말 (Love Words)
Yet again, from the very beginning of the track, Chen uses his breath and very rounded vowels to convey this feeling of not knowing what to say. This track is all about getting in a fight with a lover, and trying to figure out how to end it. He makes this message very present by singing with very accented, short syllables. He sings it as if he is trying to grasp for the correct words to end the fight.
Once you get to the chorus, the sense of desperation to end the fight that is occurring is very present as he is singing forte, with lots of sliding off of notes. Overall, the track is absolutely gorgeous and incredibly well done. Don’t even get me started on that gorgeous high note right before the last chorus. The desperation when he is singing 사랑해 is just beautiful.
먼저 가 있을게 (I’ll Be There)
This song, on the other hand, is incredibly sad and beautiful at the exact same time. Chen conveys the idea of someone breaking up with you gorgeously. He gets the tone spot on for a break up that was your fault. He sings with a massive knowledge of dynamics. He starts the phrases off softer, builds the volume towards the middle of the phrase, and allows it to taper off at the end. He let’s the music flow out of his mouth like a wave.
If anyone who wants to hear what an excellent use of dynamics, going forward, I will point them towards this track. It is so well done and beautiful as well as a perfect example of what all different dynamic volumes sound like. Yet again, I’m in love with this track.
널 그리다 (Portrait of You)
The instrumentation on this track reminds me of the instrumentation out of the animated movie “Up” by Pixar. In this track, the instrumentation is what really sticks out to me. I adore how it moves, as it has a playful, yet sad vibe to it. The lyrics to this track are talking about how he wants to create a perfect image of this person in his mind, and he cannot get it right. This person is, in his mind, close to perfection to the point that he cannot live a day without them.
Yet again, this is another gorgeous track. I’m going to sound 100% repetitive. Chen’s use of dynamics, and breath control in this track are really what make it. They take the track to where it needs to be. You can tell he worked his tail off to perfect this track as much as the others. Highly impressed.
K-Points: 94/5
If you couldn’t tell by reading through my post, I have nothing but positive things to say about this mini-album. It leaves me hungry for more. Six tracks was not enough! Chen is such an amazing vocal artist. He puts his entire being into every song he sings, and I honestly cannot get enough.
So should you get yourself a copy of this album? I 100% think this album is worth the money. It is a piece of vocal perfection. Should you stream it? This is 200% worth it. The smooth vocals are to die for, and his vocal technique even more so.
What track off of Chen’s mini-album is your favorite, K-Nuggets? Let me know in the comments below!
사랑합니다!
–Rachel
