TVXQ! New Chapter #2: Truth of Love Review

I know it is a bit delayed, but the holidays are always a bit bonkers. TVXQ! New Chapter #2: Truth of Love just happened to add to the madness. It’s all good, it is here now.

I ordered a copy of the album from an eBay seller in Korea. This is a link to the exact one I’ve ordered. I got my copy for $23.69 plus free 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 anyways. 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 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.

TVXQ! New Chapter #2: Truth of Love Track By Track:

Truth

I already reacted to the music video from the album. You can watch that below.

As for my other thoughts on the song, as I noted in my video. I absolutely love how they have gone for a jazz sound for the first track. It’s smooth and perfectly contrasts their tenor vocals. On top of that, I love the scatting at the end of the track. If you don’t know what scatting is, it is basically accented singing of random syllables, such as boo-boo-bee-doo, that adds a rhythmic element to the track.

Overall, this single makes me really pleased. I love the brass that comes in and out through the track. I love the piano chords, and I love the guitar and bass line. It adds a groove to the track that makes me really excited.

Sooner Than Later (feat. The Quiett)

The style of the album completely shifts in the second track, and I feel like we have jumped out of the 1920s and into the 1980s. The instrumentation on this track still has this groove element to it that ties it to the first track but the percussion reminds me of music from the 1980s. The echoing sounds they use are really reminiscent of the New Wave era.

Changmin and Yunho modernize the track by adding the rapping done by the quiet, as well as a number of electronic elements that were not really seen in music until the 21st century. It’s really nice to hear them experiment with music and mix genres. When listening to the album, it makes you think, “Oh?! That’s an interesting combination!” It’s the kind of album that causes you to be unsure as to what you may hear next.

Jelly Love

First thing I want to note about this track is that all I think of when I see the title is Kang Daniel of Wanna One. He is infamous for having a jelly addiction. If you didn’t know about that, you do now. You can also watch it on It’s Dangerous Beyond the Blankets on Viki, and see a gif of it below:

On to actually discussing the track. This track really displays a heavy 2000s R&B vibe to it, which is the complete opposite feel to a picture of Kang Daniel eating a jelly. Overall, this track yet again has a great groove to it, and a different groove to it than the last track.

Thus far, this album from TVXQ has really been going for different versions of sexy with each track. Thus far, we have had 3 retro versions of sexy feeling songs. All three tracks thus far have a cohesive element of musical slides that add this feel and enhance it. I’m a fan.

Morning Sun

This song definitely feels like it has gone in a different direction from the previous direction. Unlike the last three tracks, this track has more of a cute, happy feel to it. So, how did they tie it in to the rest of the album? They brought back elements from the first track. The horns have been pulled back in with the groove guitar and bass in the background.

Overall, this track is cute. I love when the record scratches about two-thirds into the track, and the style switches for the bridge and the key change into more of a 1990s rap style. It’s different, and added an element of interest that keeps you listening to the song.

City Lights (feat. Taeyong of NCT)

Okay, if there is one track that I was really looking forward to, it is this one. I am a massive fan of Taeyong, and if they brought him in for Yunho’s solo, we must be going in a street direction. I wasn’t wrong. This track brought back that sexy, slightly street vibe to it. I’m not going to lie, I think thus far this is the track that I am mostly likely to listen to over and over again on the album.

The electronic bass line on this track slowly has other instruments that are pulled into the track. The main purpose of this instrument though is to contrast Yunho’s voice, and it does it beautifully. It gives it a slightly sexy, mysterious feel to it that I am a fan of. This is added to by the echoing high pitched electronic sound. If you listen carefully, this sound alternates back and forth between the left and right speakers. If you cannot tell by now that I am a massive fan of this track, I am.

Beautiful Stranger

On to Changmin’s solo track! The contrasting styles between the two members is actually slightly funny and makes me wonder how to two that are so different have managed to stay in a group together for so long. Both members have a flair for dramatic songs, but in different ways. Yunho goes for the sexy dramatic, and Changmin goes for more of a sad, ballad style of dramatic.

It is really nice to hear a ballad on the album. I love how the track starts simple with just a piano and Changmin’s vocals. Once the strings are added in the pre-chorus it helps move the song forward, and adds to that sad feel to the song. I must say, this track has some great vocal harmonies to it. Once you hit the second chorus, these harmonies quietly resonant in the background for the rest of the track, slowly being layered on while the track proceeds. Although completely different from the previous track, I am quite a fan of this one as well.

Circle

The first thing that I noticed when I listened to this track is the dissonant chords on the organ in the background. It adds interest to a song that I would otherwise not be a fan of. The reason I don’t like this song as much is something I quickly noted in my review of Super Junior D&E’s ‘Bout You. It has a slight “we are the world” vibe to it, and I honestly have never been a fan of tracks like that. As a musician, I found songs like that to be easily predictable, and far too simple, like something that they would have taught middle school students.

Obviously, this track sounds nothing like a track that middle school students would be performing. There is no screeching of strings on a violin, or accidental notes added to the track, due to inexperience. Actually, when the violins are added to the track towards the end, they are quite nice and have a higher musical difficulty to play. What I mean by that is the chord progression and the melody are ones that are typically taught early on in a musicians in their career. That doesn’t mean that they can easily make them sound good, but they are simply some of the first that you learn.

I appreciate the track for the style that it is, and this track is actual one of the ones that I dislike the least out of the ones that I have heard with the “Kumbaya”/ “We Are the World” vibe, which is an accomplishment. It’s just not my cup of tea.

K-Points: 71/5

I absolutely love the experimentation that TVXQ did with this album! They took a few risks with this album by crossing so many genres together, but they managed to make it sound cohesive. Despite that, this album didn’t have me getting all excited and goosebumpy like other albums do, which is why I’m not giving it higher than a 71 out of 5. I still love TVXQ and will watch them on I Live Alone over and over again, as they are hilarious on there, but this album doesn’t make my must-haves list.

So should you get yourself a copy of this album? As I just noted, this album isn’t on my must-have list. It is good, but it doesn’t go above and beyond for me, or give me the chills. It doesn’t give me the emotional reaction that a 100/5 album would. Should you stream it? I personally think this is the better option. The album only has 7 tracks, and it may be better to save your money to buy another TVXQ album.

What did you all think of the TVXQ album, K-Nuggets? Let me know in the comments below!

사랑합니다!

–Rachel

Final Note: My posting schedule is going to be a bit erratic going forward, and most likely changing. I won’t be posting every weekday like I have been for the past year. It is too hard to manage with all of the other things that I have going on, including a full-time job and martial arts. As such, until I find a balance between all of those, just know that posts will be coming at weird times. So, keep checking the site!