Someday is a Korean album released by Younha on September 9, 2008. I finally get more music from Younha. It’s a great album with tons of different sounds and styles. I was excited to get this in the mail, and now I’m very excited in reviewing this and perhaps letting you have some samples. Of course, like with all of my other album reviews, they are only streaming samples. I have always thought Younha had a great voice and I still do. It was a little discouraging not seeing much new activity from this artist for quite some time, but when I found out this album was released, I was ecstatic.

Younha comes back with a new style and new music. From the cover and booklet, it looks like she took on a bit of the current trend. She looks really good, too. At first I thought perhaps her music would mirror her look on the cover, but I was wrong. Her music is a bit different from her past work, but there are some splendid ballads as well as some catchy songs with great beats. Her singing voice is still very good.

You can find the lyrics here. You can find the romanized Korean lyrics as well as the English translation when you scroll down the page.

Instrumentals: 9.8

Some good choices of instruments and also the arrangements are nice. There are some nice points where certain instruments do a good job in joining in the rest of the song and then cut out. There is some crackling if you are wearing ear buds, but on normal speakers you will not hear any at all. The cause is most likely to the level of bass where the ear buds cannot reach. Good balance between instruments and vocals. Some songs have some odd choices in effects and electronically synthesized additions.

Vocals: 9.8

I’ve noticed that Younha has a higher pitch throughout this album. It somewhat is reminiscent of some of her earlier songs on the Go! Younha Japanese album. She still has a great voice that is both strong and lovely in ballads and in her regular songs. I do notice some points where she seems to be struggling with keeping a pitch or range, but it’s not bad at all and it actually adds more character to the song. Younha still proves to be one of my favorite artists from Asia.

01 Gossip Boy

This song takes some styles that I’ve heard in the previous album and the Go! Younha album. Great bass sound and instrumental sound. Very clear and pretty simple in arrangement. The piano adds great backup to the rest of the instrumentation as well as Younha’s voice. The vocal melody is catchy and nice, especially as it leads in and out of the key change area.

02 Memory [Rap mix]

Nice soft start. A bit of crackling through my headphones, but not through regular speakers. I like the incorporation of the rap into this song. Great start with a mellow beginning to the song. When the beat is established, this song just makes you tap your foot. “Memory” has a great beat and the melody is good as well. Younha’s voice sounds very nice in this song, but because of its short staccato notes in the vocals her range and power in her voice is not very displayed to its fullest.

03 Hero

This is one of her pop rock songs of the album. Fast paced and catchy. It’s a good song with a mix of rock instrumentation and symphonic instruments as well. The piano solo is a great addition and is blended rather well. Great bass line.

04 Someday

Someday is probably one of the most interesting songs in this album. It’s a mix of rock and jazz. The instrumentation is very good as well. The melody reminds me of some of the songs from the anime Cowboy Bebop, if you haven’t seen it I really suggest it or at least listen to the music from the show. Back to this song, great blend of strings and rock. Younha’s voice is very strong and convincing in “Someday”.

05 Telepathy

It’s another rock-type song on this album that takes some style from the Go! Younha album. It’s a good song with a catchy beat. The vocals are nice as well. The key change is well done and I like how it blends into the rest of the song.

06 Rain & The Bar

A simple introduction to the next song.

07 The Sound of Rain

A nice soft song with simple jazz elements. Slow tempo with nice piano accompaniment. Younha’s voice is very clear and nice throughout the song. This song has a nice melody and the chorus just seems to rise above the other verses. “The Sound of Rain” is a great song with simple elements that is different from the rest of the album.

08 Rainbow

Great acoustic parts in the song with wonderful deep tones. I like the melody that just seems to repeat from verse to verse and smoothly transitions into the chorus. It is a light ballad that is good to listen to while reading a book or just relaxing in your room.

09 Best Friend

I’ll probably say that this is a song to mirror Rainbow. It starts much the same, but it is essentially a different song with a faster tempo. There are aspects of this song that makes it song like something from the 80s or early 90s. It could be the synthesizers dispersed throughout the song. When the song breaks into the key change, it takes on a softer tone but does a nice crescendo into a stronger part and back into a soft part before ending with the refrain several times.

10 Strawberry Days

Great acoustic arrangement during this whole song. It’s another great ballad by Younha that I personally enjoy more than the other ballads on this album. It has a light sound with a matching bass part. Younha’s voice is clear and strong through the long notes. She handles the higher range well. I would strongly suggest that you’d listen to this song and perhaps share it with your friends.

11 For Catharina

Beautiful piano piece with many dark deeps and moving melody. The tones are all long and blend well.

12 Hating

Another ballad in this album with some nice piano accompaniment. It’s soft in the beginning, but picks up in volume later. I’m going to say that this is like many of Younha’s ballads, but very good none-the-less. I thought the guitar solo and the synthesizer was a bit over-the-top though.

13 My Song and …

The one and only song that is completely in English on this album. Great song sung by Younha. The instrumentals are awesome. The lyrics are a typical love song and somewhat cheesy, but I love it. Younha’s pronunciation is spot on with little to no errors. I guess it is an important aspect for any artist, in my opinion, that if they attempt to sing a song in a foreign language that artist needs to work at the pronunciation. Younha doesn’t sacrifice her tone and her natural singing voice to the pronunciation as well. Very, very impressive. Worth the listen.

14 Don’t Cry

This song is very 70s -like. It has a simple and smooth melody and instrumentals that mirror the symphonic sweeps and brass accompaniment from the good ol’ disco days. This isn’t a fast song, but rather a ballad. Some people might be put off by the retro sound of this song, but I find it very classy and some what refreshing from much of the music floating around these days.

15 Memory [Original Mix]

Nothing much different from the rap mix. It’s still great standing alone without the rap, but it feels like something is missing.

16 Telepathy Instrumentals

17 Hating Instrumentals

Overall:

This is a great album. There are aspects of this album that is a bit experimental, such as the retro-styled songs and the jazzy implementations in “The Sound of Rain”. I’m glad I got to get this album and give it a good listen. Although it mainly consists of ballads and I would have liked to hear more exciting songs, I enjoyed all songs equally anyway. Younha is a splendid artist and I hope to hear more from her. It’s a shame I haven’t heard anything new from her on the Japanese side of her music. With as much as I enjoy listening to Younha, maybe I should open up a fansite.

Ratings:

Instrumentals: 9.8
Vocals: 9.8
Replay Value: 10
Quality: 10
Overall: 9.9 (Excellent!)