[K-Pop] SHINee's 'Sherlock' [Released: March 2012]

From the SHINee Photoshoot for new album 'Sherlock'

Title: Sherlock

Artist(s): SHINee

Released: 21st March, 2012 

Language: Korean

Track List:

1. Sherlock•셜록 (Clue + Note)

2. Clue

3. Note

4. 알람시계 (Alarm Clock)

5. The Reason

6. 낯선자" (Stranger)

7. 늘 그자리에 (Honesty) (Always At That Place (Honesty))

An nyoung ha seh yo, my little dumplings~
(Slowly learning Korean... Bear with me, everyone~)

It is I, Alisha The Otaku. Bringing you, yet another, music review... And this time, I thought I'd do a K-Pop band, since last time I reviewed F.T.Island's '20 (Twenty),
which was Japanese. Moving on to the band in question, SHINee's image changed a lot for this album, which was a breath of fresh air. However, Taemin's hair continued to be enviously pretty and so very, very long. (Jealous. Fu~) But, that being said, I review albums for their musical quality, and not the band's image or style (or haircut!)... So, without further ado, onto the music!~

 This album opens with the title song 'Sherlock•셜록 (Clue + Note)'. Which is a mash-up, using both Clue and Note to create one song. It's very creative and I actually really like this song, as the beat's really catchy and the lyrics aren't repetitive. Plus, there's English lyrics in the chorus, and I really love it when SHINee sing in English, they sound so cute. Ehehe. There's a fairly basic pattern in the beat, but it works. There's no point in over-complicating something that works well enough when it's left alone, or at least, that's the way I see it. Heh. I'm not going to lie, I've been humming this tune to myself for the past few weeks. And, I love the way it starts with the multiple "SHINee's back." It almost shows dominance over other artists in the business. Like, everyone needs to pay attention to the fact that this is their album, and they're not afraid to flaunt it. It's the same towards the end, when we have the repeated "Give it up for SHINee." 

  I'm not going to give many comments on 'Clue' or 'Note', as you can take the comments I made about 'Sherlock•셜록' In order to retrieve my views on those two songs. However, I'll say this: The two songs put together sound a lot better than they sound individually, but that doesn't mean that they're not incredible on their own. I just think, personally, that they belong together. Almost like a married couple. 

'알람시계 (Alarm Clock)' Has a much more distinctive beat to it, in comparison to some of SHINee's previous songs. Lyrics-wise (I'm pretty confident with the lyrics anyway, but to be sure I fully understood them before making this comment, I used the official English translation for reference.) It seems that the singer is trapped in a nightmare, during which, the woman he loves constantly rejects him. He feels like he can only escape this whilst he's awake, and although the song has a catchy up-tune beat, the lyrics are actually meaningful. It's about being unable to forget about the one you love, despite knowing that they don't return your feelings, an emotional whirlwind I found myself being caught up in, not too long ago. So I can really relate to this song, which is why I find it nice to listen to late at night whilst I'm writing my blog or adding to my novel. 

   The next song 'The Reason' is a lot more musically-emotional, in comparison to the past few songs on the album. You can tell, from the moment the song kicks in, that it's going to tug at your heartstrings. Vocals are impeccable, as expected from SHINee. I really love the way that this band gives all of its members a fair part in every song. I find that with some groups, certain members hog the spotlight, but that's not the case with SHINee, and you really get to appreciate the talents of each member. Lyrics-wise, the song is about giving your heart to someone but being forced to leave them. It's touching, really. I guess, you could find it complimenting '알람시계 (Alarm Clock)', almost as though it's a sequel-song... Or perhaps I'm looking too much into it..

NEXT UP: '낯선자 (Stranger)' Which kicks in instantly with the vocals, and right from the first word, you can appreciate just how badass this song is. With a deep base in the background and an incredibly catchy chorus, you'll soon find yourself loving this song just as much as I do. The 'lalalas' are stuck in my head. The meaning behind this song, is most likely a prequel to both '알람시계 (Alarm Clock)' and 'The Reason', in this song, the singer actually meets the woman he loves for the first time, it depicts their first encounter, and how "everything was taken by that first glance". It also explains how he hates this woman so much for being two-faced, but at the same time, he battles with his feelings of wanting her, and the fact that she's constantly on his mind. No matter how much the musical side of this song might kick ass, you can never really fully appreciate it until you've discovered the meaning of the lyrics. At least, I think so.

  늘 그자리에 (Honesty) is up next for evaluation... A more peaceful song, using an acoustic guitar for the first and only time throughout the entire album. The vocals come out stronger in this song, as you're allowed to focus on them a lot more than you could in previous songs. There's no strong beat, just the casual guitar-playing, along with the emotion-fuelled vocals of the incredibly talented vocalists that make up SHINee. The lyrics are meaningful in a carefree way through this song. Which seems a bit strange, when you first learn the meaning behind the lyrics. But, after awhile, you can appreciate how much it works. The singer explains how he always ends up accidentally hurting the one he loves, but he's grateful for everything she does for him, even if he doesn't know how to show it. It's a way of apologising, I guess. But at the same, he explains waking up and opening "sleepy eyes", letting the bad days pass by too quickly, as tomorrow is rapidly approaching. It then goes on to depict how they rarely even greet each other anymore, despite loving each other so much. You can't help but feel sympathy for both the male and female in this relationship, as obviously it pains the singer to know that he's causing his love a lot of hurt, unintentionally. 

All in all, I'd give Sherlock...

Five stars out of five!

        *****

I had nothing to criticise throughout the entire album, which was wonderful. I could relate to the last four songs on the album so much, it brought back memories listening to them. The songs were all so powerful, but catchy and addictive at the same time. It wasn't a depression-filled album, filled with ballads of failed love attempts, but rather an album filled with upbeat tunes that depicted scenes during which, relationships didn't quite run as smoothly as one might hope. They added their own spin on emotional lyrics, to give it an edge. After all, there's only so many ultra depression songs you can cope with in your life, before you start to get bored of it, so I'm glad that SHINee took this into account and did things differently. For this reason, along with many others, I've awarded this album a 5/5, full marks... Kudos to you, SHINee! ;) 

xoxo