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Album Review: Kyu Won – 두 번의 겨울이 만든 이야기 – 1st jib

Kyu-wonSaharial reviews Kyu Won’s first album, released by Open Music on January 7th 2010

I bought this album simply on a whim. Maybe it was the cute artwork or perhaps it was the lure of an artist that wrote, sang and performed all his own work that was the lure. At least, that’s what I think the Hangul said. I was not wrong – all the songs were composed, written, sung and played by the one man.

The music is gentle and relaxing without being bland, the perfect sound for an evening in spring or summer when you are enjoying the last few hours of sunshine and want something melodic and sweet to listen to. Track 4 ‘기찻길 – Title’ is the one that drew my attention the most, despite there being two songs entirely in English (‘Chinese Boxes’ and ‘Last Soldier on Earth’), something about the chorus riff I found extra appealing. Pronunciation in the English songs and the way they are phrased is not the usual konglish atrocity that is all too easy to encounter. Of the two I preferred ‘Chinese Boxes’.

An album with a distinctive style, it’s worth listening to a few times rather than dismissing it on a first listen as dull. Tracks one and seven are instrumental, the former simple and gentle and the latter upbeat and with a heavier beat. The differences in the songs are maybe a little more subtle than I am used to, but I like it. Kyu Won’s soft vocals don’t grate on the ear that’s for sure! Its one that grows on me for sure.

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