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Category Archives: Albums of the year 2007

Recommendations for the top Korean albums of 2007 (and late 2006) by LKL critics and as voted for by LKL readers

Two more 2007 album choices

20-Dec-07

Two more 2007 album choices

As an appendix to the recommendations by the three critics who know Korean pop, rock and indie music much better than me, here are two further choices. I can't help but sympathise with Jenny when she comments that 2007 was not an outstanding year. My own purchases of Korean music are somewhat random. When I'm guided by people I trust, more often than not I like what I hear. When buying what seems topical or in the news, I'm less than successful. As an example of the rogues' gallery of turkeys I've mistakenly bought this year: Ivy's Second, of which the most complimentary thing I can think of to say is that there are some pretty pictures; Dynamic Duo's Third; and Lexy's ...
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Evan #1: Hard to Breath

17-Dec-07

Evan #1: Hard to Breath

Jenny Wu reviews her album of the year T-Entertainment, March 2007 Stern(10,g) It seems as though the recent kpop scene has been increasingly riddled with generic and bland tunes. However, once in a while, I'll come across something that's worthy of my time. For every cloud, there's a silver lining. This is where Evan (Yoo Ho Suk, former Click B member) comes in. Evan's debut solo album is perhaps one of the best pop albums I've come across so far this year - a refreshingly varied mix of R&B and modern jazz influenced pop songs. Although his vocals nowhere near as powerful as say, Wheesung or Hwanhee of Fly to the Sky, they're deliciously soothing. At times, his voice reminds me a bit ...
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LKL critics’ choice: Saharial

15-Dec-07

LKL critics’ choice: Saharial

Saharial, a moderator in the soompi forums and a self-confessed pop junkie, presents her selection of 2007 releases - and has some words of comfort for a disappointing release which didn't make her list First up is the King of Ballads -- Sung Si Kyung. This sixteen track 5th Album called The Ballads opens with the number On The Street written by singer-songwriter Yoon Jong Shin, a long-time collaborator with Sung Si Kyung, and it's a partnership that works very well. The song was the first single released from the album and proved very popular with fans and in the charts. Who do you love?, the follow-up single, also by Yoon Jong Shin, showcased Si Kyung's ability to sing in English, ...
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LKL Critics’ Choice: Anna Lindgren

10-Dec-07

LKL Critics’ Choice: Anna Lindgren

To me, 2006 was a pretty weak year, music-wise, and it wasn't really till the very end of November that it began to shape up. That's when - after a two month delay - adultchild finally released their debut album, B TL B TL. Filled with soft slow paced mellow music, cosy guitar play and lovely female vocals, adultchild had with the assistance of Soda (aka Oldfish) refined the sound from their demos and came off as full worthy label mates of Pastel Music's premier mellow act, Bluedawn. Their formula with a careful beginning that gradually builds up towards a stronger end works great on me. Hopefully the attention adultchild have gotten from their participation on Tearliner's Coffee Prince OST ...
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The Best Album of 2007: YOU decide

06-Dec-07
Yesterday saw the first contribution to the LKL Critic's Choice series of articles. Some readers may have their own ideas as to what's the hottest album this year. So here's a sample of this year's releases, geared more to the Pop end of the market rather than the indie end. The albums have been selected by a combination of reader recommendations and emails, some input from a moderator at a well-known k-pop forum, plus one or two additions of my own. I have my own ideas as to which album is going to win, based on my readership statistics. So what I'm really interested in is: who comes second. So, IS Super Junior really the best band of 2007? YOU decide. [poll=3] Related ...
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LKL Critics’ Choice 2007: Jenny Wu

05-Dec-07

LKL Critics’ Choice 2007: Jenny Wu

2007 was not an outstanding year for Korean music to be brutally honest. I found myself liking this song here and that song there, but only a few albums as a whole have commanded my attention this past year. The following are my top 5 picks for best Korean albums of 2007. My criteria for inclusion on this top 5 list are as follows: listenability, consistency, and variety. Listenability = I enjoy listening to the album. Consistency = the album contains very few, if any filler tracks. Finally, variety = the first song does not sound exactly like the second song, the second song does not sound like the third song, and so forth. All of ...
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Coming soon: LKL albums of the year

25-Nov-07
Fed up with mediocre K-pop acts being showered with awards? December is the month when LKL critics, and hopefully readers as well, will be awarding prestigious accolades to Korean musicians based on their artistic merit rather than the skills of their choreographers, publicity managers and plastic surgeons. LKL Critics' Choice A couple of months ago LKL asked some trusted correspondents who know their music to consider the albums released over the past twelve months (to make things reasonably manageable, we specified the twelve months to the end of September 2007) and to select their finest recommendations. Over the coming few weeks we'll be publishing those recommendations. Expect to find a wide range of musicians celebrated, both well-known and less familiar. If you ...
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