SINGLE REVIEW: Tohoshinki- Runaway
This is the second of the five TRICK singles, of which I’m not quite sure what to expect. The first was, unfortunately, dreadful. Now that the weakest singer is out of the way, I’m hoping this single will be much stronger. If I was rating the groups vocals, Yoochun is definitely above Changmin. Not that I don’t think Changmin can sing, he’s just the weakest of the group. Well, I’m hoping for a lot from this single, but not expecting much.
———
I like the aggressive beats that start off Runaway. There’s a trance-esque element to some of the synth for a while, but it melts away into more of an edgy dance track. I was really impressed off the bat with how well everyone molded their vocals to the style of the song. Everyone managed to rough it up and hit their notes a bit harder to support the powerful nature of the song. This song shows a much more unique side of Tohoshinki within its electronic production. There’s a nice vocal distortion effect on Yoochun’s vocals towards the second third of the song, and I can say that I’m genuinely impressed with the quality of the song. I was very worried that these were all going to be pop singles, and we’d be left with rushed material and boring composition, but this song is actually quite catchy. Composition-wise, this song is very well off. The verses are engaging when the right tone is used, and the chorus is energetic with a great sequence of notes. Some of the English is oxy-moronic, ‘So I wanna know, I don’t wanna know‘, but other than that it’s a very well done song. I’m glad that they pulled off a more upbeat song, because if they put the effort into it, then this genre is their strongest.
Vocal Performance Grade: A — Musical Performance Grade: A — Composition Grade: A
Overall Grade: A
Next up is Yoochun’s solo song My Girlfriend. Althought the title for this song is just stupid, it’s actually surprisingly not that bad. Yoochun invokes a very R&B side of his vocals, which actually works for him. I liked the squeaky synth in the track because of how well it complimented Yoochun’s vocals. I didn’t really care for the rap part, though I was glad that he managed to speak understandably. I can’t imagine that Yoochun didn’t spend at least some time in America, because his accent is too clear to simply have been studied. The funky strings featured here are a huge plus because of the flavor that they add to the song. As far as composition, I’m again quite pleased. Yoochun was given wonderfully sweet notes that blended in with the style of the song very well. I want to look into who composes their songs, because they’re pretty good. If Tohoshinki themselves do it, then I’m very impressed. I don’t think this song is quite as engaging as Runaway. They’re hard to compare because they offer completely different feelings, but I think I was drawn-in more by the up-beat atmosphere of the previous song. Regardless, this song is very enjoyable. My one complaint is that he includes the Gingerbread Man in his rap, which is so… Wow…
Vocal Performance Grade: A+ — Musical Performance Grade: A — Composition Grade: A
Overall Grade: A
SINGLE GRADE: A
wow these guys sound pretty…badass…makes me feel like i should go download some Boyz2Men or something. ;]
I agree with you here. This single is much better than the last one. I’m really looking forward to Jaejong’s the most. Hopefully I won’t be disappointed.
To my knowledge the only Japanese song Yoochun has (co) composed is Kiss shita mama, sayonara. He DID write the lyrics for My Girlfriend though…I’m impressed (or put off, either way) by the reference to the gingerbread man’s vitality but…I give him points for creativity?
I’m really interested in your comments for the next Trick release, which is Junsu’s, seeing as he actually composed his solo song. I’m not sure if he wrote the lyrics for it though but most likely he did.
i think changmin is better than yoochun in a lot of ways : ]