Anyway, I am going to say it. I am a fan of 15&. Despite them being 16, and me being 22 (gay male so there is no creepy desires going on), I like them. They are talented singers, and their music is cute. Going on two years soon, the group has released three singles prior to their first album, with little impact from them. However now, they are moving forward as a group, and an album has been bestowed to us.
I would describe the overall feel of this album as it is called...Sugary. It is mild pop, R&B, with some other influences here and there. Very pleasant, and fun. I think the album was done well enough, and the girls more than delivered on their part as the communicators of the music. I do think there are some things that could have been handled better of course, but before I get to that.
15& Sugar full album
The album starts with Star, a song about being awesome. It is one of those semi inspirational songs that you expect from girls their age. Baek Yerin and Park Jimin sound great on the song. There really isn't much to say about the song itself. Not particularly fond of the song due to it coming off very young, which works because these are two teen girls singing this. Very pop with R&B leanings (as seen on most of the songs on this album). This song starting the album is good (especially with what ends the album), however Sugar could have easily been the starting song, and given a bigger impact.
Sugar is the duo's fourth single, as well as the title track of their album. Despite the title it is not as sugary, having a lot of edge and maturity. Compare the song to Star which sounds like it was made to be song by a child, you can see a difference. The bigger vocals, the live instrumentation, the various background vocals. Musically the inspiration is very late 60's through the 70's pop sound (everyone says Motown, but I don't really hear it). This allows the song to stand out because nobody really fucks with genres beyond the 80's musically, unless they trying to channel the Beatles or something. Another thing I noticed there was a lot going on. Around the end there are a lot of background harmonies going on, on top of the instrumentation, on top of 15& themselves. It felt cluttered, and more than likely some better organization could have been done. In the beginning it was much cleaner, but as soon as you hit that last chorus everything just becomes a clusterfuck. I like the song, but when I listened to it more, it became more and more chaotic. But despite that, 15& managed to pull through with a solid performance.
Shy Ma Boy follows Sugar, and I have a better appreciation after listening to it for this review. I liked the song, but I really didn't think I would want to put it on repeat. I still don't. However when listening to it, I noticed that the song was building. It starts with a simple percussion and Yerin, then with every part something new is added. We get the full scope of the song by the time we hit the second chorus, and then we hit the bridge portion, and we have them singing over the beat again, but this time adding voices as layers. When the final choruses happen, we get the entirety of the music, and all the elements work well together. Once again another live instrumentation (in that most of the music was created with instruments, or at least sounds of them), and I think this would be killer live. I do think the 15& may have been a little too subdued. They were almost there but not quite, the end we got some liveliness, but just needed more. Also this song could have benefited from layering. Vocal harmonies, layers, all that could have filled out the song really nicely.
Oh My God leaves that jazzy feel, and we get this smooth R&B beat. Now this is more of my skeelo musically. Very smooth, and this allows the girls to not have to do a lot, and they don't. The beat really carries the song for me, with 15& doing what they could with it. I also appreciate that they used harmonies and background vocals to fill out the song. Never let a beat go bare if the track does not call for it. If there is one thing I am not the biggest fan of, it is the lyrics. When listening to this, I imagined a song about first love, and it being the more modernized version of Can't Hide It.
Rain and Cry. The album's selling song. This allows both girls to be in their comfort zone. Yerin is an R&B singer, and Jimin is more accustomed with modern pop tunes, and big ballads when she feel like being brave. The beat was never too much, focusing on mainly three things for the most of it. A piano, strings, and drums. The chorus added more of course, but it was never really noticeable. The background vocals were lovely. One thing that really miffed me was how loud Jimin's final moment was. It overshadowed the final chorus. Usually that is a background thing, though still audible, however it was the focal point of that section, and while it didn't take away, just felt a little jarring.
Not Today Not Tomorrow made me realize one thing...15& do not harmonize often on the entirety of this album. They do a lot of switching, and back and forth. They harmonize in the background, they do things with each other in the periphery of the song. But it is hardly a main point of many of their songs. Not Today Not Tomorrow was at first one of my least favorites, however due to them actually interacting musically, it became a favorite. Another reason to like it is because it is not a standard pop song. This is also one of the few songs on the album that does not have any sort of R&B influences musically, and admittedly gives Yerin and Jimin equal footing (Will talk about that later). It is a pop song, but instead of giving you something very standard, the beat is a little different. It has a very youthful feel, and is a much more positive song after Rain and Cry.
Silly Boy is a favorite song off the album though. Flirty, R&B flavored pop. It's the song you play when you just listening to the album, that song that is supposed to clean your palette after more complicated songs. This is also the last of the new material of the album, and serves as a transition into our last three songs.
Somebody was a song that I liked, but after listening to the album, it definitely fell lower on the list for me. Soundwise I don't think it really works all that well on the album. It is still a cute song, and maybe if it were placed closer to Not Today Not Tomorrow, I would be able to appreciate it more now, but that is not the case.
Can't Hide It, is the second to last song on the album, and I really do appreciate this song on so many levels. First off, I have to give it to JYP himself. This is the only song in which he had a hand in creating. Originally I stated that the song felt incomplete. It ended too early in my opinion, just when it could have gone for another chorus. Just one. While on some level I still believe that, I also have come to the conclusion to never really underestimate JYP himself. Despite the song being about first love, which is shared by many other songs on this album, it comes off the most mature. More focused, and shined. While I think other songs were too ambitious, or not ambitious enough, this song did everything just right. The song was filled with harmonies, the girls gave breezy yet solid performances. Everything felt right in my opinion.
I Dream is the perfect way to end this album. Their first single, a ballad, had been met with lukewarm results. People acknowledged the talent, and the song was okay, but overall, a ballad won't get you as far if it ain't big. As a single, meh, as a song on the album. Perfect. And to finish with the group's start is genius. It has a dramatic touch to it, that the rest of the album kind of lacked, and I am grateful that it came at the end. There are only two ways I can think of ending an album. Go big, or bring a breezy enough track that fills right. The former is always the easiest way to go, and I am thankful that I Dream does just that. The ladies harmonies, trade off, over a typical Korean ballad beat (yet it feels distinct enough for me). As I said before, it just felt right to end it with this song.
I think Sugar is a good start for them. It's not perfect, rarely do I find an album that I could say that for, however, this album made me appreciate a group I already liked. The biggest thing I can give this album, is that Jimin and Yerin do a great job vocally. They are still young and can learn how to be more dynamic vocally, but that will come with age. The material was appropriate, yet they handled it with a fines you couldn't even find in their much older contemporaries and seniors. Overall problems I did see was simply production things. Filling out a song when needed, direct harmonies to allow the girls to shine in that way was only used sparingly, some of the beats felt a little messy. This album is also very focused on R&B. I love R&B. However not everyone is an R&B singer. A lot of people love to throw that out there, but honestly most are pop singers with a focus on R&B influenced vocals. In my opinion, Yerin is an R&B singer. She is heavy on riffs and runs (which explains her nasality, though it can be much), lacks focus on a clear belting prowess, she also usually sings more R&B based songs, very rarely singing anything outside of that. This album would be something she would sing. Jimin is adaptable, but she is not an R&B style girl. She is a pop singer. While Jimin kept up, Yerin was more smooth and melted with the music. That is not to say Jimin was terrible, or that she is weaker than Yerin, however there is a reason I noted Not Today Not Tomorrow for allowing them to play on an even field. There was no pretense for me, and Jimin did her best on a song where she was allowed just as much room in a familiar area.Lastly
the album lacks overall impact. It is a good album, and I doubt there would be no one sans me picking it as an favorite by the end of the year, however their next project needs more focus, more variety, more drama, just overall more.
This is only their first album, and there is always time to improve. But really this is a good way to start in my opinion.
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