Release Date : May 17 2016
Tracklist
- Fly ft Fabolous
- Big Mini World
- Falling Crazy In Love
- Love Me the Same
- Golden Sky
- Dear Diary
Total Runtime : 21 min 22 seconds
Recommended for : Jessica fans or for those who have missed hearing her voice
NOT recommended for : Those who dislike hearing slight slow & monotonous songs
After involuntarily exiting girl group Girls’ Generation in 2014, this album is seen to be as Jessica’s formal return to the music industry.
1 Fly (featuring Fabolous)
Jessica’s voice was definitely uplifting and gorgeous in this song – However, I feel that it was quite empty perhaps because I’ve been used to hearing Jessica sing with her members. Although everything’s great, the backup vocals and the instrumental, the rap becomes a problem. It doesn’t connect with the song and it loses the rhythm and tempo right at the end of the rap as it interchanges with Jessica’s voice. Fabolous is blatantly talking out his lyrics instead of properly rapping them and it is definitely awkward to hear his so called rap in the song. It is a huge let down because I expected much more from Jessica, but it seem that she is staying on the safe side, coming out with song that is comfortable for her- but I challenge her to come out with something more ‘wowing’ and exciting the next time round.
2 Big Mini World
The starting of the song was a little startling but I was anticipating the change Jessica would bring out for this song. However, I was disappointed as Jessica started off with a smooth and slight slow tone, not the jumpy and fun tone I had expected. It brought the whole mood of the song down as she continued with the same tone, which was really boring. A slow to medium tempo song about ‘a big mini mini world’, alright.
3 Falling Crazy In Love
Well, I have to say that this a better song than Big Mini World and Jessica’s crystal like voice brightens up the entire song. Though I have to comment that Jessica sounded a little like Taeyeon in the song, haha. It was such an emotional ballad that I almost shed some tears as Jessica reached the high notes *inserts crying emoji*
4 Love Me the Same
A slow but upbeat ballad song, it definitely suits Jessica well as she was able to portray her emotions and lets one drown in the sweetness of her voice. However, I feel that there had been a clash of instrument layers, as the over-usage of piano and bass didn’t sound quite right. Its a pity though as I find Jessica’s voice good here, but the background instruments were just a no-no.
5 Golden Sky
Piano’s at it again, however it was rather fitting for this song. A slow-tempo R&B ballad that showcases Jessica’s heart-felt vocals. Listening to this song in the evening is a perfect setting for me, probably because of the word golden, and it reminds of the vibrant colors of the sky when the sun sets.
6 Dear Diary
There is an interesting usage of background instruments in the beginning as Jessica’s sweet-like honey voice starts to emerge. I feel that Jessica’s voice is extremely fitting here and this is truly a ‘Jessica’ type of song. This song is a good ending to the overall album as initially, I had doubted the quality of this album because I was disappointed with the few songs in the beginning. Its a great song to listen when you’re taking a nice stroll in the park or when you have just woken up in the morning and you would like to listen to something cheerful and light-hearted, this song is definitely great to listen to.
Finally done reviewing this album! To be honest, I was devastated when I heard that Jessica’s leaving the group, thinking that I won’t be hearing her singing again :c Thankfully, she came back as a solo artist and released this album, which had a few misses but it was alright overall.
Replayability – Yellow!
I would have been selective about the songs I am going to hear in her album, not really going to replay the entire album.
Cohesiveness – Yellow!
There were some misses in the album that didn’t flow quite well. I couldn’t find myself enjoying the music ; in other words, it was too serious.
Originiality – Yellow!
There are definitely similar sounding music and honestly speaking, Jessica’s album didn’t stand out a lot despite the pretty music videos and such. I hope Jessica would try to go for funky type of concept the next time round.
