I have finally decided to listen and review this album. A lot of questions ran through my brain before listening. Is it overrated? Is it everything people say it is? Does it push the boundaries of K-Pop? Could something like this even come impress me in the slightest bit?
Oh yes, it does! She wasn't wrong when she called herself the Soul Lady!
You've gotta admit, this is a feel good album. This is definitely a staple in the genre of K-Pop, and really thinking about it now, a staple in synth-pop, nu-disco, and dance-pop! I'm not going crazy, it's that good. There's just something so mesmerizing about this project that I really have grown to love in just a few listens. The album is cohesive all the way through. Tracks don't exactly meld together, but when listened to back to back, they still feel interconnected with each other. The production on here is absolutely immaculate. Just from the starter track "From HND to GMP" it starts with phenomenally beautiful strings, but then smoothly transitions into a more poppier/bubbly production with "I FEEL LOVE". The quality of this production maintains itself throughout the whole project, which is a great thing. It has this way about it where it sounds nostalgic but also modern-day at the same time.
Not only the production is a star in this, but Yukika herself is a star. Literally.
Her vocal performances sounds like it came straight from heaven! When I think dynamic duos, I think you know Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, me and TomBejoy or Eliiscool5, but now I think of Yukika and her production! They bounce off each other perfectly! There's no one star in this performance, they both do their jobs very well, never outperforming each other. She doesn't use her vocal ability too over the top, she doesn't stay too quiet or anything, she found a great balance of calm/serenity and confidence in herself, and I absolutely adore this style.
One of the problems I have with the genre of K-Pop is that either the song-writing is bad, production is bland, and sounds gimmicky overall, but Yukika went over that and set the bar for the genre so much higher. She set it so high that I don't believe any artist in this industry will be able to top it for awhile, and I have to give props to her.
This is an absolutely amazing album from Yukika, and saying that I was impressed is an understatement because I can't really imagine any K-Pop project being better than this.
You've done it Yukika! I'm a Stan now!
Favorite Tracks: I FEEL LOVE, Soul Lady, Yesterday, Pit-A-Pet, SHADE, NEON 1989
Least Favorite Track: None
85/100
STAN YUKIKA
*insert fancam here*