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The highly anticipated fourth mini-album from IU, Chat-Shire, is finally here. As an artist known for her composing capabilities and experimental attitude towards music, many are interested to see what IU would come up with this time. Chat-Shire indeed turned out to be a highly curious and creative album reminiscent of the imaginative world within Alice in Wonderland. While walking the fine lines between indie, retro, and pop, Chat-Shire is a breath of fresh air in the incredibly homogeneous world of kpop.
Track 1 – 새 신발 (Shoes)
The album opener is a mid-tempo vintage sounding track with a 70’s vibe to it. Soft acoustic guitar and light drum beats allow IU’s sweet vocals to be the focal point. Shoes is light-hearted and pleasant, but doesn’t possess a particularly memorable tune for me.
Track 2 – Zezé
Backed by groovy 90’s lo-fi hip hop beats, modern synths and auto-tune sounds, Zezé is both nostalgic and contemporary at the same time. The bouncy melody and IU’s charming vocals top it off as a rare gem track full of uniqueness.
Track 3 – 스물셋 (Twenty Three)
Title track Twenty Three is a cool upbeat number with funky disco composition and Cheshire Cat inspired lyrics. A bit indie, a bit pop, the whole song exudes a cute yet mischievous attitude as IU asks in a flirty tone which direction she should go.
Track 4 – 푸르던 (The Shower)
The Shower not only slows down the tempo into a soft acoustic ballad but also turns the playful attitude into innocent memories of one’s first-love. Though IU’s airy vocals is the perfect match for the song’s sentimentality, the overall melody is not exactly impressionable to me.
Track 5 – Red Queen
Back to a retro-styled uptempo track, Red Queen is an interesting blend of 60’s bubblegum pop beats with bossa nova chord progressions. It’s got a fun melody that puts you in quite a happy mood meanwhile the feature of rapper Zion T. also adds a nice surprise factor to the song.
Track 6 – 무릎 (Knees)
Peaceful classical piano is the only embellishment to this straightforward yet melodic ballad. I like the quietness of Knees because it allows IU’s emotion-filled vocals to shine through, making it a perfectly comforting tune for the lonely nights.
Track 7 – 안경 (Glasses)
Chat-Shire closes with another statement-making pop song. Glasses starts off with flirty percussion beats that accompany a humorous melody and nonchalant vocals, but completely changes the mood to a more serious rhythmic hip hop beat during the chorus. The unexpected transition works surprisingly well and gives Glasses a whole new dimension.
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