Hip-Hop/R&B trio One Way (Peter, Chance, Youngsky) has finally released their first official full album, “One Way - Rainy Days”. They have released mini-albums and singles previously, but this will be their first official full album. This album definitely does NOT disappoint as is the same with their previous works. I think I will be buying this album…it’s not often I like a full album that is not YG related.
1. The Forecast feat. One Sound Choir
Youngsky is the rapper of the group and (they all) speaks fluent English which was a nice asset to this rap song.Youngsky’s rap is very fluid and I love how the name of this song, “The Forecast” fit with the whole album and the lyrics itself relate to a forecast…of the future.
I was surprised to find out that there were swear words in this song, but that is also the reason why it makes the rap so much more intense and “beautiful” in terms of musically speaking. Not many Korean artists use English swear words in their songs/raps, at least not the F-word.
The thunder sound effects in the background also matched the concept and made the song more intensifying. Great way to start off the album.
Chance’s and Peter’s vocals enhanced the song, rather than softened it. the whole song was still intense and their vocals just mixed things up a bit and made the song more interesting in my opinion.
This would seriously be such an awesome intro! But the fact that they made it into a whole song is better. Can you put a 3:11 intro? =)
2. Rainy Days feat. Junsu Kim@2PM (Title track)
I felt that Junsu’s voice was a real addition to this song. When you first listen to it, a lot of people, including me, was wondering “Where’s Junsu’s featuring part in this song? I don’t hear it at all…” but if you give it a second or a third listen, you’ll find that it’s because Junsu’s voice is so nicely blended/harmonized with Peter’s that you don’t even notice it and think it’s one voice.
Without Junsu’s voice, the chorus, which is also in my opinion the best part of the song, would be missing something. His high notes enhance and give the chorus a little spark which makes it much more R&B feel.
That’s of course, not to say that Peter can’t sing, because he can! It’s just that the two together make this song one step closer to perfection.
Also, I don’t know why, but the piano in the beginning of the song reminds me of a rainy day (also very appropriate). Of course there is also Youngsky’s rap and his “Rihanna Umbrella reference” that was just an interesting piece to pick up. His rap, mixed with singing in the background and the piano instrumental is strangely a good combination; it does not sound weird nor awkward.
And let me tell you this, the English version is just as good as the Korean version.
P.S. Thought it was sweet/nice of Junsu to feature in their song because it wasn’t a small feature…he sang the whole chorus. Plus One Way unfortunately isn’t popular yet, so I thought it was nice of Junsu to feature to give them more exposure/attention from the fact that he’s from 2PM. But they’re pretty close and chill all the time anyway judging from their tweets to each other. Some brotherhood love right there.
3. New Drag
The conversation in the beginning of the song was a nice and refreshing change to introduce the song. This song has a very R&B feel to it and also has a very Craig David feel as well. There is more rap throughout the entire song, rather than a small rap in the middle/end of the song which is also what makes this song a bit different from the others. The song is mostly on the high-pitched range throughout the whole thing, which personally, makes the song a bit boring for me…which is why I’d rate it as my least favorite song out of the album, but it’s not a bad song.
4. Out빠져
This song has an interesting mix of R&B song with a bit of guitar instrumental in the background (you can hear just the guitar instrumental without any singing at the very end of the song though).
The whole song is very repetitive, but I didn’t mind it because there there was enough variation in their vocals in between to keep the song interesting. The bits of English lyrics here and there, the variation in their vocals, plus the rap make the song interesting despite the repetitive chorus
Generally speaking, I just love all their voices and how suited for R&B their voices are, so i didn’t mind this song at all (just my personal preference though, others may find this song incredibly repetitive).
5.Forever (Recommend!)
Definitely one of my favorite songs in this album. Incredibly relaxing and soothing to listen to! Cannot stress it enough.
There is very little background music; almost like an acapella or raw vocals with light drums…makes you feel like you traveled to Hawaii, or some exotic place and is listening to this song in the evening, live with some light instruments.
Overall a very very sweet song. Has been on replay on my iPod for awhile.
6. Flight 101 feat. As One
An upbeat, fun pop song to dance to and really makes you want to move around to it. Peter/Chance singing along with the enhancement of a high-pitched female voice makes it a lighter and sweeter fun song.
I have to say though, the girl’s voice reminds me a lot of the girl voices used in Taiwanese songs (Lara/Jay Chou, Wilber Pan/Shun Zi)
This is such an addictive song and was also on repeat on my iPod. Very easy to sing and learn the lyrics to. It’s one of those songs where the chorus is meant to be repetitive but still fun because of the fast beat, the rap and singing in between gives it some variation
7. Coffee feat. J.ae
A light pop song with a slight R&B/jazz feel - mainly because of the instruments used and a lot of adlib. A very comfortable and fun song to listen to. It also sounds like they were really comfortable/relaxed while recording this song. And it literally sounds like a song you would hear at a coffee shop (also very appropriate).
8. A Thousand Words (Recommend!)
Although it is one of those typical piano slow love songs, it is my favorite song in the entire album. Lyrics are touching and well-written and I could really hear One Way’s effort in this song; the way they sang it made me really feel their emotions. The fact that they used very simple/little instruments made their vocals and lyrics stand out even more.
CONCLUSION
Overall i really liked how One Way experimented with different ways of delivering their music in this album. The only thing I would say they need to improve is that, even though they showed different sides, ironically, most of their songs are still pretty light/soft. There’s nothing “fierce” or “loud” that jumps out at you, except “The Forecast”. But The Forecast is mostly dominated by rap, which isn’t hard to be “fierce” or “loud”. I would’ve liked to hear singing songs that were not light/soft pop, R&B.
They also need to find a different way to incorporate Youngsky’s rap into the song. All the songs had some sort of rap in it, but the way the rap was delivered sounded the same to me. Again with the exception of “The Forecast”, since that was a more hardcore rap song. There’s always no surprise or climax whenever the rap is integrated only once/twice in an R&B or pop song…it just doesn’t excite the listener enough.
Nevertheless, this album is still a major improvement from their previous one. You can’t be at a genius level right on the first couple of tries. Their effort, for example by mixing piano, rap and singing together was a fresh start. Also I thought it was really cute how they tried to match the concept of “Rainy Days” by having a song called “The Forecast” and another called “Rainy Days”. Also really cute how they put sound effects in their songs that relate to the song directly itself. for instance, Flight 101 had a captain speaking in the beginning of the track, and Rainy Days had thunder/rain sounds.
But in terms of making songs that still fit in their comfort zone, while starting/experimenting with slight variations is excellent. These songs make me feel super comfortable/relaxed and I like to listen to it all the time. Not to mention, the instrumentals of the songs sound amazing and are different from the usual piano instruments as there is the refreshing sound of the harmonica or the trumpet instrumental versions of their songs in the album.
