Super Junior - Bonamana (album)

Super Junior are back with their 4th album, 3 members down, but to be honest with you I'm not impressed with this new album.

I'll stop comparing this to Sorry Sorry, because they're 2 different albums - comparison or none, Bonamana JUST PASSES for me. I'm sorry, I tried, I really did, but the entire thing is just not convincing enough to my ears.

One of the good points on this album that I will stress is the impeccable production SME has become notorious for - I find myself not getting sick of 90% of this album even if I've been listening to it off the hook since a few hours ago. All the songs are well-produced, the only problems I have are with the songs themselves. Let's put it this way, if Bonamana wasn't well-produced it would be even more crap than it is for me right now.

As I was listening to the album, a thought popped out of my mind - I had already written down one of my main observations about this album, on the draft of my still unpublished Super Junior vocal commentary. A gazillion people have asked me when it's coming and my honest answer is that I have absolutely no idea - it'll come when it comes - but for those who really want to read even a bit of it, here's 2 halves of 2 paragraphs worth of my commentary. I told you I had an intro a notes.

Now because not everyone can actually pull off what SM wants them to do now, there are only a few guys who actually get singing lines, most often it's Kyuhyun, Ryeowook, Yesung and Sungmin.

Believe me, I like these guys and they have good voices but really, this is all whacked. Let's take a random ballad off Sorry Sorry - What If. The guys you hear singing the most are Kyuhyun, Ryeowook and Yesung, also known as Super Junior KRY - one of the band's 4 sub-units.


*sigh* What I'm about to say right now could've easily been discussed in my vocal commentary. Oh well.

Majority of the vocal parts are done by KRY with the exception of a few other guys who get a few solos throughout the album - that's insane. Don't give me the they're too big a band excuse because there are approximately 34-45 lines in a generic pop song with a verse-verse-bridge-chorus-verse-bridge-chorus-middle8-chorus-chorus structure - minus 16 lines for the chorus you're left with 18 lines at the very least, 10 members can easily share those 18 lines.

Heechul does get a few lines and some of the other guys do as well but majority of the songs on Bonamana require the vocals Kyuhyun, Yesung and OK maybe even Ryeowook have - they're ballads. For crap's sake this isn't a stinkin' Super Junior KRY album, this is a SUPER JUNIOR album - you know, 10 guys?

I'm perfectly content with an album that has maybe 2 or 3 ballad ballads, the type you KNOW will be a theme song for a Korean drama about some sappy love story, but by my count, Bonamana has 5 ballads out of a possible 11 songs - that's more or less half of the album. HALF? BALLADS? Ugh.

I won't go all technical with my definition of a ballad, but generally they're slow with piano and string accompaniments and have long, flowy lines. I don't consider songs like It's You as ballads because the tempo at the chorus speeds up a bit.

I've said this once (on a past review, forgot which one) but ballads are fine in moderation and/or if they're really gorgeous like hell, but once you give me half an album's worth of ballads I'm bound to fall asleep at some point of it. Just because someone has a big voice and a mad range, doesn't mean you should stuff ballads down his/her throat - it shows narrow-mindedness, laziness and lack of creativity altogether. If you apply it to Super Junior, just because KRY and a few others have pretty OK voices, doesn't mean you have to give them half and album's worth of ballads. It annoys me.

Don't go telling me that oh, but weren't your beloved DBSK guys ballad singers too? because even I'm pissed off that majority of their Korean albums are ballad-based. There's a reason why I didn't review them.

So anyway. I won't lie and say that all the ballads suck because some of them are really gorgeous, but the simple fact that they literally made me fall asleep 1 few lines in turns me off a bit. Note that I have never, ever been put to sleep by a song upon my first listen - SuJu was the first. So let's talk about the ballads first.

When I first saw the track listing I thought Coagulation would be some kind of strange song, then when I actually got the album it turns out that it's a ballad of all things. I don't know whether to laugh or to cry at the title mixed with its being a ballad but title aside, it's actually a very pretty song. Once again KRY take majority of the vocals, but the piano part just makes me feel like tearing up and the verses are gorgeous. The problem is that 1 minute into the song, I fell asleep. I'm sorry, I really am, but if you have a ballad like this that just stays at a specific place, the vocals should be flying all over the place and making up for the lack of dynamics in the instrumental. I'm falling asleep again. Ugh.

Your Eyes is a bit more interesting, but for some reason the strings at the start remind me of the chords of one of the ballads on DBSK's Mirotic and then the verse sounds like a less intense version of Wish, also off Mirotic. But Kyuhyun's bridge just made me faint. And so did the second half of the chorus. HOWEVER once again, I was asleep maybe halfway into the song. Oh well.

Actually, My All Is In You is pretty too, laid-back, but the instrumental kept me slightly more awake this time. The production made this song - how the instrumental was put together with the treatment of the vocals and the melody plus the addition of a more snappy percussion part made it the least bit more lively. Yay.

Last 2 ballads! Yay. In My Dream once again has a gorgeous melody and the instrumental is a bit more lively this time, but the vocals and melody made me get woozy again - I'm sorry but I fell asleep after the second verse. I do like the percussion line though, and how it pops at certain places. Otherwise, I was bored.

One Fine Spring Day is Ryeowook's solo song and although I'm against the guy having a solo on this album altogether because I don't think he's worthy (ugh. once again, it's in my vocal commentary), I gotta say that it's pretty. I'm still sleepy as hell though. I like the melody and the sharp-ness it has at some parts plus the fact that Ryeowook sounds less like a girl than he usually does, so I'm OK.

OK. Enough of the ballads, I'm literally falling asleep right now as I write this, so I think it's best to start with the uptempos.

I said my piece on the lead single/title track a few days ago and I still stand by that, but I do have to say that I still can't stop playing it, nor have I gotten sick just hearing the damn thing. That's good - means that the song has good production. *clap clap clap*

Boom Boom is uh, how do I describe it? Reminds me of a few songs off Sorry Sorry reworked for this year with a bit of GD at the bridge for good measure. I like the vocals on this song - they sound good and they actually have conviction, emotion, on this song. The transition to the rap part to me sounds like some kind of East/South East Asian gong, and I find the entire thing a little disjointed - it wasn't well-done. It's catchy though.

My Own Girl seriously reminds me of SS501's Wasteland at the verses and the bridge. A bit. And another song I can't quite put my finger on yet, but when I do find out, you'll be the first to know. Not the biggest fan of this song, but the dynamics are something to look out for.

Shake It Up reminds me of that Jay Sean song that was big last year/early this year, whatever you call it. The start/hook especially. I do like the melody though and the touch of the piano loop under everything that's happening on top and the instrumental is really lively. The trumpets throughout the song are trying a bit too hard for my taste and I find the start really unnecessary, but the tempo of the song and the instrumental is enough to make me wide awake. Good.

When I first heard Good Person I thought the start sounded like a cross between S Club and STEPS, it still does but the rest of the song is a little too 90's pop for my taste. I mean I love my 90's pop and all, but the chorus of this song just makes me cringe - it sounds so cheap. Not a big fan.

Here We Go closes off the album - it's cheery, it's happy and it's got a pretty melody. Very happy indeed, with just the right amount of cheesiness to be a pass for me. It sounds like something that would have no problem fitting into an SM Town summer album, will it be on this year's package? That is if SM even releases one.

Best Track: My All Is In You/Bonamana
Better Tracks: Shake It Up!, Here We Go, Your Eyes
Worst Track: Not really sure. Good Person maybe.
2.5/5 - it just passes.

14 comments:

  1. I really wanted to disagree with you, but I can’t. This album was pretty much a disappointment. Everything from the auto-tune to the five ballads just let me down. When you’re right, you’re right

    TRACKS I LIKED: Shake It Up, Bonomana, Boom Boom, Your Eyes - only for Kyuhyun, who I’m in love with

    TRACKS I DISLIKED: Everything else

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh, and how about a vocal commentary thing for 2AM?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hahah. I'll take that as a compliment then!

    2AM? I know they're my second favorite kpop boyband and all but I'm actually not familiar with whose voice is whose so I think I need more time. That and I've unofficially ended the 'vocal commentary special' - when I feel like writing one, I will. Did that 'sneak peak' at the SuJu vocal commentary meet your expectations? hahah.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I wanted more upbeat songs in this album. Really. And you're right about the whole KRY thing. Just because they're the best singers doesn't mean they have to get a bazillion parts in one song. I was expecting to hear more from Donghae and Leeteuk, and more rap from my bias Eunhyuk. *siiiiggghhh*

    ReplyDelete
  5. I started to get into super junior when I first heard "its you" a month ago. I listened to it NON STOP for 4 days!

    Sure I expect alot from SuJu after all this. its new song.. i have to say. it is good enough for all the suju fans but I cannot see how it will generate as much interest in the non-fans as SORRY SORRY did last year.

    I am actually abit turned off by the fact that this album got so many ballads (or is this the norm in Korean music? I dunno. SuJu is my first Korean music ever)

    and yes you are right. this is a suju album. not SJ-KRY album. I want to hear more from other members!!

    I have been considering buying their new album.. but now i am thinking....maybe I will be better off buying their last album?

    ReplyDelete
  6. As a giant Suju fan, I really wanted to like this album. Really, I did. I loved almost everything in Sorry, Sorry, and this album was ALMOST a giant snore.

    It seems so... lazily crafted. Like the composers took the songs out of a library of so-so melodies and threw them to SM Ent, who knew that Super Junior will sell like hotcakes anyway (with 198,000 pre-orders, they could have technically released a whole album of silence and still pocketed all that money).

    And you know, it's been difficult saying this anywhere where other Suju fans are, because they kind of go ARE YOU NUTS?!?! BEST ALBUM EVAAARRRRR!!! OMG I LOVE EVERY TRACK!!! And so on.

    I'm just praying their second song (almost definitely on Version C, the repackaged version) will be as good as Neorago.

    Anyway, I agree with you on almost everything you said, except one thing: that Ryeowook is not worthy of a solo song. Yes, One Fine Spring Day is a bit blah, but Ryeowook IS a good singer. I used to be all about Kyuhyun's voice, but Ryeowook has fantastic vocal control and a good range. Yes, his voice is a little high and girly and not for everyone, but after watching them live for 3 hours during SS2, I have to say that Suju would be nothing without him.

    Okay, back to listening to the album again and hoping I like it more next time. Not hoping for too much though.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thank You for your Review. Now I know what songs to look out for :D I alrdy pre-ordered the album before it was released (haha). I wasn' t a big fan on Bonamana at first but after listening for a few more times, I REALLY like it. (Not sure why) It's catchy, I guess. Boom Boom is good too.

    ReplyDelete
  8. well yeah, everyone has own opinion..
    me too, was expecting a lot of up beat song in this album. I don't listen to all song in 3rd album, but some of them like Angela & Shining Star are my fav.. I simply didn't expect that this album would be "so balladish"
    But I've learned that disappointment comes from too high expectation which maybe caused by huge popularity of Sorry2..
    if Bonamana was released after Don't Don, maybe it would be epic..
    Well, I tried to forget my expectation and plainly listen to all songs w/o any offense.. The result is I never can spend a day w/o listening to them =)
    somehow I agree that it may not attract the non-fans like how Sorry2 did.. (ugh, stop comparing to Sorry2 >.<)

    ReplyDelete
  9. LOL. I'm actually an unofficial ELF myself. But yeah, though I wanted to disagree that much, I can't.

    At first, I thought this album was going to be a hit for dancing and stuff. It seemed fun. I'm disappointed by the ballads. Judged by the cover of this album and the main title of the album, ballads may not be what most people would think first.

    But I don't think this album 'just passes' too. Boom Boom is still ringing in my head.

    Great commentary by the way!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Late, but I have to agree with you about the songs.(Except the Ryeowook part, but we'll get to that in the commentary so...) Ugh.

    Their repackaged version came out recently, and the title song of that is "No Other", which seriously made me worry for SuJu. It sounds boring and generic- Coagulation did a better job at keeping me awake, and that was a frikkin' ballad.

    It seems like SME will give up on SJ soon, probably due to their ages and upcoming army duties. The Bonamana mv was crappy and looked cheap as well.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Haha I can't say I agree with you on all things, but I don't really have that authority on k-pop to say anything.
    I just got into Super Junior last December, so it wasn't that long ago, and I got REALLY into it..That's when I started searching up all their songs, past and present, and bunched them altogether. So I've been listening to all their songs, from U, It's You to No Other.
    But I can't say that the songs from the Bonamana CD are bad, just bad for them all to be put in one album. Maybe if SMEnt had split them up, like saved some of them for the next album or something, it'd be better...?
    The only song I couldn't really listen to in this album was Coagulation. It was just too slow....
    But I do agree with you on the part where only the KRY get parts... Even though Kyuhyun is my bias, I think that everyone should get longer parts than they do. I mean, even though Sungmin is considered a "lead singer", he gets like NO parts at all...and Donghae has a good voice too, but compared to the KRY, he gets nothing.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Actually, I think Good Person is a cover they did on a 90s song...
    Seriously.
    I think I heard Leeteuk talking on a talk show (Foresight? idk...) about how they did a cover recently and I think I read Good Person on the subtitles(since I don't understand Korean =P)..

    ReplyDelete
  13. thanks 4 giving ur brilliant power for making this..^^
    love asia's anchovy

    thanks for sharing

    ReplyDelete
  14. Bonamana(In my opinion)

    Upsides:
    - If you've heard the song, you will realise how nice the opening to each new verse sounds.
    - Addictive rhythm and funky beats
    -Brillant dance choreography

    Downsides:
    - Repititive tune
    - The fact that it pretty much sounds like Ring Ding Dong and Sorry Sorry mashed up

    Neutral:
    -The return of Ryeowook and Sungmin alternating lines as seen previously in Sorry Sorry
    -Some members not having enough lines ( especially the ones who can sing like Leeteuk, Heechul and Siwon).

    ReplyDelete

Want to share any of your thoughts on the above post? Drop a comment here! I read all comments and reply occasionally, especially if you have specific questions for me. :D

Note that comments are moderated. Spam, self-advertising (K-Pop-related and otherwise) and overly vulgar submissions will NOT be accepted. If you want me to promote/endorse/follow/link to your site, please e-mail me at popreviewsnow@gmail.com instead.

 

Recent Tweets

Like Pop Reviews Now on Facebook!

Statistics (Since May 2009)

Music - Top Blogs Philippines Follow on Bloglovin

Blog Archive

You're reading an award-winning blog

The K-Pop Writers' Workshop


A workshop for writers of critical pieces on Korean entertainment -- formal reviews, expository essays/Op-eds, and personal essays/Creative Non-Fiction.
Learn from the best in K-Ent writing