Yoon Han(윤한) - LOVELESS Album Thoughts( K-Jazz/Indie)

01. Love is blind
02. 널 위한 노래
03. Morning Light
04. Dramatic
05. 처음으로 만났던 곳
06. Loveless
07. Stars
08. Smile
09. Afternoon in Praha
10. Sirmione
11. A windy day in Budapest
12. 편린 (여행을 떠나다)

  Yoon Han was and still kind of known as a Jazz Pianist in South Korea. What made his career climb in popularity was his involvement with the reality show, We Got Married: A show that pairs celebrities up with each other to act as a married couple. After the show, Yoon Han was put on many young adult female's radars as that guy who plays piano, can sing, and is tall.( Koreans tend to equate height with looks.) Han also took a different approach to his music, wanting to be known as a singer not just a pianist. Albums followed along with a few digital singles that showed a strong desire to prove that he had what it takes to be a full time singer. Loveless is his newest release to date.

  Han has more than what it takes to be a full time singer. Tracks like 널 위한 노래 prove that this guy can jump in line with the many other Korean singers and hold his own when his turn comes. The biggest problem that really holds him back is he seems like he doesn't want to commit to either just being an instrumentalist or a vocalist. He seems to want both sides of the spectrum and thats fine if he feels this is the best for him musically. It just makes Loveless feels like a push and pull off making the listener experience both sides when in reality, more people will come for his voice more than his piano playing. Especially listeners who have never heard his music before. I became a little frustrated at a select few songs on Loveless because I'm one of his fans that actually likes his singing and I would come across a track where he would sing for a short period of time then only play Piano. Some other tracks didn't feature him singing at all. I'm a lover of all kinds of music including Jazz but Yoon Han truly has talent as a vocalist and its sad that he's still known mainly as a instrumentalist than a singer in South Korea. The tracks he did sing all the way to the end are tracks that he nailed to the ground. A mixture of Jazz, Acoustic rock, and Jazz really set the mood for his voice to come in and charm all who listen. Perfect music to listen to over coffee in a coffee shop while peering out the window into the world. 

 Think of chocolate that's solid when you first place it in your mouth then it starts to melt into a smooth substance that slides off your tongue. Such is the wonders of Yoon Han's voice. The tone of his vocals is so rich but smooth like its trying to pull you into its sweet embrace for the duration of the song. When I first heard some of his music by chance, I was really attracted to his voice because he sounded nothing like the other Korean male singers I had heard at the time. Fast forward to the present, Han is still new and different ways to show his vocal talents. Loveless sounds more mature than Man On Piano did so that proves a evolution has taken place. I hope more vocalization will happen in future albums.  

  Loveless would have made a better mini album after you take away all the instrumental tracks or half instrumental tracks. Previously released singles like Hello and Beautiful didn't make the album which sadden me greatly. I would have taken those tracks over a Instrumental piano Jazz album  where he sings in maybe four out of twelve songs. Don't let this stop you from checking out this album or his other albums. Be warned that you might have to dig through the tracklist for the good songs. Of course, unless you like instrumental Jazz then knock yourself out. Forgot to mention he writes songs in English too.