Beakhyun is a singer who is apart of the popular South Korean boyband known as EXO. He is also apart of the group's sub unit called EXO- CBX. City Lights is his first mini album as a soloist. I'm not a huge fan of EXO to tell you the truth. I like a select few songs here and there but I don't follow their releases by choice. UN Village just came up as a suggestion on my Youtube account.
Track List:
01. UN Village
02. Stay Up (Feat. Beenzino)
03. Betcha
04. Ice Queen
05. Diamond
06. Psycho
City Lights was an interesting record considering the background of the artist who released this album. The tracks sound more closer to the effort of an indie artist than an idol singer from SM Entertainment. It's a very Hip Hop/RnB driven album fit for the indie Korean music scene in my opinion. This was a big reason why I was so drawn to City Lights on my first listen. UN Village is a mid tempo RnB track that has a smooth production perfectly catering to listeners who want a jumpy melody friendly track. Many of the variations in the beat don't sound like anything you would hear in other Kpop songs out currently. Baekhyun even hires the aid of foreign producer Cha Cha Malone to produce Stay Up featuring rapper Beenzino. Most of the tracks are super consistent with each other to create a solid debut RnB record. My only con for the mini album would be that the tracks are too alike. No, Not like they sound alike but the music has a same dynamics in production which might bore some people. Ice Queen and Diamond are super artsy when it comes to their sounds. Still, something about these two songs make the album lose a bit of momentum when you get to them. They're both still good songs to listen to while Psycho is the unwanted child of the whole album. I can see why it's a bonus track though. Psycho can be apart of City Lights till you realize how different it sounds from the other tracks. Korean RnB isn't to everyone's taste. SM must have given the guys in EXO full reign over their musical projects to do what they felt self represented them as solo artists. There's no way such a free vibe sounding piece of music like City Lights would have been created otherwise. You don't have to be a fan of EXO or SM to enjoy City lights from back to front. Well, now we know what Beakhyun's music would sound like if he ever decides to ditch SM Entertainment. He was meant to be a indie artist at heart looking at his solo masterpiece anyway.
The vocals are chill on the album. Baekhyun comes off as very in control of the musical flow as he sings. RnB singers need that sense of control without trying too hard. Everything is suave in each track. I actually love his voice in this style, more than I did in EXO-CBX.
City Lights is a mini album that I highly recommend for those who love Korean RnB and are tired of waiting for Zion T and Crush to make new music. You will be pleasantly surprised at how addictive City lights can be.
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