In light of the very recent news of Xia Junsu’s final show of his 2012 tour next month, we take a look at his album, Tarantallegra that was released earlier in May.
As a solo act and part of JYJ, Junsu showcases his vocal talent throughout TARANTALLEGRA and offers a fine balance between high energy dance tracks that are smartly placed between gentle ballads. Released on May 15th, both in stores and online via iTunes, this release came just before Junsu’s world tour that took place throughout much of this year, with the final stop in Germany next month, as previously reported.
The album title name, TARANTALLEGRA points towards a charm of the same name in the avidly popular “Harry Potter” series. If cast, the charm forces its subjects' legs to move uncontrollably which could be interpreted loosely as dancing. It’s easy to understand the connection between the title and the concept of the album: to get up and dance!
TARANTALLEGRA opens with an intro Sunset, precluding the title track which will surely drive you get up and dance. The title track TARANTALLEGRA follows with a simple beat and haunting bass drums in the intro that layers around Junsu’s intoxicating voice —the monotonous hook is enough to ‘cast’ a jinx and force the listener to dance. TARANTALLEGRA features rapping from hip-hop group Aziatix’s Flowsik.
The middle of the album chills with slower tracks like No Gain and Sarangi siltakuyo. No Gain is a minor keyed melodramatic ballad while Sarangi siltakuyo is a ballad with emphasis on the vocal line, accompanied by piano. The latter was used as an insert song in the 2012 Korean drama “Rooftop Prince”.
In Breath (ft. Double K), the vocal line is a little overpowering but helps to intensify the shrill violin in the background. Breath (ft. Double K) was written, composed and arranged by Junsu as was the track, Intoxication.
Though an energetic dance track proceeds it, TARANTALLEGRA soon comes to a close with a soothing ballad, Isseuleul meokeumeun namu The gentility of the track matches many insert songs that are heard throughout Korean drama and brings out a softer side to Junsu's vocal ability.
Across the album, the collective twelve tracks create a gentle rise and fall; every second track gets your heart racing while the next track soothes.
The dance version to TARANTALLEGRA is here however enjoy the MV below!
