The fourth album from Jaurim shows more diversity than previous releases.
Jaurim's fourth album, 04, was the first introduction to the new style presented by them. Showing an over all more mellow and laid back feel compared to its predecessor The Wonderland, it showed itself as one of the highlights of their career and is arguably their strongest and most musically confident offerings to date.
The album opens with the powerful ballad #1. Kim Yuna's voice never falters throughout the track and shows her as being a shining star in her own right and also emphasises her lyrical capabilities. The high points of this song are only further emphasised by the following track Urileul wihae juseyo (Please Pray For Us), which continues along a similar theme of melancholy further highlighting Kim Yuna's powerful vocals and lyrics. Both tracks have a heavy old style, almost jazz-like quality, due to the inclusion of light piano parts.
Vlad gives the album a much needed lift and is one of the stand out tracks on the album. It gives the listener a glimpse into previous releases from the band and reminds us of how we came to fall in love with them in the first place. It is a full on rock song, which will be a live favourite for years to come.
The gentle acoustic guitar at the start of Faniya bring another element into the album and, although the song doesn't seem to get into full swing until the chorus, it doesn't fail to please when it does. It has a distinct soft rock feel to it and even present an opportunity for an impressive guitar solo from Lee Sun Kyu.
The album has quite a serious feel to it with the exception of Le Chat Magique, which offers a light hearted glimpse into what Jaurim were trying to achieve with this release. The following song Susabanjang is another soft rock classic from Jaurim that even gives Lee Sun Kyu a chance to shine as a vocalist. Although his voice is not as powerful or unique as Kim Yuna's, the song has some beautiful moments with harmonies from both vocalists before the album comes full circle and ends with a few more melancholy tracks.
This is a beautifully balanced album containing happiness, sadness and all of the things that make Jaurim unique and loveable.
