Here it comes, the first of many album reviews only on allkpop! Our very first victim album is T-ara's first full length album, Absolute. This album has been popular with fans, but what does an in depth analysis reveal? Well, let's take a look. The album has 13 tracks total, four of which are recycled, and two tracks that were given serious consideration for promotions. How about starting at the beginning? 1. One & One lilchoiboy18: Hmm, not much to say here. It's the shortest track on the album at 2:36 in length. It's a nice techno beat and sounds like good club music (I'm sure Korean clubs already have this track blasting). Not bad, but nothing extraordinary. I wouldn't mind some more rapping as T-ara's rapping duo is pretty talented. Grade: B- alikstae: The computer speech intro, hypnotic repetitive dance hooks, breakdown during the chorus, wailing synths on heavy reverb, and sidechained vocals... it's obvious DJ/producer Benny Benassi was a huge influence to this track. T-ara gets on the track to make this song not only something you can dance to, but to sing along to as well. Not necessarily a failed attempt to imitate Benassi's style, but the track seems to be in a rush to get you to the next track. I would say the track is decent enough for a nightclub but not interesting enough to casually listen to. I'd much rather be listening to Like the First Time. Grade: B 2. Like the First Time (????) lilchoiboy18: One of the two tracks up for promotions, a lot of people really took to this track. Honestly I didn't find anything too special about it, but I'll admit that it's catchy. Sadly, I can't think of this song without thinking of the soju brand of the same name. As usual with T-ara, they change up the beat to squeeze in a rapping verse (which I disagree with), but it's a nice rap. Grade: B+ alikstae: Like the First Time (????) is a very polished and fresh kpop production (unique to other competing kpop songs) which references classic 80s pop acts like the Human League and Depeche Mode unlike most kpop songs that tend to use recycled and overused basslines and riffs. Like the First Time is closely related to UK smash hit "In For the Kill" by La Roux . Unlike La Roux, T-ara manages to preserve a classic kpop vocal melody, a more conservative (mainstream) sound and an kpop obligatory rap. Grade: A+ 3. Bo Peep Bo Peep lilchoiboy18: "Don't lose your temper... so... quickly." The beginning of the song must have the whitest robotic voices in the world. Ultimately this song was picked for initial promotions and I'm not disappointed or anything, but this wasn't my favorite track off the album. I enjoy listening to this song and I USUALLY don't skip over it when it comes up on my I-Pod but it definitely isn't my favorite. If you want a nice strong track, go with Bo Peep Bo Peep. Grade: B alikstae: Another one of many europop charged dance numbers on Absolute. This track has got a typical four to the floor dance rhythm with cheeky, playful synths pulsating in harmony to their seductive voices cooing to have you to do their bidding. The song almost sounds like Korea's take on The Saturdays. Grade: B+ 4. Tic Tic Toc lilchoiboy18: Surprisingly, this song didn't start with a clock ticking. That was my first impression, and it was good. It immediately turned bad when I heard the first words. "Titty Titty to lah." I couldn't stand it... I still have barely listened the whole thing through. I'm sure there are fans, but it's not for me. The strongest impression is a techno remix of a Drama OST song. Grade: C- alikstae: The track kicks off with a modified version of Donna Summer's famous "I Feel Love" bassline to get you geared up for this disco flavored kpop dance number. If Koyote was still prominent in the music scene today, Tic Tic Toc would be the lovechild of the song that Koyote would be singing and Lee Jung Hyun's "Vogue Girl." Grade: B- 5. Bye Bye lilchoiboy18: My second favorite song off of the album. It has a nice strong beat and I just like the melody used. There's no room for infamous Engrish either because, thankfully, "bye" is something that Koreans can actually pronounce (and that's saying something). Once again they have a whole bridge and beat change up for a 4 second rap verse, but whatever. I really really enjoy this track and you should too! Grade: A alikstae: The vocals open up with a reference of the chorus an 80's French classic "Ella Elle La" (a recent cover by Belgian pop star Kate Ryan - fast forward to 0:46 in the video) This song seems to be the song that Kara has always wanted to record - cute jpop-esque yet preserving an echo of their former mature sound. Grade: B 6. Apple is A lilchoiboy18: A song for a CF, not much to say. It's cute, in contrast to their more mature electronic beats with 19+ music videos. It's a nice relaxing song, but it reminds me of a video game soundtrack for some reason. Tetris maybe? Not sure. Grade: B alikstae: This song as well as their debut single Lies are recognized at this group's established sound. You won't hear chorus' like these anywhere else but Korea! Grade: B 7. Falling U lilchoiboy18: An R&B track, it's nice. It's a bit slow for my tastes, but if you enjoy the ballad / slow and sad style, it's for you. It reminds me of Rhianna a bit, but not enough to constitute plagiarism (God forbid that). I recommend giving it a listen if you're feeling down, but be sure to look up the lyrics if you aren't Korean. No point in listening to a slow melody. Grade: B- alikstae: Sounds like they stuck this in the album to show versatility. Well it worked, but the song suffers from having verses that upstage the chorus. Sounds like a 3rd rate Because of You. Grade: C 8. You You You (???) lilchoiboy18: By far my favorite song on this album. It reminds me of TTL and it just has that winning formula. Good rapping throughout with a nice backup in the vocals. I wish they had promoted this, but I'm not calling the shots (even if I should be). Anyway, this is a great great great song and it's been on repeat for a while on my itunes. It's racked up 456 plays in 5 days. Grade: A+ alikstae: Recycled TTL (Lol, sorry lilchoiboy18). It's obvious the producer just opened his music project file for TTL and swapped a few layers here and there and got a songwriter to write new lyrics to the beat Grade: C 9. Lies (Slow Ver.) lilchoiboy18: I guess it was necessary to put this in their first album somewhere in some form. It's been remixed and redone to death so not much to say here. Grade: B- alikstae: Lies was a good song. I would have preferred the original, quite honestly. This version lacks the spark the original had. Grade: D 10. Good Person lilchoiboy18: A slow and sad ballad. It belongs in a drama somewhere, don't you agree? (It was featured in the Cinderella Man OST. The album version just has more T-ara members singing) It features all the traditional elements. The slow start building up to the chorus with the drums and the die down again with the orchestra plucking in the background with the guitar playing a sad riff. It's almost sad how uniform these things are. Grade: B alikstae: Usually I'm against sticking ballads at the end of albums because its the thing to do, but it reflects the group's strengths. Besides its always interesting to hear new members of a group sing the parts of a previous member, especially in studio form! Grade: B Overall Grade lilchoiboy18: This album is good, no doubt about that. There are a few things that could be improved, but overall I am very satisfied with it. Grade: B alikstae: It's evident that the album had a well balanced roster of songwriters and producers; the tracks were surprisingly diverse, yet at the same time cohesive - a trait extremely rare in kpop albums. While the album deviates from the current kpop sound thats popular today, the album is successful in delivering a unique sound with its classical vocal melodies against European dancepop rhythms. I rarely speak highly of kpop albums simply because Korea's market is based on singles rather than albums. In the end, the "kpop album" seems to have lost meaning before the "mini-album" (correctly term EP) took over the market. I rank this one as an A because its the first kpop album in a while thats an overall solid release (and packaging - see video below). The songs had a consistent sound, the order of the tracklisting was well thought out, and the funky European image the girls brought forth on the album set the girls apart from the herd girl groups in Korea. The album gets an A for being an album done right, not for a collection of outstanding songs. Grade: A- Packaging Review by Hogwood After that amazing advertising, if you feel the need to buy this album, be sure to do it here. If you would like to find out more, visit the T-ara - Diadem Forums. Stay tuned for more allkpop album reviews!