Ironic Clown

Track list:
1. Love Forever
2. Tender Touch
3. Kissing Me
4. Unchanging Love ~Kimi ga Ireba~ (with Whisper)
5. Catch me
6. Lullaby For You
7. Watashi no Taiyou
8. Naitemo Ii yo
9. You’re the One
10. Lovers DRIVE
11. The Chills
12. Still in Love
13. STARS

Love Forever is JYONGRI’s second Japanese studio album. It was released on the 2nd of July, 2008 and reached number 17 on the Oricon Charts, selling 17, 477 copies.

JYONGRI opens her new love themed album with a beautiful acapella entitled Love Forever . This is an appropriate opening song, as it gives us a taste into what the majority of the album will be – peaceful love ballads. The love feel continues on with Tender Touch which is a string and based ballad where she emotionally sings the lines ”It only takes that tender touch.”

Even from just looking at the track list, it is pretty obvious that Love Forever is all about love and nothing else, however for JYONGRI that’s a good thing. Too many have complained that there are too many ballads on this album, however JYONGRI performs these ballads in a professional and heart-warming manner so they never seem like a bore… well at least on this album.

JYONGRI’s vocals are amazing, they are so smooth and soft, while being full and deep at the same time, she hits all the right notes and even though she sings in an alto voice she still manages to reach the high notes with ease. Her vocals never fail to impress me and it’s a shame that’s she’s not all that popular in the Japanese music industry, because I really think that she has truly outstanding vocals. They are more refined than in Close To Fantasy and she doesn’t seem to be straining to reach any of the notes like in a few of the songs on her previous album.

Even though this album is made almost entirely of ballads, the upbeat songs are placed thoughtfully so you never get too many ballads in a row (if that’s even possible for JYONGRI). Most ballads maintain the same general atmosphere; however they do contain enough variety so that the songs don’t all sound the same. JYONGRI’s preferred instrument is the keyboard and the piano is present in some songs, such as Still In Love. Besides the keyboard/piano some other instruments can be heard throughout Love Forever. An acoustic guitar and be heard in STARS and an electric guitar can be heard in Watashi no Taiyou.

Like her previous album, Love Forever features a fare bit of synth, but this is balanced out with acoustic and genuine instruments. Unlike Close To Fantasy, the synth on Love Forever is elaborated and is of much higher quality, well for the most of it anyway. The only time the quality of the synth seems to lack is in Catch me, however JYONGRI’s vocals in Catch me are extremely, well, catchy! So the lacking quality of the synth in this song isn’t as noticeable. The best examples of synth can be seen in Kissing Me, Lover’s DRIVE and The Chills. All of these songs are well created and the synth really ads to the fun atmosphere of the song. Possibly the most synthesised song on the album is Lover’s DRIVE which is a fun and extremely catchy song.

JYONGRI captures the highs and lows of love in her album, and finishes the album of on a sadder and emotional manner. Still In Love and STARS are hauntingly beautiful songs which showcase JYONGRI’s almost depressing side. Still In Love which opens with a ravishing, yet simple piano solo is a song about missing a lover. The emotional atmosphere is displayed very well and JYONGRI’s vocals are mellower this time around. STARS is just as beautiful and JYONGRI’s vocals are so emotionally as she sings beautiful lines such as “In the sky we shine.” JYONGRI really knows how to finish the album off on a good note.

Love Forever was shockingly amazing and is better than Closer To Fantasy in every aspect. JYONGRI is one of the sincerest, sweet and emotional singers in the J-Pop industry. JYONGRI is not your average J-Pop star and remains true to herself at all times. Her lyrics depict very cute, and emotional times of love and her English is perfect. On Love Forever JYONGRI shows all the sides of love, the ups and downs, the good and bad, the strong and weak. JYONGRI’s vocals are amazing and one of the best in the industry, and JYONGRI is very good at portraying her emotions through her voice. Love Forever was a surprising album in the fact that every song on it was presented astoundingly and is an album I’m pretty sure I’ll love forever!

_______________

Hits:
Love Forever | Tender Touch | Kissing Me | Unchanging Love ~Kimi ga Ire wa~ (With Whisper) | Catch me | Lullaby For You | Watashi no Taiyou | Naitemo Ii yo | You’re the One | Lovers DRIVE | The Chills | Still In Love | STARS

So-so:
N/A

Misses:
N/A
_______________

Overall Rating:
5 stars