Ryeowook plays it too safe with 'Drunk On Love' [Music Review]
Drunk On Love is the second mini-album from K-pop's Super Junior member Ryeowook, offering a wide range of genres with mixed results.
The album is book ended with affectionate piano ballads I'm Not Over You and The 2ndStory, which start off with whimper-ish vocals before leading to smooth falsetto squeals to display Ryeowook's incredible vocal range.
Something Good and Sugar both veer off into the jazz sphere, but each have their own identities. Something Good has a lounge vibe, with J-pop stylings in the pre-choruses before the feel-good anthem beams out, "You and me got something wonderful".
Sugar's old-fashioned cabaret show-esque vibes soon give way to funky bass grooves, and a slightly schmoozy, tongue-in-cheek vibe. The tracks get progressively worse, finishing with an out-of-tune child singing out of time with the rest of the song as it slowly fades.
One And Only has a kind of Jason Mraz-esque coffeehouse shuffle to it, but Ryeowook seems to out-chill even the king of acoustic lounge himself on it. Without You shifts toward more Latin-led embellishments and the only real R'n'B beat on the album, as he cries out, "Cuz I'll be right here".
There are no awful moments here by any stretch, but it feels like Ryeowook has played this one a little too safe instead of trying to stand out.