Release Date: August 18/19, 2015
Track Listing
- Lion Heart
- You Think
- PARTY
- One Afternoon
- Show Girls
- Fire Alarm
- Talk Talk
- Green Light
- Paradise
- Check
- Sign
- Premonition (Bump It)
Review
Lion Heart is the 5th Korean album release by Girls’ Generation. It was released in 2 parts, with the first half of the album coming out on August 18th and the second half following on August 19th. The lead singles from this album were Lion Heart, and You Think.
Lion Heart is Girls’ Generation’s first full-length Korean release of 2015, arriving two years after their last album, I Got A Boy and a year after their mini-album Mr. Mr. It is also the first album without main vocalist Jessica Jung who either left the group in 2014 to pursue individual activities or was ousted due to internal strife that involved her outside activities. Whatever way you look at it, she’s not a part of the group anymore.
So has that hindered this group’s musical output at all? Judging by this album, it’s business as usual with Lion Heart. It features many slick Pop productions that include touches of Dance, and R&B. Losing Jessica’s vocals may be jarring to long-time fans or listeners, but the rest of the group makes up for her absence admirably.
How this was released was interesting as it forced one to listen to the album in a more complete manner than if it were put out there with all 12 tracks in one shot. You had no choice but to listen to the first six tracks while waiting for the second half’s release. There is a generous amount of fresh material to absorb when combined.
That’s always a nice bonus considering most albums are just a collection of singles you probably already own. So besides the singles (Lion Heart, You Think and PARTY), what else is worthy of your attention?
Start with the Clazziquai-like One Afternoon. This song is refreshing from the typical Girls’ Generation mid-tempo fare. Then move on to the R&B-flavored Talk Talk for more of smooth material.
Show Girls and its shifting tempo changes should fit the bill if you want something faster. It’s similar to I Got A Boy, but the result is much more pleasing than that hot mess. The other track worth mentioning is Green Light. Sadly it’s not a cover of the John Legend song featuring Andre 3000, but it’s still a catchy piece of dance-pop that this group is known to excel at.
Lion Heart has a strong and consistent flow from beginning to end, making for a very entertaining listen. Whether it meets your K-Pop cravings or is satisfactory after the departure of Jessica is up to you to decide. Regardless, what you get on this album is the quality one would expect of a Girls’ Generation project and another example of why they are in the upper echelon of K-Pop groups.
