On Jan. 7, South Korean artist Chuu released her first full-length album as a solo artist.
“XO, My Cyberlove,” the long-awaited full-length album, unfortunately felt underwhelming for an artist whose previous works have been infinitely better.
Chuu is well known for a reason. She’s proven in the past to be an insanely talented singer with a massive range, and 100% has what it takes to make good music, but with an album that sounds so standard, it leaves audiences wanting more.
The nine song album encompasses a very bland sound, with only a few songs standing out with their uniqueness and carrying the sound that I’ve come to love and expect from Chuu. At its worst, “XO, My Cyberlove” is something any other artist can make, but at the few moments where it’s at its best, Chuu’s originality shines through.
A song that shows this exceedingly well is my favorite from the album, “Heart Tea Bag.” The song leans further into the R&B sound that Chuu’s vocal range and tone allows her to excel in and is one of the most unique songs out of the tracklist.
The layering of her vocals is what stands out the most, with her lower range taking the front sound while higher notes ring in the back over the dreamy instrumental. The sound is subtle but impactful, and incredibly well done. For an artist known for some of her high notes, the choice to make them a background sound could have been risky but was pulled off masterfully.
Another song that stood out was “Teeny Tiny Heart.” With a more playful and upbeat sound similar to some of Chuu’s older works like “Strawberry Rush” or “Heart Attack,” this song was the catchiest of the album on first listen.
Talking directly to her heart, Chuu complains about her heart not listening and toying with her feelings, singing “Making me fall in love as you please, making me dream. So I can’t do anything, I can’tdo anything. Because of you, My Teeny Tiny Heart.”
The personification in the lyrics feels more similar to what I’m used to from Chuu, with a lighter and almost cute vibe. On an album with what felt like a lack of her usual personality, “Teeny Tiny Heart” was a nice reminder of who I was listening to.
The three-song run of “Teeny Tiny Heart,” to another notable song, “Love Potion,” to “Heart Tea Bag” was the highlight of the album. Unfortunately, the songs after that were two of the weakest, with a much more standard sound.
“XO, My Cyberlove” as an album struggles to not be boring. All of the songs on the album showcase pretty vocals, but that’s where many of the songs stop. They sound nice, but there’s nothing impressive or interesting to pull you in.
The eighth song on this album, “Hide & Seek,” is where this is the clearest. It’s not good, but it’s not bad. There’s almost nothing to say about it at all. Literally anyone could have made this song and pulled it off just as well as Chuu did.
After multiple listens, the more basic songs did grow on me, but they still are missing something that makes me really want to listen. If they came on I would listen, sure, but I wouldn’t be able to remember the name of the song, or why it was on my playlist at all.
What’s so disappointing about the blandness of some of these songs is the fact that visually, the teasers and music videos for this album were so well done.
Both the music video for the title track, “XO, My Cyberlove” and B-side “Canary” were shot artistically, almost like a real movie. The videos follow Chuu and someone we can assume is her partner through their relationship together, eventually ending with Chuu standing alone, symbolizing the end of their relationship.
The music video for “Canary” specifically was stunning. Fully monochromatic in a soft rose pink, the music video reflects the same scenes shown in “XO, My Cyberlove,” but only shows the couple’s best moments. The color-grading of the video forces the viewer to watch the couple through literal rose colored glasses.
With such well planned out visuals, I really wish that direction could have been carried into the sound of the album as well. I would’ve expected the songs to at least be at a similar level to the thought behind the visuals, but comparatively they fall flat.
Overall, I would have to give this album a three and a half out of five, because while it has its moments, I had hoped for far more.
The loss of Chuu’s distinct sound on this album is unfortunately it’s downfall. In a time with so much oversaturation in music, especially in the K-pop industry, she needs to return to the unique sound that has made her known as such a talented artist instead of keeping afloat with whatever is trending at the time.
