Album Review: TVXQ’s 'Catch Me'

When it comes to an archetypal K-Pop group like TVXQ, it's not very effective to talk about genre or trying to label them as predominantly a rock group, pop group, R&B or what have you. So, TVXQ on September 24 released their sixth studio album, which as a duo would be their second studio album. As is typical in a TVXQ album, heedless of genre labels there's something for everyone.

The new album called Catch Me has 11 songs that can be identified as dance/electronica, straight-up pop, hip-hop, R&B, ballads, rock and what even sounds like an acoustic track. The album's signature track, which has the same name as the album is the first song. "Catch Me" is very electronica with hard synths, and even Yunho gets in on the synthesizing when he is mouthing "...catch me if you wanna". The "Catch Me" MV on SM Entertainment's YouTube page, uploaded just a couple of days prior has well over 2 million hits.

These days it's hard to draw a distinct line between hip-hop and electronica, but the one song that's heavily influenced by hip-hop is the second song "Viva". The song flat out has Yunho rapping.  The architecture of the song has many appealing facets, however the most engaging is right after each chorus when the tempo of the song slows almost to a crawl and Yunho breaks into a rap. This song like a few others on the album will be pleasant to watch when performed live.

The strictly R&B songs are the number 3 song "Destiny" and the last song "Goodnight". "Destiny" has a great intro, which is sure to set the mood for just the right occasion. "Goodnight" is a really sweet song where the appealing inflections of Changmin's voice are really distinct. In total contrast to these songs, is the one rock song in the album where Yunho and Changmin are totally rocking out. The song is the eighth song and is called "Getaway". It's a great workout song.

Most TVXQ fan's probably don't really care if a song is electro-pop or hip-hop, R&B or ballad. The enjoyment of music is a personal experience for fans and music lovers. As with all enjoyable experiences we can't wait to share it with others. Although the music of this new album isn't necessarily earth shattering, lots of TVXQ lovers and fans of Yunho and Changmin will be sharing the music of the Catch Me album well into the future.

* This article is contributed by goodmomusic.com and does not represent the views or opinions of KpopStarz.

goodmomusic.com / @goodmomusic

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TVXQ
Yunho
Changmin
Catch Me
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