The 007th

When I last wrote about Lee Jung Hyun I feared another extended break from the music scene due to the poor reception of her last mini album, Avaholic. Thankfully my assumptions were wrong, and it was announced shortly thereafter that she would be releasing her 7th album in the coming months. I was beyond excited but also worried about what she had in store. I didn't want another expensive flop a la Crazy.

When Avaholic was released it seemed as though she was trying to blend in with the current trends, adopting the style of the popular "idol" groups. With 007th, and her title track Suspicious Man she maintains a synthpop sound. I believe it was a wise choice in that it keeps her music relevant and allows her to stay true to her roots as a techno artist.

Technically 007th could be considered a full album, except we are given only 5 new songs, the rest being from Avaholic. That was kind of a disappointment as I expected a full album since her last album was a mini. I'll briefly summarize the new tracks:

• Suspicious Man - The lead single of the album. There is quite a bit of auto tune but I think it works in this instance, I only hope that she performs a more acoustic version for her stage performances. It almost reminds me of music from the 8-bit days of gaming, specifically the bridge of Axel F. That might just be my nerd showing though. :P
• Eeny Meeny Miny Mo - Sounds similar to Britney Spears' If You Seek Amy. That being said, it's not bad but definitely not my favorite of the album.
• Come On - This one is alright, another synthy number.
• Open - The required ballad for any KPop album.
• AVAtar - AVAtar was the rumored title track. There was actually speculation that she would be using the James Cameron-directed film as inspiration for her comeback concept. I really enjoy this one, and I could see this being on one of her earlier albums (I ♥ Natural). I wouldn't have minded if she had chosen to promote this in place of Suspicious Man.

The music video for Suspicious Man premiered yesterday. I was a bit suspicious (Ha!) of the "bond girl" concept at first, but it suits her and she's lookin' da sexay if I may say so myself. It's hard to tell what is exactly going on but I'm guessing she is a secret agent taking revenge on an ex-lover. As for the rape scene with a male drag version of herself, I'm afraid Lee Jung Hyun might be the only person capable of explaining that bit...