Photo credits: Antenna

[Review] Jung Seung Hwan – Five Words Left Unsaid

One of our favorite balladeers Jung Seung Hwan is back with his new EP ‘Five Words Left Unsaid’. Let’s dive right in because I am stoked to hear new songs that’ll probably crush my spirit for a couple of weeks. 

Five Words Left Unsaid

We start off with ‘The Spring Day Passes’. This is such a soft ballad with a fresh piano line and soft strings. The focus feels very much on the vocals which is portrayed really well by the mixing and layering. It reminds me a lot of his album ‘Dear, My Universe’.

Next up is ‘We, from the first’ which is the title track. The song really portrays the fragile sense of a love confession to a friend. The sound feels very rich and round. We get some of Jung Seung Hwan’s beautiful vibrato. 

‘Thinking of You’ follows that with a very delicate piano opening. It’s another fragile small song you keep in the palm of your hand like a little baby bird. It’s mostly just vocals and piano and then about halfway through, we get some light strings and drums added which keeps it dynamic. Finally we get some electric guitar as well, and I desperately need a live orchestral version of this track.

Track four is ‘If you are with me’. This one feels more bittersweet and aches a little when I listen to it. I am in love with the addition of electric guitar in this one. It adds that extra chutzpah to hit you with all the feels.

The last track ‘Love Letter’ was an unreleased IU song that he covered and released on YouTube. IU loved it and let Jung Seung Hwan release it. This one made me tear up a little. The overall fragility and the whistling make it feel very raw. 

Jung Seung Hwan really knows how to use his voice and he displayed that yet again in ‘Five Words Left Unsaid’. It’s a great EP to add to his discography. 

You can find it on Spotify here.

A writer with a slight coffee addiction and a tendency to find K-Indie gems in the YouTube rabbit hole.