Album Reviews

Amerie

`In Love and War'

(Universal Music Korea)

R&B singer Amerie is finally back with her fourth album, ``In Love and War,'' her first with Def Jam Records. With L.A. Reid as executive producer, it's not surprising the album has a lot of radio-friendly R&B and polished dance tracks.

Her first single ``Heard `Em All'' follows the same pop-dance formula perfected by Beyonce, but Amerie gives a good effort at making it her own. There's a string of percussive dance tracks ― ``Tell Me You Love Me,'' ``Dangerous'' and ``Higher'' ― but before listeners can get bored, she shifts to mid-tempo R&B and ballads. She collaborates with Trey Songz on ``Pretty Brown,'' and Fabolous on ``More Than Love.'' Amerie, whose mother is Korean, included a special Korean version of ``Heard 'Em All'' with K-pop girl group 4Minute.

-Cathy Rose A. Garcia

Little Boots

`Hands'

(Warner Music Korea)

English electro-pop act Little Boots is considered one of the rising stars in the British music scene. Little Boots, whose real name is Victoria Hesketh, is a classically trained pianist, songwriter, onetime YouTube star (she sang Madonna covers in her pajamas) and also plays a Japanese electronic instrument called ``Tenori-on.''

Her debut album, ``Hands,'' features several well-crafted electronic pop and dance tunes that invite comparisons with Lady Gaga and Kylie Minogue. The first single ``New in Town'' offers an infectious chorus, and prepares listeners for the futuristic electronic beats of the rest of the album. The real standout track is ``Stuck on Repeat.'' Some songs are weak, like ``Tune Into You'' and ``Symmetry,'' a duet with Phil Oakey of The Human League.

Youn Kwang-chul & Chung Myung-whun

`Schubert Winterreise'

(Sony Classical)

Last December, classical music aficionados flocked to Seoul Arts Center for the meeting of two maestros, bassist Youn Kwang-chul and conductor-pianist Chung Myung-whun.

Sony is releasing a live recording of the much-talked-about concert so that fans can relive the moment or tune into what they missed.

The chemistry is palpable between Chung and Youn, who is reputed as ``the small giant'' that wooed the European music scene. Before making a name for himself as a conductor, Chung was known as an accomplished soloist and chamber musician, and his piano sings naturally in tune with Youn's instrument.

The singer's deep, resonating voice invites listeners to accompany him on a special winter journey. Schubert wrote the 24-song cycle after a set of poems by Wilhelm Muller, about a heartbroken young man's lonesome voyage through the snow.

-Lee Hyo-won