Lee Hyun Woo fans should check out his recent RKI interview [RealAudio]. Fans who aren't fluent Korean speakers will be happy to hear his fantastic English--I swear he sounds like a Nashville country singer (although he was born in Korea). In his interview, he addresses the tension observed in his music. On one hand, Lee sings very tender ballads. On the other hand, he seems to want to be a rock star. At one point, he indicates that he feels like an alien when he's in Korea, a predicament many Korean-American's express. From this point of view, his music is very successful in that it never quite settles in one place, but rather is being pulled back and forth between influences.

Anyone listening to this album will instantly conclude that ballads, and not rock songs, are Hyun Woo's true strength. One particularly tasty ballad is Sameul Pogiharyuhneun Nuhehgeh [MP3], a song with a hint of R&B behind it. It doesn't really have a solid groove--the beat is up-and-down. However, the scoring of the song exposes Lee's voice so that the audience really gets to judge the song on the merits of his singing rather than on his looks or dance moves.

The best track on the album is definitely Nuheh Euhmee [MP3]. This is the song that people will be humming throughout the day. It's got clarity and a simplicity that makes it perfect sing-along material. Lee's voice is a slight bit strained at the very top of the chorus, but other than that, it's a tremendous vocal line.

Track five, Yojeum Nuhneun [MP3], also shows Lee Hyun Woo's delicate side. After listening to the album in its entirety, I've concluded that Hyun Woo would do best to stick to ballads and leave the rocking to other singers. He gets points for trying to cover a variety of styles, but at least on this album, the slow songs are far better than the quicker ones.

Of the rock-influenced songs on the Virus album, Dagchyuh [RealAudio] is the most interesting. The rhythm guitar dominates the song although there's a decent lead guitar riff. Lee just doesn't have the voice to carry this music off--he's really wasting his talent on this one.

For some reason, Virus [ASX] is the title song. Unfortunately, it is also the least appealing track on the album, a fact that probably explains my inability to find a full copy of it online. This 30-second clip should be enough to indicate the style and tenor of the piece, however. The social commentary of the song is a great redeeming voice.

The tenth track on the CD, Jungyoogjum [MP3], is a groovy techno jam. There isn't much variety in this song, but if you like the first three measures, you should like the rest. If you're planning a high-energy party anytime soon, you might want to add this to your playlist.

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