Kim Taeyeon's My Voice: A Celebration Of Vocal Expression

Voice. A term we hear in a multitude of different situations, describing a multitude of different concepts. How we communicate, the tone in which we communicate, what it sounds like when we communicate. You’ll notice the constant; communication. A gift we only take for granted every day we live and breathe. The ability to express in myriad of different ways even without using the one so unique to our species. To convey complex ideas through the sounds made by our mouths, the sheer amount of different languages, manners, and noises we can use to express ourselves is so dizzyingly vast, I’m ironically lost for the very words I could use to describe it. The intention in the varying ways through which you hear anything will always be in your hands, no matter how much external influence it may have been given.

Kim Taeyeon is known for many things: diminutive stature, her powerful endeavor, the leader of The Nation’s Girl Group (Girls’ Generation), and above all of those she is arguably known most for her singing voice. “The voice of a goddess” you’ll often see among other transcendental descriptions. Not that any of us currently living have been around long enough to accurately back up these claims. Perhaps a more honest way of describing her dulcet, arresting tones is that her voice is that through which future goddesses might base their sound. It is truly through no hyperbole to describe her uniquely dynamic (not just in range but in tone as well) sound is completely unlike anything you will ever hear. High praise indeed, but the voice you work towards is only half the battle, the other half is what you do with it.

And it is through her debut full studio album, My Voice (we will be primarily discussing the deluxe version the record), that she is given license to more fully explore the heights through which her voice had tread in an official capacity at the time of release. Previously she had been consigned, not just through her label, SM Entertainment, but by public perception, to ballads. Heart-wrenching piano pieces usually accompanied with only the most melodramatic Korean dramas. Her debut mini-albums “I” and “Why” adhering strictly to a genre and style, the former being the aforementioned ballads, and the latter being summertime pop music. What they lacked in variety they made up in their cohesion.

As a compromise of her previous work, it is in the “compilation” feel of My Voice that, while taking away the comprehensive, consistent, and collective feel of “I” and “Why” wholly expands the palette of colors through which to verbally paint with. Lesser constraints of genre, tone, and style create a more varied sound.

If you’re listening to the deluxe edition (like me, which you absolutely should be) the album opener ‘Make Me Love You’ makes quite an impression. An ethereal, floral daze of surrealistic idealism. The echoing, legato synth harmonies being balanced out strict, timed percussive slaps, never allowing us to be fully taken in by Taeyeon’s hypnotic vocals (and visuals if you’re watching the music video too!). Even in her delivery of the chorus, repeating herself with emphasis on each syllable the first time, is a hint towards the record’s thematic intentions as well as in the music video the symbolism of duality portrayed through floors/ceilings and windows. It’s a dazzling and dreamlike introduction to a work that creates a presence unlike anything I’ve ever felt in Korean pop.

“Fine” follows up with an acoustic, melancholy alternative pop song evoking thoughts and memories of post-2012 Taylor Swift. With similar energy and emotional beats to that of the former’s numerous break-up and wistfully nostalgic songs, giving Taeyeon a show of range and spectacle in her abilities.

From a compositional sense, it is “I Got Love” that may shine brightest. Gentle percussion gives way to a distorted keyboard riff that creates a sense of menaced foreboding. As Taeyeon’s voice begins, the percussion becomes more intense and increased dynamic marking. The chorus winding into a trap inspired staccato beat smartly never fully crescendoing into realizing the potential the percussion and keyboard that preceded it. The dark and concealed color palette of the music video only furthering the atmosphere of back-alley urban R&B.

“I’m OK” is like no other Taeyeon song yet heard at the time. A low octave guitar and bass and harmonization leads into jazz-esque vocals. A smoke-filled, hazy, dingy music club in the wee hours of the morning leading into powerful, varied, and surprisingly involved instrumentation accompanying Taeyeon’s classy and bouncy delivery. It’s hard not to imagine in an alternate universe, Taeyeon might have been the front woman of a swing-jazz band.

“Time Lapse” starts out as an electronic inspired ballad featuring bouncy keyboard harmonies, even a flute player! Before the 2nd verse begins with a perky continuation of the same tones but in a lighter feel. Almost like the climax and resolution of a DJ who finally found their dream job, before the final chorus features the same melody we’ve heard so far blasted through powerful alternative rock guitars and echoing, booming drum sets before leaving the stage to the heavenly guitars rounding the song out.

“11:11” brings us to the section of the album that reminds us what Taeyeon was initially known for. It is a soft acoustic ballad, calm but devastated in its longing for better decisions, and choices in a cold beach house on an autumn night. Waves washing in nothing but a mere reminder when the sound felt better. “Love In Color” being (for me) the best ballad Taeyeon has ever recorded. Minimalist in every way possible, subverting all of the bombast found elsewhere in the record. Simple piano accompaniment with Taeyeon’s soft, pained, defeated voice, grieving with memories that are fading away into the past.

I know I’ve already compared one of the songs on this record to 2010s Taylor Swift. Such was her fervent grip on Western pop music. So it should come as no surprise that “Fire” once again draws inspiration from that creative well. In my opinion not only Taeyeon’s finest vocal performance on the record but one of the very best songs on the record. Passion and pain, vengeance and acceptance. The evocative guitar harmonies and aggressive percussion wholly back up a view of sarcastic scorn.

The aptly titled album closer “Curtain Call” reads to me as a celebration, a culmination of the work completed, as if to say “I hope I did a good job.” A pleasant pop rock reflection of positive energy. Looking forward to expanding even further in the future. A wholly hopeful and comfortable conclusion to what has been a new ride for all of us.

While its middle third is wholly the weakest section of the record, that middle is bookended by some of the best work that Taeyeon and SM Entertainment have put out to date. Daring to be more in a space where rigid conformity is all but guaranteed from unfortunately far too many corners, but still proof that even in the most confined of creative spaces, meaningful iteration can still be created.

And it is in that unexpected iteration that I believe this album is ultimately about on a thematic level. More than just simply the voices we all have. What it means to have one, what we do with it, how it varies not only in sound but what we say with it over our hopefully long journey of life. What is the point of having a voice if all we do is express not only the same things we’ve always done with it but the same thing everyone else does with theirs too at any given time in our collective lives? New perspectives create new experiences and with the new ways of using our voice beyond that of a superficial sound or even a communicative tool. Coming from a singer whose voice is so integral to her life and the trials and tribulations she has endured, I think it is a deeply personal message. Using it for self-enrichment as much as you use it for anything else.

A cynic may look at this as nothing but coincidental, completely unintentional escapism meant to mask anything in a corroded rust labeled with the tag “art as industry.” However, like many of the most supposedly “mindless” records of music throughout our time, it’s safe to say that there may be more thought put into every detail than first glance.