'a fantastical (normal) life!'

What a project! This album is a transporter into another world. A world of fantasy! But the fantasy here is more traditional than the fantasy in Pixy's recent album.

The most striking feature of "The Land of Fantasy" is its structure. I mentioned the importance of innovative album structure in my review of NCT127’s Regular-Irregular. Jonnabi have put their structure into a traditional narrative form. What is the norm for narrative? The classic "Three Act" structure: introduction, complication, resolution. Right from the beginning a dramatic orchestral piece flows through the ear in “The Land of Fantasy” (single); the perfect introduction to this Shakespearean experience. It outlines the direction of the album as one of theatrical storytelling. "Oh Brave Morning Sun" follows after and captures the beauty of a pleasant summer day. We can imagine being introduced to the protagonists’s life.

Jannabi use a perfect transition to “A Ballad of Non Le Jon”. The bird chirping at the end of the “Oh Brave Morning Sun” is present at the start of this song along with the protagonist humming a tune and the sound of footsteps on grass. The sound is realistic and helps to simulate an authentic atmosphere. “A Ballad of Non Le Jon” is also very bright but explosive and quirky with its electric guitar and circus drum rhythms, as if to mimic work life in the 1700s. Here, Jannabi doesn't shy away from the Beatles influence, "Dear Mr. George, Mr Ringo!"

As we transition into “Confession Show”, we continue our journey into whimsical harmonies. Again the transition is perfect by carrying the claps at the end of the previous song to the start of the next. The song is full of bitter satire as the lyrics warp from celebrating friendship to ultimately desiring love above all else. Its flair and humour is well suited to the early parts of the album.

“The King of Romance” is rosy as the name suggests. It’s the crush the protagonist develops that will carry them through the story. My favourite part of this track is the colourful flourish it gives to romance with its trumpets and piano riffs. As a hopeless romantic myself, I fell in love with it with ease. But Jannabi can’t let us forget this is a musical! At the outro they speed up the tempo to give it a satirical tinge, but it morphs into this unsettling melody, as if foreshadowing danger or sadness. The triumph of this song however, is its lyrics. Contrary to the pureness of most of the track, the lyrics talk of the unrealistic nature of on-screen romance, "I cant understand this romance." "You wish such feelings on my rugged self?"

Jannabi honours the narrative structure in the middle section of "FAREWELL TO ARMS! + hyms for the cradle" where a hint of darkness is revealed. Jannabi plays the sound of a film shutter followed by an accordion, animals and murmured chatter to deliver the realism of being in a village or an old country town.

The gloom bursts into the spotlight right in "Clay Boy Pigeon". The start electric guitar, accordions and drums are used at the beginning. 3/4 into the track, it leans into oriental instrumentation to heighten the feeling of impending doom, whilst retaining its majestic spirit. "Time" is a heavy violin ballad that expands beautifully as it progresses. Where “Clay Pigeon Boy” was short and direct, “Time” advances its prerogative by fully developing the sound. The crescendo towards the end is nothing short of breathtaking. Its sombre as if signalling acceptance of the reality of dreams and love, "I thought I would be singing at this point, a sweet love song."

Jannabi enter the 3rd act in the four track run from “Summer II” to “Come Back Home” with the music becoming noticeably brighter. Particularly, “Summer II” is reminiscent of old sweet summers of love. “Come Back Home” is an upbeat homage to theatrical folk and is the perfect album closer to this beautifully constructed tale.

Final comments

Jannabi have created an incredibly thoughtful and detailed album with “The Land of Fantasy”. For those who were fans of their hit 2019 album “Legend”, this may have been a let down and a wholly different direction to what you thought this band was. However, Jannabi has flirted with some of the elements present in this current album before. The main difference is they increased the dramatisation of their sound to orchestrate a theatrical production.

I must give my special regards to the lyrical story that runs parallel to the musical story. Jannabi confront themes of adulthood, dreams and love with piercing taunt or melancholy intricacy in their own Three Act structure. The music tells an old fairytale that we are familiar with. Yet, the lyrics are witty, which either juxtaposes the music with a biting cynicism or creates a beautiful harmony with it. Jannabi have shown us the depth of their storytelling abilities and have cemented their position as one of the best bands in South Korea.

Recommended Songs:

Confession Show, The King of Romance, FAREWELL TO ARMS and Time

Rate:

9.4/10