Jimmy Strain is a mysterious singer. Little is said about him on his promotional CD except for a few words on the small sticker attached to it. The sticker says Jimmy is a one-man rock band that did everything from composition, vocal, recording, mixing, mastering and even album artworks. It is truly unbelievable that one person did all of these. However, the lack of publicity on who Jimmy is doesn't mean he is using secretiveness as a strategy. He not only stayed away from TV programs but also from the radio. Rather, he seems focused on getting recognition solely for his music and this small project should be part of such efforts.  

No matter how talented a person may be, he is destined to expose weakness when he has to do many things at one time. Jimmy Strain, however, proves to be an exception. I am not an artist and I may be inappropriate to judge album artworks, but as long as the music itself is concerned, I see almost nothing to be desired. The heavy yet speedy metal sound, properly mixed with 'emo', invites listeners to a state of great excitement. From the typical melodic speed metal "Bird" to the warm emo-core "Rain," Jimmy commands sounds freely without causing clashes. When the listener comes to the quiet rock ballad "A girl with no name" and the acoustic calmness of "On the broken wings of my father," he can't help but be sure of Jimmy's musical strength.

When I use 'emo' in describing Jimmy's music, I am not doing so because of soft melody or screaming. In other words, emo is not a genre here but a way of approach. Jimmy connects to the senses of the listeners directly instead of beating around the bush. Jimmy's music is truly emotional in that it helps the emotional outburst of the listeners. 

His messages are imbued with love for humanity. He sees through the darker sides of his inner self, but he doesn't stop there. He also turns his eyes to his surroundings and beyond with profound introspection and sympathy, thus helping the listeners experience moments of self-purification.   

The first part of the album is painted with immeasurable darkness by "Pieces of me," in which the stormy and sensuous vocals don't interfere with each other but co-exist peacefully, and by "Now" with elements of Metallica, Rammstein and Dream Theater. Then follow the numbers with highly meditative mood, enabling complete communication between the album and the listeners and widely opening half-closed door to the world.    

"Morning bread for us" says our happiness is possible owing to the pain and tears of others. "A letter from an aborted baby"is the raging cry of an aborted baby towards the barbaric world. "Camouflage" attacks the irrationality that governs the military barracks. "Are you following me?" touches on the pain and sorrow of people who lost home of fond memories due to the so-called development of modern times. When was the last time that I looked around the reality of my town, my country and my world because of music?  

That Jimmy Strain has done everything about this album is indeed amazing and the quality he has produced is even more surprising. If only he could refine the sound more technically, he will be able to please those with the most sensitive ears. It has been a long time since we Koreans had an album of this quality, both in terms of the lyric and sound. The fact that this has been done by one person, let alone a newcomer, makes us hesitate to give up on Korean popular music. Definitely the real thing! 

A few words on the re-mastered version:

In this version, a warm-hearted and cool-headed Jimmy Strain speaks in a more sharpened language and through more powerful sound. It is no exaggeration to say that Korea has no land for rock bands, particularly those who do metals and emo-core music. It, therefore, is natural that a critic becomes interested in Jimmy for his brave commitment to the nearly barren scene of metals in this part of the world where the trends of popular music changes all the time. For Jimmy, his passion seems to mean his talent and his energy, which apparently is limitless, turns a critical interest into adoration. I earnestly hope this album will serve as a small light that brightens up the dark world of wooden hearts. 

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