On June 8, 2015, K-Indie artists The Solutions released their six-track album NO PROBLEM! as a four-member group for the first time. This time, Park Sol and Naru are joined by Park Han Sol and Kwon Oh Kyung to provide fans with a summery album full of The Solutions’ unique sound. While The Solutions usually sing in English, for this album, they decided to cater more to the Korean audience with more Korean tracks.
The album opens with “No Problem,” an instrumental track with a nice 1980s beat. Throughout the short track, you can hear different voices saying “No Problem” to where it almost sounds futuristic and like a computer is talking to you. The spoken elements feel distracting to some degree because it interrupts the music. However, it does work well as a transitional song.
“Love You Dear” picks up the beat from “No Problem.” “Love You Dear” covers one-sided love, but in a cheerful way. The song sounds like it’s straight from the 1980s, creating a song that’s fun and almost reminiscent of days gone by while feeling new. The combination of both nostalgia and newness makes the song feel like it could last a few decades to make it a go-to summer song for years to come.
While they work for the album, “Stage” and “Sing and Flow” feel better suited for The Solutions’ Movements album because they have a stronger, in-your-face quality. However, “Sing and Flow” does maintain the album’s summery vibe. “Stage,” though, is a great introduction song to show potential fans how well The Solutions can transition between English and Korean. At times, the transitions are so smooth that a listener may still think they’re singing in one language because it isn’t like some K-Pop songs where a random word or phrase is thrown in for the heck of it.“Sing and Flow” is synth-heavy, but it’s a great party-starter.
The fifth track, “L.O.V.E,” lures listeners into thinking it’s going to be a ballad just by looking at the title. However, it’s a nice mid-tempo track that’s mellow and almost peaceful. The softer side of The Solutions is nice and different and shows dimension. It’s a shame this actually wasn’t the last song on NO PROBLEM.
The album closes with the Miami version of “Love You Dear.” The song is completely English. When listened to side-by-side with the original version, there are differences that can easily be picked up. The Miami version has more of a party vibe in terms of bass and added instrumentals, whereas the original focuses more on vocals. With the Miami version, vocals aren’t as dominant. With that said, play both songs at the same time with one in the left ear and the other in the right; it creates a cool impact and will help in noticing the different nuances.
NO PROBLEM is a nice album to usher in summer as it has a good amount of rock and nostalgia. It will please fans, and while a fun album, Movements is still the best one to introduce new fans to The Solutions.
NO PROBLEM earns a 3/5.
—-Joelle Halon