In the midst of the girl group dance pop craze, some of K-pop's best idol ballad singers are making comebacks this month, including Tei, Park Hyo Shin, Lee Seung Gi, and Kim Tae Woo who completed his army service earlier this year.

Kim Tae Woo's new solo album T-Virus picks up where he left off with the intro track "Words I Want to Say Part 2" (Track 1), the follow-up to his 2006 hit. This short and sweet R&B ballad sounds nothing like its predecessor though, leaving behind balladic dramatics for free-style tempo, self-referential lyrics, and... auto-tune. I actually groaned out loud when I realized the auto-tune abyss had claimed another K-pop singer, but its presence is limited and does not distract from Kim's vocals. The auto-tune doesn't fit in with the song's style, but feels appropriate in the lyrical context; amusingly, "auto tune" is actually the song's closing lyrics. There's more digital modification in store though as half the album's songs have some degree of auto-tune.

Kim's collaboration with the underrated Lyn, "I Say Ya! You Say Yeah" (Track 4), is one of the highlights of the album. The two singers' silky voices go very well together, with Kim casually hitting the high notes. All those "yas" and "yeahs" do make the fun and flirtatious duet quite catchy, but in a mellow, understated way. There's the usual practice of applying auto-tune on some ending notes and repeating lines, but the effect is not overbearing and works well to add some texture to the song.

Faster (Track 2), however, is the complete beast - eurobeat electronica auto-tune the whole way through. The laidback melody, funky arrangement, rap passages, and drink-easy mood - like a champagne party take on the club dance number - make the song quite groovy and easy enough to swallow, though I still feel it's a waste to cover Kim Tae Woo's voice. Ditto on JumJumJum (Track 5), which is similar to "I Say Ya! You Say Yeah!" in sound and style, but hidden under an excess of beats and auto-tune. The end product is messy and even trivial, too much of a softened rehash of current K-pop trends.

Thankfully, the album's main plug, "Love Rain" (Track 3), is a reassuring winner. The uptempo ballad has a very fresh melody and arrangement, updated without being cliched, and the song's upbeat tone nicely softens the bittersweet lyrics. Most importantly, Kim Tae Woo's singing gets the spotlight it deserves.

The sentimental favorite though has to be the album's last track "Memories and Remembrance" (Track 6), previously released as a digital single. The narrative intro, rap passages, and pleasantly old school R&B pop composition all channel the early 2000s - as does the presence of Joon Park, Son Ho Young, and Danny Ahn! Since the other guys are appearing as featured artists, "Memories and Remembrance" is not a full-fledged g.o.d song, but it's close enough to make fans happy. Similarly, T-Virus is not Kim Tae Woo at the top of his game - due to some questionable song choices that are more indicative of the current state of K-pop than anything - but it's still a solid album. Even though not all the album's songs do justice to his vocal abilities, Kim Tae Woo's voice does justice to all the songs. For this album at least, it's enough to have him back and singing. Now about that g.o.d comeback...