Hard to imagine that's it possible for Dong Bang Shin Ki to get more popular than they already are, but the past year turned out to be a massive breakthrough for the group in Japan. In 2008, they released their third Japanese album and a ridiculous nine J-pop singles (including the TRICK singles), four of which became #1 sellers, and ended the year with an appearance on Kohaku Uta Gassen. (Somewhere in there, they also released Korea's best-selling album of the year.) Continuing at their superhuman pace, Dong Bang Shin Ki recently released their fourth J-pop album, The Secret Code, which made its Oricon debut at #2 and has already sold double what T did.

With half the album made up of previously released singles, The Secret Code runs the risk of being a singles-plus-filler album, but TVXQ has gathered together some strong new tracks to bolster the parade of hit singles. The Secret Code opens with its most thematically relevant offering, Secret Game (Track 1). The song kicks off with a jazzy secret-agent piano theme intro, before jumping unexpectedly into a rap passage and a funky fusion of hip-hop, big band, and dance. As more of a concept pop song, Secret Game is a fun and jaunty track with a rhythmic jazz flourish that carries right to the Bond sign-out ending.

The next song, FORCE (Track 2), also sets the mood early with a brassy, beat-heavy drama-building intro that sounds like it should be leading into a Beyonce song. Arranged and produced by Beatardz, FORCE dresses itself as a catchy American-style hip-pop top 40s number. Vocally, this is probably the weakest song of the album as the group's performance on the verse sections is too reserved, lacking power and volume in comparison to the bombastic arrangement, but they make up with a well-harmonized chorus in falsetto. A stronger American-style offering would be the smooth and silky party number Stand Up! (Track 10), which is less gimmicky than FORCE but no less catchy. The overall sound is very commercial, but the low-pitch verse, relaxed beats, and fluid melody add up to a strong and distinct pop number. The Tanaka Nao-composed Nobody Knows (Track 4) is more clearly a side track, though a solid one at that. The song's vague uptempo dance and R&B melody benefits considerably from interesting electronic beats, a jazzy piano interlude, and TVXQ's charismatic vocals.

The two major dance tracks of the album are naturally singles MIROTIC (Track 8) and Survivor (Track 11). The biggest problem with MIROTIC is that it pales in comparison to the Korean version. The song's beat-heavy, staccato composition works smoothly with the Korean lyrics, but in the Japanese version, half the song is being spit out in separate syllables. Yun Ho's rapping also sounds even more out of place in Japanese, though the single is still fine overall as an edgy rock-pop number. Survivor (Track 11) follows in the same musical vein, but has a lighter atmosphere. Backed by throbbing beats and synth sounds, the song goes through various fun changeups in melody and arrangement, making Survivor one of their strongest J-pop dance tracks

Survivor and MIROTIC seem to be steps toward closing the stylistic gap between Dong Bang Shin Ki's Japanese and Korean dance numbers, which is a good thing as their K-pop dance tracks are generally superior. For ballads, however, J-pop is the way to go. Their beautiful single Doushite Kimi wo Suki ni Natte Shimattan darou? (Track 3) gets my vote as TVXQ's best ballad, if not best song. A return to the a cappella-style ballad which was many moons ago the group's "concept" during their debut, Doushite Kimi wo Suki ni Natte Shimattan darou? is in composition and vocal arrangement a difficult song to master, but they nail the delivery beautifully. TVXQ may be the ultimate pop idols, but they can also sing, and it is this vocal ability that sets them apart in the world of J-pop boy bands.

In addition, the members are participating more in songwriting, and two of the singles off their January triple A-side are actually by Micky and Jae Joong. Written and composed by Micky, single Kiss the Baby Sky (Track 12) is the weather theme song for the morning program Zoom In. I could do without the English ad libs and rap, but the song itself is very agreeable and refreshing. The warm chorus and lyrics in particular are perfect for the song's purpose, as they very much evoke the feeling of blue skies and bright smiles. I'm still not sure what kind of Engrish typo accident happened with "never ever hide of myself prime" though ("never ever hide up my self-pride?"). Jae Joong's classically constructed ballad Wasurenaide (Track 6) is less original, but the moving melody and lyrics plus TVXQ's performance make the song strong enough to be a single.

For Secret Code, Jae Joong also composed and arranged 9095 (Track 7), the most pleasant surprise of the album. This ambient mid-tempo number ventures into a less commercial sound in its free-flowing melody, experimental arrangement, and layered vocals. It's nice to see the group trying out different sounds with the side tracks, rather than filling in the blanks with more of the same.

Two more singles are on Secret Code: uptempo charmer Beautiful You (Track 5) and ballad Bolero (Track 13), which is better than the movie it was written for. Their remaining 2008 ballad single - the Hisaishi Joe-composed Sennen Koiuta - and advance track We Are! off their just-released #1 double A-side Share The World / We Are! are included on the bonus CD in the 3-Disc Edition of Secret Code. Of course, given their prolific production, Dong Bang Shin Ki is probably releasing another J-pop single as I write...