IU's new album 'Last Fantasy' is the first full album in 2 years since her first album 'Growing Up', produced by Cho Young-Chul who gave birth to the «IU syndrome» last year.
The title song «You and I» is a work by composer Lee Min-Soo and lyricist Kim Ee-Na of «Good Day» with a somewhat mystic and peculiar concept of a teenage girl traveling through time to go into the future. Switching to and from the minor and major keys, the arrangement is noteworthy for its diverse and fantasy-like atmosphere using real sounds from instruments that are rarely used in K-pop, such as the harp and horn, and listeners may also come across IU's more colorful vocal expressions.
In the music video for «You and I», a girl travels in a time machine to meet her future boyfriend. The 19 year old IU lives with Hyunwoo — a boy who has fallen into deep sleep — in a workshop inside a clock tower inherited by her grandfather. IU does not leave his side and while waiting for him to wake up, decides to make a time machine to go meet him. Finally, the long-awaited moment arrives and she leaves for her time travel both afraid yet excited about meeting Hyunwoo but the two miss each other as Hyunwoo wakes up the moment he reaches age 20.
One can enjoy the minute details of the space within the huge clock tower where cogwheels are turning, including the vintage feel of the workshop and the fairytale-like story with the male protagonist waking up from his sleep when he reaches 20 as well as a time machine to travel into the future.
아이유의 새 앨범 'Last Fantasy'는 1집 'Growing up' 이후 2년 만에 선보이는 정규앨범으로, 이번 앨범은 지난 해 '아이유 신드롬'을 탄생시켰던 조영철 프로듀서가 총괄 프로듀싱을 맡았다.
정규 2집의 타이틀곡인 '너랑 나'는 '좋은 날'을 탄생시켰던 이민수 작곡가-김이나 작사가의 합작품으로, 아이유의 보컬의 매력 나타나는 곡으로, 10대 소녀가 시간 여행을 떠나 먼 미래를 만나고 온다는 신비롭고 기묘한 컨셉을 가지고 있다. 마이너와 메이저 코드를 넘나드는 구성으로 하프, 호른 등 가요에서 거의 찾아보기 힘든 악기를 사용한 리얼 사운드의 버라이어티하고 판타지스러운 느낌을 전하는 편곡이 돋보이며, 아이유의 다양해진 보컬 표현력을 만나볼 수 있다.