Tracklist:
- Lady
- Lady (Instrumental)
Total Runtime: 00:06:22
Recommended for: Fans of the 90s cheesy pop sound, those looking for nostalgia, having a good dancing time
NOT recommended for: Anyone after something relaxing, people who dislike computer instruments, someone looking for a song to repeat over and over again
EXID’s LADY
EXID makes their first 2018 comeback with a 90s new jack swing banger, brightening an otherwise dark start of the year for girl groups.
EXID has had some interesting singles over the years, but none more than Lady. This spring single from the girls is incredibly fun and inviting, playing up on new jack swing and 90’s aesthetic. Over the past 3 years since EXID hit big their songs have followed a similar sound or concept – namely, neon aesthetics and electro-pop. Lady diverts this by choosing something inherently nostalgic, but still fitting of their image.
Instrumental & Bridge
The song jumps right into the chorus, however briefly, to really pump up the energy for the listener. From there the song has an odd flow, since it keeps up the pace from the beginning until the full chorus has ended, when it dives into a toned down bridge from Junghwa. The instrumental pulls back the drums, brass, and synth notes so it’s gentler and gives space for the song to breath. However, Junghwa’s vocals are too weak to make the bridge interesting on her own, and this is where Hani or Hyelin would have been better off.
The instrumental overall is repetitive, it has three parts that are repeated four times over the length of the track. At one point – where LE injects “REWIND” into her rap – the song makes the bass drum the most prominent instrument which adds more oomph to her second verse of rapping rather than feeling too repetitive of the first. Then, in an effort to ground the song in some emotion before its big end, a piano is brought in during Junghwa’s second bridge. Overall, their attempts to differentiate these repeating beats is okay, but lacks any explosions of energy to sustain the song.
Rapping
LE interjects with rapping throughout the song, her signature sound evident but the usual push to get out as many similar syllables as fast as possible missing. This is a blessing, to be honest, because LE was starting to lose any variety in these singles. Instead, she takes time to stretch out words, and change the tone of her voice. I’d contribute that to the new style of the single, as all but one has sounded similar to each other since Up & Down.
Vocals
The vocals are toned down a lot. Though we do get a few high notes, they don’t take the time to really make those notes impactful. During the moments Hyelin’s notes happen, the song does not slow down, or build up for them, and so the impact is lost as it’s covered by the instrumental or someone else’s go at the spotlight. I wouldn’t say it’s not fun to have, however, because the notes are very reminiscent of 90’s pop music, especially that of Mariah Carey. Hani covers the chorus, and it suits her well despite losing her husky tone.
It’s evident that Solji was absent for the first time during this single, as none of the power and deepness in the vocals are heard on this track. It’s disappointing given that Hyelin’s voice is not that far off of Solji’s, but perhaps they were being safe. Hopefully Solji recovers from surgery, and more hopes for the future that she can get back to doing what she wants.
Overall
Throughout this post I’ve been negative, but from this review I can say that Lady is a track best kept for when you want to dance and have fun. It’s a great, nostalgic bop from the first few listens but becomes very repetitive and dull after a while. I’ll be saving Lady for when I really need to brighten my day. However, it’s good to see something different from EXID other than their neon sexy concepts and brass instrumentals.
