Soompi Single Review: The Boss - "Lady"

From the very beginning, The Boss’ focus has always been all five members’ strong vocals. Even with their previous singles “Admiring Boy” and “Round Round”, somehow the songs were made to let their vocals shine through. And, now, with a ballad release under their belts in the form of their newest single “Lady”, they’ve proven once again just how strong their vocals are.

Looking at their past releases, The Boss has never really had a proper, solid ballad for a single, or even an album track. They debuted with the perky, slightly cute, “Admiring Boy”, before moving over to the more serious, catchy and heavy sounds of “Round Round” and “No One.. Anyone”, and so at this point a ballad would be one of the many logical steps to take for a group like The Boss. They’ve grown up, very fast, and this reflects exactly how much they’ve grown, but also what they still have ahead of them.

While everyone else is concentrating on releasing the catchiest, noisiest, most heavily-produced track, these five chose to put out a stunning, jaw-dropping ballad.

And really, the best word to describe “Lady” is “stunning”, in every sense of the word. 

“Lady” is gorgeous, with the sweeping melodies, simple piano lines, a crisp guitar line laced with a beautiful string section, and harmonies pulled off by five stunningly rich voices. The song is everything but simple though - it’s elaborate, it’s epic, it stuns you. It starts out simply, but even with the rather toned-down first half, you’re held at the edge of your seat because, at the back of your mind, you know everything you hear will eventually explode into something huge — and it does.

The reason why this song works for an idol group is because all five members of The Boss are not just vocally capable, they’re good singers. It works because they can all stand alone as vocalists, but they also work extremely well as a group — they know when they have to put their all into their vocals and really deliver, but they also know when to step back and let the other members sing. That’s one of the most important skills a vocal group must posses, and to these five it’s almost natural. Listen to the harmonies on the song, they’re very much audible, but at the same time they have a gentleness to them because no one is trying to out-sing anyone else.

Everything about this comeback was thought through, from the song, an epic ballad, to the concept and the simple music video, to show that The Boss don’t need flashy music videos or elaborate choreography to pull off a comeback. Sometimes all they need is a stunning song and their gorgeous vocals.

"Something About Us"- Daft Punk

How did you fall in love? Like slow, soft rain? Perhaps it was as harsh as roaring waterfalls. Or could it have been like a hot monsoon, occasionally gradual, frequently instantaneous, and always prolonged? Daft Punk claims its own answer to this question with its 9^th track “Something About Us” on its second studio album Discovery.

Sans the funky, punchy beats Daft Punk has become appreciated for, the tune begins with chords that squeeze your heart as they trickle out, drop-by-drop. The deep chords’ unexpected progressions and uneven entrances bring the image of hesitant steps, echoing with reminiscence. The memories of first meetings and glowing glances build, and almost suddenly, as if gasping for air, a retro bass enters, followed two beats after by a chewy clopping. The three sounds interact, the opening chords diminished but holding the concoction together as a synth pops out, sparking like shivers down a back. The song grows to encompass a clean combination of snare drum hits and clear cymbals tapping and occasionally opening. The inseparable pair leads the ensemble with sharp nods and a confident gaze. The last incorporation before the song’s lyrics appearance is perhaps the most striking- a layered electronic “wow,” playing a simple melody.

Finally, a voice is exposed. The lyrics make their appearance as the majority of the instrumentals the listener has become accustomed to fall out, only the bass, snare, and cymbals remaining. Without even the basic chords of the song’s foundation, the listener is forced to focus on the new “instrument.” Albeit distorted, the male vocalist’s voice indicates young adulthood.  His voice is tender, even with its robotic tinge. As he half-sings, half-speaks, and whole-heartedly expresses, the air in his voice floats around and throughout the background, as if translucent heated exhales in winter. What is rarely heard is the sound of inhaling, the vocalist becoming a superhuman, not needing to take anything in, only give out.  The lyrics mimic this concept, one of expecting nothing in return for the singer’s love. It should also be noted that the singer is not necessarily alone- the voices are eventually layered in harmony. Perhaps this represents the grown resolve the speaker gains as he repeats his lyrics; when he begins singing, he expresses uncertainty, and when he ends, he exposes solid belief in his words. The opening, loose lyrics “There’s something about us” develop into the final unmoving line “I love you more than anything in my life”. To reach this apex, the lyrics gradually grow within three separate sections.

The first lyrics are as previously stated: uncertain. Though they remain simple and straightforward, they emit a distinct tone of defensiveness and innocence. The verses can be interpreted in pairs. The first two lines are of jittery hands and nervous glances with the repeated unsure word “might”; the second two make a couplet with end rhyme, and bring the focus to the repeated “something” between the “us” the speaker asserts. The speaker introduces himself with shy words, yet confident delivery; he is a smooth surfer, pushing down upon and balancing with the instrumental waves.

The shift from this atmosphere is indicated by the re-entrance of the soft chords, a return to the first things you noticed, the first smile smiled just for you. Breaking away from the previous quartet’s mid-tempo melody, the lyrics are now staggered with emphasis. Again, the lyrics can be broken into two pairs: the first two lines are mimicry of the previous quartet’s with their order reversed. However, the identical phrases “right one” and “right time” seem new, not because of their placement, but their increased weight. An unprecedented dramatic upper harmony emphasizes the expressions as the bass and drum combination leave only the chords; the listener may be tricked into believing the tempo was slowed without the domineering presence of the plucking bass, but it is only a brief illusion caused by the strolling chords. The bass, snare, and cymbals return to mesh with the chords as the second two lines enter. These lines follow those of the first quartet in their end rhymes but signal another change with the lyrics ending on higher notes. This is interestingly joined with the lyrics’ heightened purposes; the second quartet stands as rising action, in which the speaker proclaims what he is going to do with the situation established in the first quartet’s exposition. Also unique to this piece of the lyrics is the delivery of “you”, the second quartet’s last word. Unlike the level execution of previous lyrics, the vocalist seems to slightly falter at this word, his breath creating a bubbly effect. With this, the third quartet gears up for entrance.

The song reaches its climax in these four lines, as the vocalist finally confesses the emotions he danced around in the previous lyrics. The vocalist that had been alone in the first quartet is now accompanied with a lower harmony that stays throughout the final quartet. The lyrics maintain the simple vocabulary used in previous lines but depart from past tones of hesitance- the speaker is now definite: He is completely in love, in all ways. There is nothing more in his life he needs, wants, will miss, or loves than the “you” he addresses. There is nothing left for the singer to confess; he has encompassed all he needed to cover.

The song continues without the lyrics, a new fusion instrument entering not even a beat after they end- it almost cuts off the last “life” sung. It resembles a mix of saxophone and piano, likely an electronic keyboard with a jazz filter. Its melody is refreshing, so unexpected, one could imagine it to be an improvised solo, fingers nimbly pressing against black and white. The song continues to rebuild itself, the instrumentals that left during the lyrics returning one by one. First is the “wow,” looping with the higher notes of the keyboard, next is the clopping, and last is the synth. The chords, bass, and drum set are still present, but less noticeable with the arrival of new sounds. The tracks stream together, repeating as they progressively fade out, leaving an immediate sense of nostalgia.

Daft Punk professes three steps to love. “Something” was noticed. Then the speaker realized his need to confess “About” it. Thus, he created an “Us.” How did you fall in love?