ifeye Brings sweet tang for the Summer
Photo: ifeye Official X
Rookie girl group ifeye made their first comeback with their second EP, sweet tang, on July 16. Transitioning from their debut schoolgirl image in “NERDY” to the next stage in their coming-of-age concept, their latest title track “r u ok?” sports a cooler, mature demeanor. Won Hwayeon, Taerin, Rahee, Kasia, Meu, and Sasha explore more concepts in a hefty seven-track EP.
TRACKLIST:
“loverboy”
“friend like me”
“round and round”
“Ifeye (interlude)”
“r u ok?”
“say moo!”
“Echo”
“r u ok?”
Just months after their April debut, ifeye wanted to show something powerful for their first comeback. The song starts with the Spanish sentence “Escúchame el huracán viene por ti,” which says a hurricane is approaching. This statement proves to be true as “r u ok?” continues. Though ifeye feels frozen around their crush in “NERDY,” “r u ok?” expresses how others will melt around them and feel dizzy. The music video illustrates this change by Kasia, dressed in a school uniform, leaving a classroom to venture into a strange, chaotic world. The choreography for “r u ok?” starting in reverse of how “NERDY” begins also shows the difference: Kasia unties her hair instead of tying it up.
“r u ok?” features an unpredictable and rapidly-changing chorus. The flurry of percussive instruments makes listening to it with headphones a necessity. Though the musical shifts may sound jarring to some, I always focus on percussion in songs. The instrumentation here involves different idiophones—instruments that produce sound through the vibration of their bodies—which allow listeners to pick up the distinct striking and rattling motions. This makes “r u ok?” one of my favorite title tracks from this year so far.
sweet tang
I wonder what was the rationale behind labelling “r u ok?” as the fifth song on sweet tang. The group’s Spotify description notes that sweet tang tackles “a mess of feelings—sweet, sharp, loud, and honest,” resulting in a tracklist that gives a tonal mismatch. “r u ok?” comes after songs like “loverboy,” an assertive song with influence from Brazilian funk, and “friend like me,” a rock song that reminds me of the 2000s. However, the transition between “r u ok?” to the hip-hop track “say moo!” also sounds abrupt. While all songs stand up well individually—how can anyone dislike a song that starts with a mooing sample—they do not flow that great together.
According to Kyu C. Lee, vice president of ifeye’s company, Hi-Hat Entertainment, sweet tang showcases an “even more diverse and sophisticated image than before.” Though the switch between concepts may give a mixed reaction, ifeye has an impressive discography for a rookie girl group. ifeye still looks like a promising group, especially as the first K-Pop act from a relatively new company. Like the word “tang,” ifeye carries a strong quality.
Edited by Clark Royandoyan