JUKEBOX ALSO LIKES JAMIE T MORE THAN RETRO K-POP, SEND HELP NOW
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[5.17]
Madeleine Lee: Around the time Ailee debuted, people were still bickering over which idol singer deserved the title of “the Korean Beyoncé.” As expected, the answer was basically “nah,” and since then Ailee’s moved on to being the Korean Back to Basics-era Christina Aguilera, so often that she can now stake a claim on this sound in her own name. All that stomp and sequins is boring in aggregate, and god does this song drag when it hits the chorus, but it seems to be working for her.
[6]
Sonia Yang: A friend of mine often burns mixes of recent K-Pop hits to listen to in the car. This year has seen a glut of watery, limp ballads, a pleasant but forgettable background to our conversations, but when this song came on, it stopped me mid-sentence. What starts off as Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” turns into a sassy stomper as soon as the chorus hits. Instead of pining over a lost love that could have been, Ailee shows the ex-lover the door — and kicks him the hell out for good. She’s really bringing it vocally, belting full and fierce during the hook and dialing it down to a subtly sultry tone in the bridge. “Don’t Touch Me” is packed with attitude, and the retro-inspired arrangement sounds like the producer took cues from Postmodern Jukebox.
[7]
Micha Cavaseno: Just typing the lyrics to “Look Out! Soul Is Back!” by Nation Of Ulysses might be enough here, but just in case: It’s louder, harder, and sounds fine. But it’s boring as hell.
[2]
Brad Shoup: The claps are deployed so peculiarly, always silent on the one, sometimes missing the four. (Having people chant “clap” is way better; I wish more people would try this.) Clearly this split isn’t a hoedown. Ailee’s working a piano-soul raveup by way of Carrie Underwood. But Underwood gets to sing in the spirit of final judgment; Ailee’s broadcasting her anger and tears both.
[6]
Iain Mew: Its unrelenting angry force feels like being hit by a hurricane, and when Ailee is using controlled power to represent unmediated emotion, it’s powerful stuff. The disorienting thing is that it tries to be a song proclaiming eventual triumph at the same time as being in the moment of tears and uncertainty and unleashed fury. The dual contexts end up like a spoiler that everything will be fine, introducing a sense of detachment that the music isn’t able to do anything good with.
[5]
Jessica Doyle: Weirdly overstuffed, trying to be angry and peppy and disconsolate and rousing all at once. (It’s “clap, clap” in the background, right? But who’s supposed to clap? Not the boyfriend in the process of being jilted; and if it’s the other ladies, the unseen audience, why are they being called to clap over Ailee?) For all my grousing about “U&I” being a “Crazy in Love” knockoff, I’ve spent a fair bit of time listening to it in the time since — because at least in “U&I” the tempo slows down in the chorus just enough for Ailee to build some momentum. Here she never quite seems to be in control, and given that the song is built to sell her as a powerhouse, that’s a significant flaw.
[5]