The Singles Jukebox

Ditto for K-pop funk smooveness…

[Video]
[7.00]

Micha Cavaseno: Now this is what I’m talking about! Too long in R&B influenced K-Pop do songs tend to stay at one constant level and rely on simple switches of style to make the song not feel monotonous; hell, EXID are guilty of this on “Ah Yeah.” But here you’ve got honestly a perfect disco-house groove that builds in vocal intensity with time, and for once not only is LE’s sort of quacking nasal tone appropriate, it’s used instrumentally in a cheeky way that keeps her from being regulated to being a Feature or a Necessity rather than a member. Hard to say how well it’ll do for the group, but this might be their strongest single yet.
[8]

Ryo Miyauchi: Taking it slow turns out for the better. The moonlit shine in this dusky funk number really brings out a tenderness I needed to get familiar with EXID that I couldn’t exactly find in their rowdy Street. The softer tones don’t stop LE from stealing the show, however.
[7]

Jessica Doyle: I don’t love “Night Rather Than Day,” especially the second verse, which seems to lose momentum every time it switches parts: so Hani’s “Butterflies in my mi-i-i-ind” isn’t properly built up to. But I’m very glad for Eclipse, because it sounds like EXID, but EXID getting experimental (at times, EXID meets The Nightfly, even). With lead singer/ad-libber Solji on medical hiatus until further notice, if ever Shinsadong Tiger and LE were going to play around with a new sound, now would be the time to do it. Eclipse is no Street, nor was it meant to be… but the next album, with Eclipse (and “Boy“!) under the group’s belt, and Solji back? I am trying to contain my expectations about that next album, and it’s not working.
[5]

Alfred Soto: Let us praise the rhythm guitar, subtle horns, and well-deployed vocals. I love space deployed as strategically as this.
[7]

Katie Gill: The opening thirty seconds of this song, LE’s beautifully bratty sounding verse, and the way Hani belts “butterflies in my mind” make this song practically perfect. Pity about that slightly sleazy backing, though.
[7]

Leonel Manzanares de la Rosa: This one is all about the production — Shinsadong Tiger’s smooth disco beats and smoking sampled brass take the track to deeply sensual heights — but EXID’s love-drunk yet surprisingly restrained vocals are the big seller. Street proved that EXID can be a pretty good album group, and “Night Rather Than Day” is proving that they can pull off their typical sexy concept but now under a more mature perspective. 
[7]

Tim de Reuse: A ticklish two-chord loop that’s gorgeous when it’s quietly building up tension but trips itself up with cluttered harmonies and momentum-breaking asides every time it tries to hike up the energy.
[7]

Thomas Inskeep: Airy ’90s-esque pop production complements the well-written melodies and strong vocals, making a delightful bonbon of a single.
[7]

Madeleine Lee: Unhurried and romantic, this is about as far as you can get from their noisy last single, but it never feels like a calculated move. (In fact, it’s the thing that most recalls their previous singles, LE’s snappy recital of the title, that feels the most unnatural.) It’s a song for a lazy summer evening, when the air is warm and buzzing with possibility.
[8]