Review: Brave Girls- After We Ride
After years of lying forgotten and abandoned, Brave Girls gained a massive surge in popularity this year after their 2017 song Rollin went viral. After that, they released the fantastic Chi Mat Ba Ram, arguably a peak moment in their revived discography. To me, their rise has been gratifying, as I have been a fan of the group for quite a while now.
One of my favorite songs of theirs is 2020's underrated single We Ride. Thankfully, when Rollin surged in the charts, We Ride rose along with it, becoming one of 2021's best charting songs in Korea. Now, for their repackage of June's solid Summer Queen, Brave Girls have opted for a sequel of We Ride, unoriginally titled After We Ride.
Thankfully, the song is much more interesting than the title. Just like We Ride, it opts for a retro soundscape influenced by the 80s. However, while We Ride opted for City Pop, After We Ride is better described as synth-rock. Perhaps most importantly, its instrumentation is driven by retro drums. This clanging percussion creates a rail for the song to smoothly sail over. It is one of my favorite elements from 80s pop, and it truly makes my day when I hear it in modern pop. The song thrives when the drums are at full power, and suffers when the drums lie absent.
Lyrically, After We Ride talks about calling and missing an ex-love while drunk. It is not unique, but when paired with the dance-beat, it creates a classic tears-on-the-dance-floor feel. I love that style, for it allows a dark and melancholic structure while pairing it with the momentum and energy required in modern pop.
From moment one, the drums and synths create an atmosphere that Brave Girls use strongly for hook after hook. Brave Sound clearly spent some time crafting this, for it is one of his best compositions since 2017's Love Is for Teen Top, which I personally count as his masterpiece.
After We Ride's centerpiece is its chorus. It is like smooth butter, building of the verses, without ever off-setting their impact. This does reduce the chorus' long-term impact, which is especially hurtful after Chi Mat Ba Ram was basically an excuse to release that incredible chorus melody. Thankfully, the second phase of the chorus, drives forward incredibly, with just the write wordless harmony, as well as strong production. The chorus itself, while weak in comparison, is one strong piece of dance-pop.
Another error of the song is that it completely pauses in the second verse. This momentum crash greatly hurts the song. It is brief, but it does slightly reduce my enjoyment of the song. Thankfully, despite these flaws, the song absolutely excels for its finale. Opting for electric guitar driving the song to its cathartic conclusion.
Brave Girls are currently in the middle of a renaissance, where their unexpected commercial rise has provided the group with new opportunities for musical growth. After We Ride feels like the perfect culmination of their rise so far, with each element building off another.
I love this track. BRAVE GIRLS truly is shaping to become the year's best artist. They are unstoppable.
ReplyDeleteIn other news, and I'm sorry to just stop. Megan Thee Stallion sued her label, 1501 for not releasing her version of Butter remix. It is amazing, that her label is so full of bs. I'm glad the court ruled in favor of Megan and she will release the track in exchange for a collab with BTS and royalties from that Butter remix. Good for Megan and BTS' legal team that helped her.
Also, good 4 u was apparently (this is still not published in the media, but Warner Chappell has already congratulated Paramore's Hayley Williams) a sample of Misery Business and was uncredited to Paramore so they sued and got 50% of publishing for the whole smash hit. This is a major hit for Olivia and it is very interesting that this has happened. I guess we will have to not nominated that song for any awards. Congrats on Hayley William's for the money.
Clarification: The g4u debacle is still not confirmed and may not even be true, so I should be clear that this is all speculation and maybe it is just TikTok brainwashing again. I hope they fix that.
DeleteI am looking forward to the Megan Butter remix. I remember checking the news, it all happened so quickly it was hard to keep up.
DeleteOn Good 4 U and Misery Business, it is hard to deny that the two songs are similar. Even lyrically, they seem to tell the same story from different perspectives. I am not sure if it was outright plagiarism, but they are similar. I'll be interested to see how this drama plays out.