YUKIKA - Soul Lady ALBUM REVIEW

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I’ve been trying to expand my knowledge in genres of music that I’m generally not interested in. K-pop is one of those genres, and while I’ve been looking through Spotify and even Twitter to find some new releases or some that I missed, I came across YUKIKA. The only album listed on her Spotify page was her debut album which came out that weekend, Soul Lady. Since I had already listened to Taylor Swift and Logic for their respective reviews, I figured ‘what the hell’ and I hit play on Soul Lady. Here’s what I thought about it.

Soul Lady is a K-pop record with heavy disco influences. Now, the best way to describe this record’s sound is its aesthetic. It’s like you’re walking through the big city on a night out with your friends, maybe in the 80s, maybe in the present (pre-pandemic, of course). Then, you see this certain someone. You don’t know how, but somehow, you feel connected. The chatter of everyone else around you, the thumping bass, everything fades away and all you can see and hear is this person in front of you. It’s a very intimate moment, and both of you know that there’s something different about this person. You feel loved and cared for, even though you had just laid eyes on each other mere seconds earlier. ‘Love is in the air’ is the one phrase that I’d describe Soul Lady’s themes. It’s a simple one, but it’s very effective. I absolutely love it when music can capture you and feel like you’re opening a treasure trove of sound, and pop music tends to do that often. No artist or album has done that for me so far this year as YUKIKA and Soul Lady has.

Seemingly with no fanfare whatsoever, Soul Lady is one of my favorite surprises this year. It’s romantic, it’s pretty sensual, and it’s also the best K-pop record I’ve heard. If you’re not into the K-pop sound, but into this disco/synthpop revival, go and give this a shot!


8/10


Stream Soul Lady here

Spotify

Apple Music

YouTube Music



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