Ladies’ Code do as well as could be expected with subtle, jazzy “Galaxy”

To say it has been a long road back for Ladies’ Code is an understatement, as they’ve been through a traumatizing event never before seen in K-pop, one that cost the lives of two of their members (EunB/RiSe). After almost 1.5 years since the accident, “Galaxy” is the trio’s attempt to move forward with at least their music careers, if not their lives.

Ladies’ Code were honestly in a tough place, because while they could hypothetically do anything they wanted, coming back and pretending like basically nothing happened to them would just be weird. So while the song isn’t necessarily my style, Ladies’ Code worked with it well given the context of the limitations they faced in terms of concept.

“Galaxy” has an appropriately haunting and serious tone throughout, and the hook was groove-worthy even if the instrumental lacked general complexity or excitement. The jazz elements also appealed to me, but I did feel like it had a chance to build on a raw instrumental with the snare drums from the hook and didn’t quite capitalize on that as the song advanced, opting instead for repetition during the verses.

Ladies’ Code dropped a title track in “Galaxy” that most groups definitely wouldn’t attempt, mainly because it’s not actually much of a pop song. But despite my skepticism about this comeback due to how boxed-in I thought they’d end up musically, they managed to impress me with the execution of the change of the direction for their overall tone. Most importantly, “Galaxy” was a song that I can envision having lasting power if not immediate impact, which is saying a lot considering I’m generally picky with tracks out of genres such as this.

Most observers were wondering how or if Ladies’ Code were going to address the elephant in the room, and like with the song and the concept, the music video for “Galaxy” did that as effectively as could be expected. Having the two dancers supporting the trio was a subtle nod to their two deceased members, and done that way it was much more impactful than choosing something more ham-fisted and obvious.

Overall, given the difficult scenario that literally nobody else in the industry has faced before, the choice of concept, song, and music video for “Galaxy” were impressive, and Ladies’ Code played their part very effectively.