LUCY’s “Again!”: Follow the Violin, Then Listen to the Guitars

Start at the bridge of “다시!” (“Again!”). LUCY’s release notes single out the violin there, but they also point to the fast guitar and bass passages underneath it. Play the bridge twice: first for the sweep of the bow, then for the short attacks of the plucked strings. Which part makes you feel the music is accelerating?

The song leads LUCY’s eighth single, released November 12. Its bright rhythm accompanies someone frustrated to find themselves back where they started. The other song, “아마 괜찮을 너에게,” looks back on the ordinary days a person only learns to miss once they’re gone. Both lyrics are by bassist Cho Wonsang. The personnel change less between these two moods than you might expect.

Shin Yechan plays violin and viola on both tracks. The string arrangements are credited to pianist O.YEON. That distinction is easy to miss on a first listen: the name attached to the sound of the bow and the name attached to the writing for strings are different. Try humming the violin line through the bridge. Then, on the second song, listen for the instruments that gather around the returning melody. The album notes describe that gradual accumulation as the sound of regret getting heavier.

Cho Wonsang, EUGENE, O.YEON and Choi Younghun share composition and arrangement credits on both songs. Lee Jaeho joins the arrangement of “Again!” and shares its guitar credit with Choi; on the companion track, Choi has the guitar credit alone. Nothing in that list tells us which guitarist played a particular lick. It does tell us why following the guitars, rather than just the violin, makes for a revealing second pass.

Listen once more for the voices. Choi Sangyeop and Shin Gwangil are credited on vocals across both tracks; Cho joins the vocal line on “Again!” and appears in the chorus credits on both. The distinction between a voice at the front of a song and one folded into its harmonies is another place to hear these two recordings diverge.