I must first mention and send out my wishes for Secret's recovery. As many should know, they were involved in a horrific car accident recently, and Zinger was injured. From recent updates, I'd say that they have coping pretty well, and I hope they recuperate and pump out some awesome tracks for 2013.
That being said, about Secret. I love Secret. Every single song of theirs have been awesome, maybe with the exception of Shy Boy, but they have been pretty flawless. Madonna, Magic, Starlight Moonlight, Poison were all really different, yet really powerful and attention-grabbing. And need I say, their dancing is incredible.
About this song, I have a hard time classifying it as a genre. It is like a mishmash of a dark, pop-ballad and an R&B track, which isn't a bad thing I must add. It certainly is quite different from most of Secret's more powerful, lively tracks, but hearing this song over and over again, I still feel like it's uniquely Secret.
Secret's sound is very lusty, and each member fits their own special role in accordance to their incredibly assorted vocal ranges and characteristics. Jieun's voice has the traits of a powerhouse vocalist, with her soaring notes and occasionally stunning runs. Hyosung's voice is a lot more simplistic, and hit the surface with impact. Her pronunciation is clear with clear distinctions between each octave or note. Sunhwa's supporting vocals are a lot weaker and lighter than the previous two's, focusing less on raw power but more on emotion or pace-setting an emotional template for the rest of the song. Zinger's raps come in short, but intensely stuffed bursts, and her vocals are either used as airy notes for transitional purposes, or simply higher notes to fill in gaps (if any) in their vocal repertoire. Combined, everything sort of complements, yet one can easily distinguish each person, which I think makes Secret unique. You just know its them, when musical harmonizing between almost jarring elements fit almost seamlessly.
"Talk That' is the epitome of such incredible complementary difference.
The song starts off sweetly enough, with the girls barely getting their voices out, before a quicker beat and monotonous chanting of 'Talk That'.
Sunhwa kicks things off with a nice introduction. She doesn't use much tonal variation and sticks to the lighter, more emotional support vocals as she is more used to. It is actually quite a beautiful opener, with the high note at the end almost seemingly like it could go over-the-top, yet being reined in at the last moment, providing an overwhelming sense of mystery. Progressively, the song starts on a quite a high. From the first line to that longer note, the pace and emotions grow subtly yet evidently stronger, like a teaser, being forced back down again. The background bubble-like, electronica synths also complement the song well.
Zinger's next line is actually one of my favourite parts. It is very airy and serves not only as an emotional amplifier, but as a transitional vocal. Almost like Seungri's parts in 'Blue'. It separates the cool vocal of Sunhwa and the hard, more solid and expressive wails of Hyosung, and serves as an apt transition. Without it, the movements would fall apart for they would be jarring but Zinger's line is like a mix of both; soft but fierce in its expression.
That being said, Hyosung's vocals, too, do not disappoint, with the immense soulfulness and really loud but controlled pipy sound she is able to create. At one listen, one can realise that her voice is actually quite one-dimensional, but it is very solid and powerful, making it a really good complement to pretty much any song.
The chrous comes soon. Before reaching here, Jieun has a long note which transfers to the first beat of the chorus. The chorus has a bit more kick to it, with slightly louder bass booms. It is a very sensual sound, with rather European sounding influences. The pattern of high-tease-soft, is repetitive and really gives the song an identity. The importance of the pattern is further amplified in the chorus, where emotions run high before being reined in, giving a successful illusion that the next high was bigger than the preceding ones. Dropping into the tease is actually exciting rather than boring, for instead of going down to a ballad-style vocal, they simply lower the speed and pace, not sacrificing their progression or emotion in the process.
The second half of the song mirrors the first, with the pattern evident and the post-chorus riling away till the forthcoming verses. This is really brilliant song progression, and the usual slow bits are handled brilliantly, with Secret opting for a richer tone to their slower portions, never really letting any bit go to waste. Also, all 4 voices are very different and clearly highlighted in the song; each person has a role and a gap to fill, all of which provide a sense of completion to the song.
In all, a great song, with incredible harmonics between 4 distinct, yet utterly stunning vocalists.
Great comeback.
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