Lady K: Transformations

While Kary's previous album In Control was a struggle between fan-friendly ballads and more mature upbeat songs, Kary's producers have gone mostly in the way of the latter style this time around, delivering bombastic dance songs that manage to be engaging without overwhelming the vocals. Like most dance songs, the arrangements and the energy they exude are what matter, not the vocals. But unlike In Control, the compositions and the arrangements of the dance tracks deliver on Lady K Transformation. "The People of the Future" (Track 7) is arranged in the electronic/trip-pop style the title suggests. Kary's low-key vocal is well matched with the entrancing arrangement, marking a breakthrough for both Kary and songwriter/producer Dennie Wong. The rest of the dance tracks are fairly conventional, though they take on a considerably more mature tone. C.Y. Kong's "Greedy for the New, Abandon the Old" (Track 8) shows the effectiveness of a good arrangement, giving the composition a wicked playfulness. Meanwhile, "Lai Chi Dance Club" (Track 3) is an R&B dance track that lets Kary have a bit of fun with a section of English rap that matches well with the song's tone.

Ex-Ping Pung bandmate Jerry Lee turns in two very different tracks for Lady K Transformation. The more unique of the two is "The Spotlight is Here" (Track 9), an energetic dance track that starts and ends quickly without giving any room to breathe. The result is a fun, but disposable little dance track. On the other hand, "The Final Second" (Track 2), which saw its lyrics and title changed due to the recent earthquake in China, is a touching mid-beat rock ballad that's similar in style with the music of Kary's Ping Pung days. Lee, who also acts as producer, wisely allows Kary to test her range without allowing her to resort to her weak, near-falsetto high range. Kary also further proves that her chosen genre is rock with the bombastic opening track Lady K (Track 1), in which she explores a more intense side of her voice without losing control of it, delivering an angrier Kary that shows her newly found maturity.

Of course, Lady K Transformation wouldn't be a Cantopop album if it didn't have any ballads. However, it only makes up a minor part of this album. In fact, the first ballad doesn't even make its appearance until halfway through. "A Break-up Must be Cruel" (Track 5) is a simple ballad that will be lauded for its catchy composition and criticized for its overtly Karaoke-friendly nature. Nevertheless, Kary doesn't sleepwalk her way through the relatively simple song, and delivers vocally. Of course, leave it to Dennie Wong to deliver the most touching ballad of the album with "Let's Not Love" (Track 6), an improvement over hit ballad "Excess Pressure" from In Control. While the sound is more conventional and less catchy than the predecessor, the composition here is more measured and better built up. Wong also avoids repeating the mistake of excessively using Kary's weak high range (as in "Excess Pressure") by writing with her vocal strength in mind.

In fact, that's the biggest improvement heard in Lady K Transformation. In the past year, Kary's team of songwriters has gradually been able to capture the strength of Kary's vocal instead of challenging it with one high note after another. Kary's maturing process also includes getting promoted to songwriter on the album with her first co-writer credit on "Interchange" (Track 10). Even though the song doesn't stand out from the rest of the pack, the mid-beat ballad is a good start in turning Kary into a real musician. Before that happens, she can rely on an excellent team behind-the-scenes and Gary Chan's excellent control over the musical flow of the album. He shows great attention to the pacing of the album by putting the ballads in the middle of fast dance songs, keeping the album energetic without being bombastic. It's not something one may expect from an ex-member of Cookies, but Kary Ng now has a newfound sense of musical maturity that her ex-bandmates still lack. What a difference a year makes.

Recommended Tracks: Lady K (Track 1), "The Final Second" (Track 2), "Lai Chi Dance Club" (Track 3), "Let's Not Love" (Track 6), "People of the Future" (Track 7), "Greedy for the New, Abandon the Old" (Track 8), "The Spotlight is Here" (Track 9)

by Kevin Ma