EXO is back with some new music - on March 30th, 2015 they released their second full-length studio album "EXODUS" As a long-time fan I was incredibly excited for some new music from the boys. They've gone through some ups and downs since their debut, namely with two members leaving, on pretty bad terms. However, even after the downs, they didn't lose their motivation and passion to want to do their best for their fans and that's what I love about this group.
I'm gonna be going through my thoughts on each song!
1. "Call Me Baby"
Call Me Baby is the boys' first single off the new album. To be quite honest, I thought Overdose was pretty amazing and that it must be so hard to top that kind of single. NOPE, I was wrong. This song is just amazing. From the beat to the chorus/hook, to the very fairly distributed vocals done by the boys, this song is perfection. The added Nicki Minaj-like "Baby" and "Say my name" background vocals really added to the song and I just love everything about it :3
The Chinese translation on this song cracks me up. D.O. singing Mandarin though = holy.
Side note: While SM had us waiting till we turned to skeletons, the music video also did not disappoint! While it's quite... "normal" compared to the other music videos they've released in the past, the dance moves and camera work made up for it.
2. Transformer
"You're a you're a you're a transformer" I have no idea what the hook means but fuck, it's stuck in my mind. This is definitely in my top favourites off the album. Again, the beat really kills me in this one. The music sounds almost trap-ish (don't kill me, trap music fans) or maybe it's my inexperience with what trap music sounds like. The point is, their music producers are hella talented and can make me like any sort of song they sing.
Maybe I have a thing for rappers, but Chanyeol and Tao are the stars of this song.
3. 시선 둘, 시선 하나 (What If…)
I am weak for ballads and this is a beautifully done ballad. I hate to pick out certain members because I think they've all put in the effort to make this album so beautiful, but D.O. never fails to impress me with his honey milk-like vocals and Baekhyun's raspy-ish voice. In addition, the chorus is quite catchy - it starts off slow with the lyrics but speeds up the latter part. These writers I swear, y'all are good!
4. My Answer
SM opted to have Baekhyun, D.O. and Suho perform this song live on their comeback stages alongside their single "Call Me Baby" It is honestly an incredibly beautiful song. With ballads, I sometimes struggle because there's really just a handful of vocals in the group: D.O., Baekhyun, Chen, and Suho. I may get slack but I don't think Suho's vocals are as strong as they could be. Ever since the Luhan left the group, they have also given Lay the main vocals for the M-group. I think he has a good voice but somehow I don't think it blends well into the songs/other members' voices in certain songs and then in some songs, he sounds amazing as hell. I love both Suho and Lay a lot though, maybe I will just have to get used to it.
Xiumin's vocals in the M-version was a surprise. I was so sure they'd throw D.O. or Baekhyun over. I'm glad to see them giving him a chance because I do recall on of the members calling Xiumin's vocals their secret hidden weapon lmao.
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5. Exodus
I freaking love this song because whoever produced this song knows what they're doing. The notes descending throughout the song = genius. So, so catchy. Since Luhan left the group, I've been loving Chanyeol as my main man and this song was the first time I heard clearly his singing vocals (vs. rapping) and I was like WHOA, whoa... whoa. This child has a lot of potential, I tell you - between his happy virus attitude, charming good looks and ability to sing and rap hella well - if EXO ever does not work well, he'll be able to hold his own.
Basically, the notes descending throughout this song is my favourite thing about this song besides the boys' vocals.
6. El Dorado
I really liked the beginning of this song with the synthetic note playing, however it kind of disappointed me in the pre-chorus. I was just not feeling the downwards tone-vocals. It gets better right after that though and throughout the song is fine with the exception of that part. So while it's literally just one part of the song I don't like and while everyone was going crazy over this song, currently I'm just not feeling it.
7. Playboy
When I was going through the EXO'luXion concert to preview the boys' new music, this one was definitely one of my favourites! I liked the electric guitar playing and the slow R&B feel of the song. When I finally got to hear the studio version, the talking in the beginning threw me off and I've come to the conclusion that it kind of creeps me out. Nonetheless, I still really enjoy the song :)
8. Hurt
In terms of music production on this song, it's not on my top favourites but the boys' vocals and the overall melody really made me love this song. The chorus "You hurt me, so bad so bad" is really addictive. And the boys' rap in this song = perfection (especially my boy Chanyeol's :3)
9. 유성우 (Lady Luck)
I think this is another good/catchy song but this is the one song that I cannot fully like because I'm not a teenager with raging hormones. It's just HELLA awkward to be listening to this, especially at work. I just took it off my playlist entirely. Needless to say, they probably targeted this for thirsty teenagers which I am not a part of LMAO. Props to the fan service effort though!
10. Beautiful
Okay I freaking LOVE this song. The piano production is so, so beautiful and quite simple to the ears. The feel and mood of this song is so dreamy, it's honestly such a good song to fall asleep to :3
Overall thoughts:
They outdid themselves to be quite honest and I am thankful for their hard work. I think most people don't understand that they have been through a lot to get to where they are today. From working their butts off during their trainee days, to now working their butts off for their fans and to satisfy SM standards - it's not an easy feat. I think people mistaken that idol life must be fabulous, everyone loves them, they get special treatment, etcetc but the real story is that they get up super early every single day, practice till they want to die, till they are injured and cannot practice anymore. It shows in their live performances, their dance moves are so on point and so in-sync. They barely make mistakes. Anyway, thank you EXO for bringing us another beautiful album!!!
Also congratulations to the boys for their first win since their comeback on Inkigayo. I see you, Suho trying not to cry lololol.
Support the boys - watch their music video and buy their album(s)!
*Images by April Moments
@shine_on_may
ABOUTME
Hi, I'm Tracy - welcome to my blog! I like to talk about Asian dramas and Korean Pop. Feel free to leave a comment or connect with me via my social media links. Enjoy your stay
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