On Tuesday, K-pop group EXO released their fourth mini-album, The War.
The album (and it's title track, "Ko Ko Bop") have taken over charts around the world. So we're going to look at what we like (+), what we didn't like (-), and what we could have done without (o).
+ The Eve – This track is an amazing introduction to the album as a whole. It starts with guitar riffs and verses building up to a pre-chorus clearly showing exactly where it's headed: towards a chorus of straight easy-pop reminiscent of boybands *Nsync and Backstreet Boys…except it's also pleasantly paired with hip-hop sounds and a catchy back beat. The star in this song is the harmonizing. It's a pretty safe hip-hop take on pop, but we think that's what makes it a successful, catchy track.
+ Ko Ko Bop – If you're gonna sample Little Anthony and The Imperials, you better do that smooth-honey sound right…and they do! EXO delivers a very sexy reggae sound in the verses building up to a chill hip-hop chorus, and then you're hit with a zingy, futuristic chorus breakdown. It was jarring at first, but the sharp sounds grew on us, and we think it makes this a very memorable title track for this era.
+ What U Do? – The electric guitar rift and verses throwing us straight into an energetic poppy chorus screams 80s pop. The chorus is so catchy as it works really well with the beat. The song mixes it up briefly in the middle of the track with a hip-hop beat, but swings us right back around to that satisfyingly classic pop sound. This could have been another contender for the title track and we hope we get to see it promoted as well.
o Forever – This song was made for EXO's rapline, but it didn't let them shine enough. Chanyeol and Sehun don't get a lot of time in the spotlight as EXO's tracks are usually pop oriented. This track starts with an introduction of vocals, and you're suddenly hit with Chanyeol's rap (sprinkled with some Sehun). But the rapping is suddenly interrupted by a weak pre-chorus against a backdrop of video-game beats. The chorus isn't very memorable – it keeps wanting to build up to something more, but doesn't quite ever get there to create something catchy. The most successful part is the second rap break when Chanyeol and Sehun jump back in with a strong hip-hop beat that appropriately builds up to the chorus itself. Unfortunately, the song suddenly ends and we're left unsatisfied.
- Diamond – This track was the most underwhelming on album. The song structure (and really overall genre) sounds all over the place… like a bunch of disparate pieces of different songs mashed together. The verses, bridge, chorus, and rap breaks seem to lack harmony (and honestly, don't seem to have any relation to each other musically) with the only thing tying it all together being a very generic Middle Eastern beat. We have to admit it's super catch though!
o Touch It – This is a very safe, simple pop song, with its strength lying in the rap breaks leading into the catchy chorus. The hip-hop break right before the final chorus is probably our favorite part of the song, but it doesn't take it much further than that. Like "Forever," it's another song where the rapline carried the song for us, and we definitely were left wanting more Chanyeol and Sehun.
+ Chill – This is one of the songs we were most excited to hear. Lots of different people worked on this album but G. Soul – a South Korean singer – is one of the composers on this song. And you can feel his touch. We might've dismissed this track due to the same issues as "Diamond" where it sounds like pieces of separate songs getting mashed together, but this track is surprisingly successful at blending the verses, rap breaks, chorus, and bridges together. It gets creative with different beats/percussion – and, more importantly, timing – to tie everything together harmoniously.
+ Walk on Memories – So, confession time… we love when EXO hits us with a slow jam R&B song. And this track doesn't disappoint with its cinematic opening and the poppy verses layered over a pretty melodic beat. By slowing the album down with this track, they do a really great job of showcasing the amazing vocal talent of EXO. It's got quite a sweet, catchy chorus with unexpected high notes and (again) beautiful harmonizing. Though the song has a fairly standard song structure (it reminds us of "What Is Love?"), it has an overall soulful vocal performance while maintaining the underlying R&B-pop vibe. EXO has some of the best power vocals in the game, and we get to hear them here.
+ Going Crazy – At first, this song might seem like a simple R&B track, but I think its strength lies in the musical details. The track succeeds in conceptualizing the "going crazy" theme musically. The song's evolution takes the listener through a rollercoaster of ornate sounds – going down with smooth beats and melodic verses sprinkled unexpectedly with stringed instruments, and building up again to an aggressive hip-hop and electronic arrangement in the chorus, only to go back down with subtle vocals again and breaking with strong rapping (the urgency in the song reminds us a bit of "Lightsaber"). We appreciate the attempt at a conceptual arrangement, and it's a solid R&B track to close the album.
Overall thoughts – EXO said this album was more experimental than anything they've done in the past, and they definitely delivered. It's a mix of genres (that mostly works), there was a good amount of member participation, and the line distribution seemed more even than in the past (admittedly, we haven't done the math, though). And with The War, EXO's delivered an album that improved on what they did with EX'ACT. The album's weak spots were slightly disjointed sounds within songs or songs that we felt just played it too safe. But overall, it's another good album from this well-established K-pop powerhouse… and we've got some great new songs to add to our playlist.