EXO – ‘Exodus’ Album Review

The newly reformed EXO 2.0 is back with their second full-length album, Exodus. As the top kpop boyband to beat, EXO sure needs to step up the game to meet the overwhelming expectations. As such, Exodus ambitiously dabbles in quite a few different music styles and mood boards in hopes of showcasing the boys’ multi-faceted talents. Yet despite their praiseworthy bravery in bringing novelty, many of the tracks fall short of impressive, making Exodus a mediocre album overall.

Track 1 – Call Me Baby

EXO songs are often quite intricate in composition with many layers of harmony, free flowing ad libs, and atypical chord progressions. Therefore, they also tend to have simple and catchy hooks to counterbalance the complexity. Call Me Baby is no exception. It’s a dance pop number that successfully channels EXO’s distinctive music style via hard-hitting drum beats offset by groovy melody and powerful vocals.

Track 2 – Transformer

Transformer is an uptempo hip hop R&B track with intense snare drums and unique screeching synths. The beats are extremely rhythmic, giving it a robotic military marching feel. The rapped verses are relatively flat in tune and can be mistaken as boring at first, but they’re nicely contradicted by the bouncy chorus and winding bridge.

Track 3 – 시선 둘, 시선 하나 (What If..)

Here we have a slow tempo R&B ballad song that embodies the softer side of EXO’s music taste. However, for a song that’s supposed to focus on their amazingly soulful voices, What If is surprisingly monotonous and lackluster, with little room to showcase the boys’ vocal talents.

Track 4 –  My Answer

My Answer is another attempt at a more straightforward and unembellished ballad, with nothing but acoustic piano accompanying the EXO’s smooth vocals. Thankfully, the melody is much more interesting this time with several usual key changes and well-placed harmonies for maximum sentimental effect.

Track 5 – Exodus

Back to the upbeat side of things, Exodus ups the mood again with funky dance beats and offbeat piano chords. Worth noting is that the unexpected change in tempo during the chorus makes the hook sound even more catchy and interesting.

Track 6 – El Dorado

El Dorado starts off with mysterious synths to create a dreamy vibe then layers on weighty drum beats to support the groovy verse, so far so good. But just when I’m enjoying the moment, El Dorado makes a super jarring transition to a half-Indian, half-Egyptian sounding pre-chorus that doesn’t jive with the rest of the song at all. Despite it being a nice song overall, the pre-chorus is so distracting that I feel compelled to dock a few points.

Track 7 – Playboy

Playboy is a mid-tempo R&B number with quite a bit of character. It’s chic, confident, and humorous, as the title suggests. I particularly like the flirty guitar and organ riffs in the background that really bring out the aura of fun. That said, Playboy could have been even better with a slightly less repetitive melody.

Track 8 – Hurt

A melodic mid-tempo dance pop track with a dark romantic feel, Hurt kicks off with a dramatic and theatrical opening to set the mood and quickly adds on pounding drum beats and electro synths to make it sound contemporary. Though Hurt has an uncommon and interesting flavor, the melody is yet again more temperate than I would have liked.

Track 9 – 유성우 (Lady Luck)

The most interesting thing about Lady Luck is the unplugged intro with a unique beatbox beat and simple rap — a refreshing opening compared to other EXO song. Beyond that, Lady Luck is a somewhat bland urban R&B song without a strong hook or standout melody to help make it memorable.

Track 10 – Beautiful

Beautiful is a mid-tempo pop ballad song featuring peculiar string synths and water drop sounds that give it a feeling of mystique. Though without an obvious hook or belting vocal riffs, the groovy verses and the sweetness of the boys’ voices make it a pleasant and calming tune.

What Do You Think?

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