It’s almost two years ago when WINNER debuted with 2014 S/S.
Their rock-ballad genre brought something fresh in K-Pop music scene and
created success at that time. This year, WINNER finally comes back with EXIT Movement project.
Through this project, WINNER follow their label mates, Big Bang and iKON, footsteps where they divide the song releases instead of
launch it as one full album. Their first step is EXIT: E, a mini album with five songs that just released yesterday.
This album has three title tracks, which are Baby Baby, Sentimental,
and I’m Young.
WINNER has quite big record on their debut, so I’m curious about
will they able to keep that up on their newest album. Let’s check my review
below……………………….
WINNER opened their newest album with Baby Baby, medium tempo song that shows their signature rock-ballad
style. While they combine this style with modern hip hop sound on their title
track in previous album, this time they stick with classic rock sound. The
guitar melody and the way they sing Baby
Baby reminds me with old school rock band sound such as Aerosmith. We also
get a little jazzy vibe from this song through the bass and drum melody along
with the vocal harmonization. This provides rare and unique combination.
Much like Big Bang – Loser, Baby
Baby music video shows us the sad life behind of fame. WINNER takes more blatant
approach of this portrayal. The lyrics talks about how they need someone to
stay by their side, so they won’t be lonely. The way they sing Baby Baby also sounds like begging. The
music video captures this theme well and tries to relate it with WINNER’s life.
The footage of their award winning speech, sitting alone in large hotel room
and club setting, and leaving to the airport at the end feel real. Plus, we see
them try to avoid loneliness by constant hooking up. The tone is dark
throughout the music video, but the addition of fluorescent colors creates a
gloss effect. This really represents the life of celebrities, glamour in the
outside, but gloomy on the inside.
Sentimental is an interesting song. The punk/rock inspired sound is typical YG Entertainment songs. However, WINNER
put a twist on it. Instead of going hard on the chorus, they make it more pop
with the catchy singing tune and drum beat. It doesn’t disturb the song
dynamic. In fact, it makes Sentimental has
exciting dynamic. Both rappers and vocals line shine and create memorable part
on their own.
Sentimental tackles another issue of how sucks it is to feel lonely. The lyrics
are more expressive and relatable to us because it talks about lonely in
general and how to deal with it. This can also be seen on the music video,
which feels like watching the daily life of young adults. The setting is in an
apartment where you can see bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and elevator. The
domination of pastel colors in properties and setting gives off playful and
youthful vibe. The cinematography works well in this song because the shot from
the above really capture the essence of loneliness although the place is tiny.
It feels suffocating. Also, the choreography looks fun hahaha. Sentimental shows us a new side of
WINNER because they could loose a bit despite often comes with mature
image.
Immature is like a follow up for Sentimental.
It’s another punk/rock inspired song, but it sounds hard hitting with guitar
and drum sound along with powerful vocal. The lyrics are the best part. The
boys of WINNER express their wish to be immature forever. They are afraid to
grow up because of all the consequences as adult. It’s pretty funny coming from
them who have mature and masculine image hahaha. But, I love the honesty of the
lyrics. I guess many of us often feeling the same way like them. Also, it’s
great to hear young group tackle this issue since it’s quite rare.
The third title track, I’m
Young turns out to be youngest member of WINNER, Taehyun solo song. He plays in his usual territory, ballad genre
with minimalistic instrumental such as electric guitar, keyboard, and
synthesizer. There is a big improvement from his previous solo song, Confession in WINNER 2014 S/S album. The production is more polished
this time. Taehyun’s vocal also improves and he delivers his emotions well in
this song. Despite not being my favorite vocal tone, I love how soft and
soothing his vocal sounds in this song.
I’m Young is a post break up song about the unwillingness to let go of his
ex-girlfriend although he knows that he’s bad and couldn’t be with her. The
music video follows this same storyline. Taehyun visits his ex-girlfriend and
reminiscences about their past. Too bad, she already has a boyfriend and
pregnant. That’s heartbreaking to see. The music video also portrayed the sad and
silence atmosphere with few dialogues, minimalistic music, and voice sound. It also
has blue tone to emphasize these elements.
The last track is a duet track from Taehyun and Mino.
Pricked relies heavily on
their vocal since it mostly consists of gloomy acoustic guitar sound throughout
the song. Both of them nail their vocal and rap part. Each part complements
each other and adds strong dynamic to this song. We can also feel their pain
and frustration about their wounded heart after breaking up just like the song
lyrics. Still, the transition to full band in the last chorus is a bit jarring.
I think they could try another way to make the climax of this song more
cohesive.
EXIT: E has completely different vibe from WINNER debut album.
When they first debuted, I was worry about how they will explore their
rock-ballad genre to avoid become boring and repetitive. With EXIT: E, they
erase my worry and show that there are various ways to play with this genre. Each
song in this album sounds different between one another, but you can still see
WINNER signature rock style in each of them. They already found their own
style, but not afraid in experimenting. It’s a major plus point for
rookies—heck even older groups sometimes still have trouble with this.
We can see their growth in this album too. The production is more
polished and there is improvement in their vocal and rap part. Mino, Taehyun,
and Seungyoon continue to be the
steering wheel of WINNER, but it’s Seunghoon
who steals the show in this album. I wish we could see more of Jinwoo for their next release and of
course, I will always wait for the next solo of Seungyoon.
The songs in this album not really grab your attention in the
first place, but you can see that these are type of songs that will grow on you
and you can listen on daily basis. It’s a promising appetizer from WINNER and
enough to make you want more. Can’t wait for what they will bring for the rest
of this series!
My Favorite
Tracks: Baby Baby, Sentimental, Pricked
Rating: 4/5
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