[MUSIC ALBUM REVIEW] EXO - Lotto (2016)

After two months, EXO is back with another album called Lotto on August 18^th. It’s a repackage album for EX’ACT, EXO's third album.

Repackage album has always been a tradition for EXO. In 2013, EXO has Growl as their repackage album where the same name single became the biggest hit. Last year, EXO has Love Me Right and its release went head to head with Bigbang newest single.

For me, EXO repackage singles are always more superior than previous title track. EXO manages to come up with catchier repackage song while still have the same theme with previous title track. That’s why the anticipation is quite high for Lotto.

Could Lotto continue the solid release of previous repackage album? Let’s see the review for EXO three new tracks in Lotto album………………………………………………….

Lotto

EXO takes a new attempt with Lotto. It still has EXO usual electronic/hip hop sound just like their previous title tracks. However, Lotto melody and vocal treatment differs from other EXO tracks.

Lotto reminds me with Western electronic/hip hop music from its melody, strong beat, and auto tune sound. The music stays the same throughout the song while the vocal goes more into talking and rapping style.

It’s great to see EXO keeps experimenting instead of sticking to similar songs every release. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work well this time. Lotto doesn’t really go anywhere. There is no interesting dynamic on it.

The vocal also couldn’t bring more dynamic to Lotto because of auto tune sound. It covers the vocal and makes EXO couldn't show their full capabilities. It’s a pity because Lotto has sick beat and promising verses.

Thankfully, Lotto music video provides major treat for us. EXO keeps continuation from Monster, their previous title track, with its dark and gloomy tone. The shots are gorgeous despite having limited setting.

EXO also looks more mature on Lotto music video. EXO tries another new attempt by channeling bad boy look with drinking and rebelling scenes. Surprisingly, all of them pull this concept well. The choreography looks interesting too.

I also like that the whole music video follows the song lyrics. It’s about the resemblance of getting a girl with winning a lottery. We see EXO gambles and throws money while Chanyeol tries to save a girl at the same time. However, I am still not sure about the clear storyline of Lotto music video because there are too many scenes going on in short time span.

Can’t Bring Me Down

Can’t Bring Me Down is another electronic/hip hop song from EXO. However, it takes more classic approach with vocal on verses, rap on bridges, and beat drop on refrain. This classic approach successfully adds great dynamic to the song. Plus, the synthesizer sound and harmonization makes Can’t Bring Me Down more exciting.

Can’t Bring Me Down also has strong lyrics. It is about how other people fakeness can’t bring EXO down. It’s a powerful song overall and has potential to be their title track aside from Lotto.

She’s Dreaming

She’s Dreaming finally brings back EXO signature R&B track, which is lacking in EX’ACT album. This song actually quite simple by having strong beat along with bass and guitar sound. But, it sounds refreshing amidst all electronic dance track in EX’ACT album.

EXO also does a good job in terms of vocal. Baekhyun, Chen, and D.O. once again able to showcase their emotional voice. I also like that EXO takes different approach with She’s Dreaming by singing in lower tone.

Another good job is for Chen who takes part in composing the lyrics. She’s Dreaming is quite a sad song where EXO describes their relationship like a dream. EXO wants to always be with the girl, but she will forget them if wake up.

So, does Lotto live up the expectation? It’s quite hard to say this. Lotto is EXO weakest repackage tracks to date. But at the same time, Can’t Bring Me Down and She’s Dreaming provides us with EXO signature style that seems hiding in EX’ACT album.

Though it’s a good addition, Lotto unfortunately doesn’t give strong complement to EX’ACT. Or in another word, EX’ACT could existed without Lotto.

My Favorite Tracks:   Can’t Bring Me Down, She’s Dreaming

Rating:                                    3/5

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[MUSIC ALBUM REVIEW] EXO - EX'ACT (2016)

                           

EXO is back with their third album, EX’ACT on June 9^th. Their third album gained much anticipation because EXO has successfully achieved various records on their previous albums.

Their first and second full album sold one million copies each, making them double million seller artists. It’s a huge achievement for K-Pop idols especially with the shift of music platform into digital nowadays.

Double-million seller is not just an empty title for EXO. This nine-member boy group has managed to put out a solid album on each release.

On its third album, will EXO manage to come up with solid release again? Check out my review for EX’ACT below………………………………………………………………………………..

EXO tries out something new in EX’ACT by having double title track. Both title tracks, Lucky One and Monster offer two opposite charm of EXO. Check out my review for Lucky One and Monster here!

Artificial Love is an electronic dance track with catchy beat. There is no hint of funk or R&B element on this song like in Lucky One. Artificial Lover sounds very current, meaning that this type of sound often can be heard in foreign songs nowadays.

Artificial Love has a unique structure because of the interchange between singing and rapping part. Kai, Chanyeol, and Sehun shine this time with their singing/rapping part. The lyrics are also interesting and pretty straightforward, which is about how they have to deal with the type of love that is fake and artificial.

It’s quite surprising to hear EXO tackle this kind of genre and surprisingly, they nail it!

EXO members feel like they are on the sky whenever they are with their girlfriend on the fourth track, Cloud 9. This song opened with electronic sound and robotic voice, which also appears in the chorus.

But for the verses, EXO showcases their smooth vocal on top of R&B beat. I love how they play out with their vocal on verses. It’s the best part of the song while the electronic sound is the weak point of this song. Their attempt in mixing electronic and R&B sound unfortunately don’t work well here because it sounds disjointed.

EXO is back with old school R&B sound with Heaven. The strong beat reminds me of their previous winter release, On TheSnow. But, Heaven adds piano melody on it, which makes it sounds more romantic. This is also one of the few songs in this album where the line distributed fairly between each member.

Heaven is actually quite cheesy from its music to its lyrics. Chanyeol takes part in writing the lyrics where he falls deeply in love with a girl and compliment her. But somehow, Heaven works well.

It’s a breath of fresh air among previous electronic sounds. Heaven is simple yet catchy. You will enjoy listening and singing to this song out loud.

Forget falling in love because EXO is now missing their girlfriend in White Noise. This is another song that mixed R&B and electronic sound. However, this song is different from Cloud 9 where the electronic and R&B sound changes between one another. Both sound, represented by synthesizer and strong beat, comes in parallel.

This unique combination has a potential to make White Noise becomes interesting. Unfortunately, the combination itself makes the music a bit noisy and overshadows the vocal. The constant similar beat that appears throughout the song also could make people bored. Fortunately, the rap part adds more kick to the song and save it.

One and Only is an interesting song. This song has a strong hip-hop beat for its music. But, EXO members sing this song with a soft vocal. It’s a contrast that works well.

EXO vocal once again shines in this song. Their softness vocal and synthesizer effect gives off a dreamy vibe that fit the song lyrics. One and Only tells a story about how EXO just only want to be together with their girlfriend.

I like the ending chorus too where the vocal line sings different lyrics at the same time. Also, Chen owns this song. His clear vocal suits this type of light song.

Despite of the recent sampling issue, They Never Know remains to be one of my favorite tracks in this album. This song just screams “EXO style” for me because of its strong R&B beat. The members also show gorgeous vocal along with harmonization, especially Baekhyun. The lyrics itself is pretty interesting, which is about how people will never know about what EXO members feel about their girlfriend.

The similar beat throughout the song has a chance to make They Never Know becomes boring. However, EXO play it out a little bit by putting an exotic beat drop after chorus. This is another attempt from them to try something current.

The last track, Stronger is the only one ballad track. This song reminds me of old school R&B tracks from artists like Boyz II Men. It’s because of the soulful vocal and harmonization. Chen, Baekhyun, Suho, and D.O once again show their vocal capability here.

Stronger also reminds me with their previous ballad track, My Answer because both tracks have lovely piano melody. However, the harmonization and vocal makes Stronger has more interesting dynamic.

The lyrics add plus point for this song too. It talks about how their girlfriend gives them strength during hard times. This is quite relatable to EXO itself if you remember several hardships that they face for these past several years.

EX’ACT let EXO takes different direction on their music. They still keep their signature R&B sound while wrapped it in more current electronic sound. All tracks in EX’ACT are enjoyable to listen for a long time. Every EXO member also shows vocal improvement, especially Sehun and Kai, while Chen shines brightly in this album.

Despite being enjoyable, most songs in EX’ACT lack of something that makes them stand out. You can easily point out the stand out songs in their previous album, EXODUS and imagine the live performance. But, it’s harder to do this in EX’ACT. The similar sound throughout the album contributed to this too. I also notice that most of the songs are not really performance type of song.

Still, EXO keeps their consistency in releasing solid album with EX’ACT even though this album still below its predecessors.

My Favorite Tracks:   Lucky One, Monster, Artificial Love, Heaven, One and Only, They Never Know, Stronger

Rating:                                    3.5/5

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[MUSIC VIDEO REVIEW] EXO - Lucky One & Monster (2016)

It seems like yesterday when boy group EXO debuted. But now, they have reached the fourth year of their career.

On June 9^th, EXO just released their third full album, EX’ACT. This album is different from their previous releases because EXO promote double title track for the first time, Lucky One and Monster.

Lucky One and Monster show the opposite charm of EXO. Are you curious to see their transformation? Check out my review for both songs below……………………………………

Lucky One represents the current sound that SM Entertainment pursuing, electronic-disco sound.

If you pay attention to recent SM Entertainment releases such as Tiffany and Luna solo, you notice that they have similar sound like Lucky One. This unfortunately becomes repetitive and it kinds of cover the distinct characteristic of each artists, including EXO. Lucky One also feels like it belongs to SHINee more since this type of sound is more into their style.

However, Lucky One is not a bad track. It has great song production with catchy beat and funky guitar riff. The interchange on verses adds more dynamic to the song as well as the pre-chorus, which is effective to build up chorus. It’s only the rap part that seems out of place.

Lucky One is definitely a grower. It lacks of kick when you listen to it for the first time. But, it gets better each time. Lucky One is also a type of song where you can listen and dance to it for a long time on daily basis.

As for the music video, EXO is back in the box set where they trapped inside a hospital. They have been captivated by mysterious women and try to find a way out. We also see a glimpse of each of EXO member superpower that makes the mysterious women head blows up.

However, there are some bizarre scenes when they use their superpowers that don’t really make sense. Is it necessary for Kai to dance in front of the girl? Why Suho and Xiumin suddenly have the urge to drink water?

Lucky One storyline somehow represents the lyrics where they try to follow a girl where they described as shining. If they follow her, they will become a lucky one. In the music video, the way out is the girl representation and it’s lucky for EXO to escape from the hospital. But, there is a twist at the end that related with their previous album and you need to watch it for yourself!

The whole atmosphere of Lucky One music video gives off futuristic feel with the usage of white, red, and blue color. They also style EXO members like a robot with white outfit and dewy makeup, but I personally not a fan of this styling.

EXO brings us a banger that we haven’t really heard on K-Pop releases this year with Monster. It captures your attention the first time you listen to it.

Monster is a mix of classic K-Pop style with current hip-hop sound. The verses have powerful hip-hop beat and electronic sound, but the chorus is more pop with its catchy hook.

Monster has a great dynamic throughout the song. They know when to build up the song and put a climax with the vocal along with the beat. My favorite part would be from Baekhyun and Chen’s soothing vocal in the bridge followed by Chanyeol and Sehun’s explosive rap part until D.O kicks in on the final chorus and Chen gives haunting vocal in the last past. It’s fire!

Still, Monster can actually go beyond what they do now. I wish they could go harder in the chorus and add more variations to the music. There are many empty space in the songs too such as during Baekhyun or Suho first verses and the transition from chorus to the bridge.

Meanwhile, Monster music video shows a completely different side of EXO. Say goodbye to the perfectly polished boys because now, they get rough. EXO members showed a rebel style with bruise and blood. They sing about how they are dangerous boys, but you can’t resist us, which is in parallel with their previous title tracks like Wolf and Growl.

Surprisingly, everyone pulls it off well and don’t look awkward. I also think that this is the first time where I see SM Entertainment idols have this kind of rough style, so it’s refreshing to see.

Monster music video shows EXO boys caught in a riot with authorities. We see several scenes where the police hit them and they try to fight back. All of these are wrapped in a dark atmosphere with black and red color tone. The cinematography is quite unusual too.

Monster has an interesting concept, but unfortunately, they don’t explore this concept more. Most of times, the music video only showed a montage without storyline. That’s why the twist in the end of the music video feels a bit confusing when we watch for the first time despite of being a fresh addition.

Beside the riot part, Monster also has the performance scene that is the best part of the music video. EXO members dance to a sleek and powerful choreography, which probably their best choreography after Growl. Lay finally gets his time to shine in dancing with Kai and Suho kills his solo part. In short, Monster performance really elevates the song.

Both Lucky One and Monster shows a different charm of EXO. Lucky One is livelier while Monster is bolder. Lucky One grows on you after listening to it several times while Monster grab your attention in the first place.

If I have to choose, I prefer Monster as the title track because it has several elements that fit the description as title track. The song along with the concept pulls you in since the first listen. It also represents EXO more than Lucky One in terms of music and performance while still has something new in it.

Lucky One

Rating:            3.5/5

Monster

Rating:            4/5

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