K-Pop A-Z

K-Pop A-Z Review: EXO – Wolf

One song. Every day. Alphabetical order.

Keep up with EXO’s A-Z reviews here!


Wolf (from XOXO / Growl – 2013)

I think it’s accurate to call Wolf EXO’s most polarizing title track. The song gets a lot of guff, labeled cheesy or cringey. And yeah, the wolf howls are a bit much. But, when you really take a look at the composition itself, Wolf is tackling more interesting ideas than many idol groups manage within an entire discography.

Wolf is a sledgehammer of a song, bounding forward without any restraint. Fusing traditional instrumentation with a mammoth dubstep beat, the lumbering instrumental supports a skittering, anything-goes melody that finds the guys shouting just as often as singing. However, Wolf isn’t without its standout vocal moments. When the track reaches its chorus, we’re treated to a series of sky high power notes that match the fury of their theatrical arrangement. If you’re going to go absolutely bonkers, this is the way to do it.

 Hooks 9
 Production 10
 Longevity 9
 Bias 10
 RATING 9.5

~

5 thoughts on “K-Pop A-Z Review: EXO – Wolf

  1. As much as I hate the howls and cringy lyrics, Wolf might be my overall favorite Kpop track. So glad for that 9.5!

    Side note: do you keep a list of your highest note? I quickly parsed through your favorite of each years, and only could find Wolf, Complete and Very Nice, plus Guess Who, Deep In Love and She’s My Girl with 9.5 (nothing above). Anyway notes are worth nothing, but I’m curious if you ever gave something above 9.5

    Like

  2. 9.5/10 for this? And 8/10 for IVE’s ‘LOVE DIVE’ and NewJeans’ ‘Hype Boy’? I’m pretty sure if ‘BONA BONA’ was released in 2011 you’d give it 10/10. I’m sorry but I feel like you’re just biased towards old songs :sob:

    Like

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.