With Kings of K-pop SHINee making their long-awaited return today, rookie group 8TURN’s new title track may fly under the radar. But against all odds, they’ve actually released the stronger of today’s singles. I wasn’t completely sold on their debut, but the rock crunch of Excel is a lot of fun.
I’m not sure there’s much of a song underneath all the bluster (those melodic lines are verrry slight), but distorted guitar keeps the energy high throughout. Even when Excel slows for its pre-chorus, the instrumental feels as if it’s only gathering strength for another assault. The group’s performance is equally excitable.
Excel‘s relatively flat melodic structure will likely impede its ability to grow with time, but I imagine most of the song’s charms will be unlocked during live performances. If we’re grading on hype energy alone, 8TURN get an “A.” But if you want to hear an idol boy group track that pulls off this sound way better, I’d recommend listening to INI’s recently-released Fanfare.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
This is a good one to bring something new to the workout playlist. Also, there a couple nice vocals in there too. I think it is pretty good.
Also the bass in 2nd verse is fly, right at 1:02. I wish there was more of that, though the drop out with percussion only also works nicely, just not as good as that bass.
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I quite like how unrelenting the song is throughout. I appreciate the commitment. I quite agree with Nick that it’s melodies may impede it’s ability to grow with time but I still quite like it overall. Probably an 8.5 for me as of now.
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I liked it, sounds very energizing, like the type of song you could listen to while running.
ps: I’ve been reading your blog for quite sometime, but I was always shy to leave a comment till today!
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Welcome to the comments section! Hopefully this will be the first of many 😀
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Okay, I’m here for the rock and the energy! Some very cheesy English lyrics in there, too. I want more of this.
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Pretty good! I like “Walk It Out” from the album even more, a real banger.
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If I were Microsoft, I would immediately leverage this song to improve the reputation of my reknown most hated product.
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I really liked this one, I love how the song is just energetic throughout. I also like how all of the members had their time to shine unlike in their debut. Watching them perform this was also exciting, they seem to be more comfortable working the camera. Also, I really like Alex’s voice, he has such a nice tone.
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