EXO’s Chanyeol made his comeback last week, but he’s already back again with follow-up single… Back Again. While Black Out took a subdued rock approach, Back Again dives into a more boisterous 90’s sound. It’s a much more interesting song, pulling together several distinct segments.
Back Again almost feels like a mash-up. The rapped verses are what I’d expect from a Chanyeol solo track, bounding forward with plenty of energy and character. Then, the song swerves into a surprising choral pre-chorus, utilizing an angelic bed of backing vocals to turn the track on its face. This segment offers brief breathing room before Back Again reinvents itself once again with grungy rock energy.
These three pieces shouldn’t fit together as well as they do, but they forge a whole that’s greater that the sum of its parts. By the time Back Again climaxes in its rousing guitar solo, its full vision becomes clear. K-pop has often blended genres together, and this is the latest example. It’s just being heard through a different sonic prism. This feels like a culmination of Chanyeol’s skills and influences and far eclipses the more predictable Black Out.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 9 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8.25 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Its a solid song. But is it compelling?
Being cool is hard. Being cool in the pop universe is extra hard. The song feels like the cool kid in his own ecosystem trying to be cool outside of that ecosystem, and sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn’t.
Also, current earbuds make it sound muddy. The mix is evenly EQ’d so the vocal placed wholly in the middle of the range gets a bit lost in the middle of the muddle. Or maybe it is the earbuds.
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I think what he’ s done here is really cool.
I’m also not sure this style feels entirely natural for him? But if he’ll keep going more in this direction musically, hey, I’ ll appreciate it.
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That was meant to be a separate comment, not a reply ;; woops
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So you will not be changing your name to Discount Chanyeol this time around.
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Chanyeol was never really my type to be honest, however shallow that feels to type out loud ;; To make it to my username, an idol needs to have been my bias at some point in my past passionate kpop-fan era
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