Boy group EPEX have taken the unusual route of releasing two full-length albums this year. And when we add new title track Universe to the list, the guys will have promoted a total of five (!) songs with music videos in 2024. That’s quite prolific. Not all the material has been equally great, but this spring’s double punch of Youth2Youth and Breathe In Love were among their strongest releases.
Universe takes off from where Youth2Youth ended, harnessing a similar drama that favors emotive melodies and explosive production. This is my favorite sound for EPEX and the song’s heart is definitely in the right place. I love its mix of distorted guitar and heavy percussion. There’s a satisfying heft to the instrumental that keeps things chugging along and adds a nice sense of scope to the arrangement.
However, Youth2Youth‘s success hinged upon an incredible set of melodies. Universe struggles in this regard, placing much of its emphasis on a repeated “universe universe” hook that traces similar melodic lines to its chorus. Over the course of the song, this repetition becomes less effective, lacking the same breadth as the production. Universe is still a solid track, but it’s clear EPEX blew through their best material during the first half of the year.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 9 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8.25 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
It’s a pretty good follow-up to Youth2Youth, even if not as strong. I didn’t mind the “universe universe” repetition tbh. I sense it’ll age well for me.
8.5 (8, 9, 8, 9) for me.
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A day or three ago I was searching through my itunes for where I had heard a recent girl group release snippet of music before. Boy was it a tour through alllllll my songs. I came to realize how much a certain sound in girl group was over-populated in my purchase habits. Each at the time seemed unique, or maybe had some sort of flair. But played in 20 second snips back to back to back to back, it was one bright poofy glitter happy serotonin hit.
I feel like that with this song. I feel like I have heard it before, or variations of all of it. If I were in the mood for this month’s serotonin hit, I might like it better. But I feel chastened by my recent experience to just not. If this satisfies your month’s craving, who am I to judge, go for it.
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I can’t help but think this would have also worked as TXT’s latest comeback…it’s got a touch of Runaway to it.
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Stronger than I expected.
They’re doing TxT music better than TxT currently are.
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As two other people commented, I thought this could fit TXT pretty well lol.
It’s a very nice song! I have not heard much from EPEX, and what I still remember the most is the controversy surrounding Anthem of Teen Spirit. However, I’ll have to give their 2024 output a shot if it’s even better than this.
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By the way, I came across this song from KINO released today.I really like the intense emotion and rock-infused energy. His past few singles have been pretty good. Maybe you’ll like it! It fits pretty well with EPEX’s past releases now that I’ve heard them.
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