One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with EXO’s A-Z reviews here! Stay (from Universe – 2017) Taken from EXO’s third winter album, Stay is a traditional piano-led mid-tempo augmented with a few unique instrumental touches. It’s even produced to sound like it’s spinning on an old record player. The chorus brings in some … Continue reading →

One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with EXO’s A-Z reviews here! The Star (from Miracles In December – 2013) You all know I don’t believe in the concept of “guilty pleasure,” but if I would classify any EXO song under this label it’d be The Star. As a holiday release, it’s free from … Continue reading →

One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with EXO’s A-Z reviews here! Smile On My Face (from Don’t Mess Up My Tempo / Love Shot – 2018) As the closest that the Don’t Mess Up My Tempo album comes to a ballad, the atmospheric, mid-tempo Smile On My Face offers a soothing respite from … Continue reading →

One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with EXO’s A-Z reviews here! Sign (from Don’t Mess Up My Tempo / Love Shot – 2018) Pounding forward on jolts of dubstep distortion, Sign is as pure a distillation of EXO’s core sound as you’re likely to find. It’s a percussive beast, formed by an industrial … Continue reading →

One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with EXO’s A-Z reviews here! She’s Dreaming (from Ex’Act / Lotto – 2016) She’s Dreaming feels like a song painted in watercolor. Its edges all bleed into each other, powered by a warped, off-balance instrumental that gives the entire track a languid, dreamlike mood. Beyond the obvious … Continue reading →

One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with EXO’s A-Z reviews here! Run This (from Countdown – 2018) EXO’s Countdown doesn’t have a bad track, but Run This is probably its most inconsequential. Trying on bad boy posturing in the most obvious way, the song is little more than shouts and grumbles competing with … Continue reading →

One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with EXO’s A-Z reviews here! Run (from Overdose – 2014) EXO songs often have a slightly experimental bent to them, so it’s always surprising when the group goes full-on pop. Run does not have a self-serious bone in its body. It’s the kind of anthemic track clearly … Continue reading →

One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with EXO’s A-Z reviews here! Promise (EXO 2014) (from Love Me Right – 2015) Despite its title, Promise (EXO 2014) was released in the middle of 2015 as part of the group’s Love Me Right repackage album. The track blurs the line between ballad and mid-tempo, borrowing … Continue reading →

One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with EXO’s A-Z reviews here! Playboy (from Exodus / Love Me Right – 2015) Gifted to EXO by SHINee’s Jonghyun, Playboy carries all of his melodic and production quirks. As such, it seems better suited to a solo Jonghyun performance than EXO, but it does allow them … Continue reading →

One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with EXO’s A-Z reviews here! Peter Pan (from XOXO / Growl – 2013) Like its title might suggest, Peter Pan is one of the most lightweight pop confections in EXO’s arsenal. But, with a discography as dense as theirs, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The song’s … Continue reading →

One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with EXO’s A-Z reviews here! Overdose (from Overdose – 2014) Before Overdose’s 2014 release, the song leaked online. This is rare for a K-pop track — especially back then — and the fact that the comeback was postponed several weeks due to the Sewol Ferry Incident made … Continue reading →

One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with EXO’s A-Z reviews here! Ooh La La La (from Don’t Mess Up My Tempo / Love Shot – 2018) When Ooh La La La was released last year, it was heralded as the “sexy track” from EXO’s Don’t Mess Up My Tempo album. While this approach … Continue reading →

One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with EXO’s A-Z reviews here! One And Only (from Ex’Act / Lotto – 2016) Melding retro synths with airhorns (!), One And Only’s introduction is a little disorienting. It’s the odd track that manages to feel both languid and brisk, thanks to an insistent beat underlined by … Continue reading →

One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with EXO’s A-Z reviews here! On The Snow (from Sing For You – 2015) On The Snow is an amiable little fellow, groovy and enjoyable in the moment but pretty forgettable thereafter. Its warm, brassy chorus contains plenty of good cheer for the holidays, incorporating sleigh bells … Continue reading →

One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with EXO’s A-Z reviews here! Oasis (from Don’t Mess Up My Tempo / Love Shot – 2018) Oasis’s opening line is arresting, emerging with a palpable tenseness as if the melody had finally caught up to you after a long pursuit. From here, trap influences form a … Continue reading →

One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with EXO’s A-Z reviews here! My Turn To Cry (from Miracles In December – 2013) My Turn To Cry is tangentially related to the holidays by nature of the album it stems from, but at its heart the song is a typical EXO ballad, riding on sentiment … Continue reading →

One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with EXO’s A-Z reviews here! My Lady (from XOXO / Growl – 2013) Closing out EXO’s first full-length album, My Lady offers a bluesy slab of r&b groove. The tempo is always faster than I expect for a song like this, especially as the two-part chorus picks … Continue reading →

One song. Every day. Alphabetical order. Keep up with EXO’s A-Z reviews here! My Answer (from Exodus / Love Me Right – 2015) My Answer is as classic a pop ballad as you’re going to get from EXO. Performed by Baekhyun, D.O. and Suho, the track offers plenty of space to stretch their vocals. With … Continue reading →