I don’t know if I have a death wish or something; A full album, a repackage, 13 songs. Yikes, welp I got this hopefully!
Exo is my new favourite group. Despite debuting 10 years ago, I’ve only become a fan of them this year. This happens: I take a group for granted, as in I’m like “yup that’s a group with good title tracks and they’ll be here forever so I can take my time getting into them,” without ever looking at their b-sides whatsoever. I’ve had a few victims of this (Lovelyz, Onf), Exo is my newest one. If I continue with this review series long enough, then I know I’m going to review every Exo album there is, and I’ve picked a great repackage to start our journey.
Exo is such a brilliant group. I’ve never seen idols display so much artistry in their albums; I think they’re the first K-pop act who I’ve noticed their growth from their debut album to their most recent EP. They’re the only group who’s lore kinda makes sense to me as well. Their team has much dedication for continuing with their original concept (until SM messed it up with Kwangya, or maybe I’m not so up to date with the lore lol).
I only dislike one track on Lotto. That’s impressive for an album with 13 tracks. Ex’act is a no skip album in itself. I’m someone who eats up electronic and dance, so it really is no surprise that I enjoy it a lot. The repackage adds more depth to the overall release; I think my favourite repackaged song will surprise you guys. Though I did mention dance, Lotto isn’t much of a dance album, however the use of electronic elements is a testament to 2nd gen electronic K-pop and Exo definitely puts their own twists on what a K-pop song can mean (they’ve been doing that since 2012!). I hope you guys enjoy this review.
I want to say thank you to Exo-Ls who commented on my Suho review btw. I didn’t think my series would be appreciated by many until you guys replied. So you all have my thanks <<3
Tracklist:
Lotto (single)
Monster (single)
Artificial Love
Can’t Bring Me Down
Cloud 9
She’s Dreaming
White Noise
They Never Know
Stronger
Monster - LDN Noise Creeper Bass remix
Lotto
Written by: Kim Min Ji, Cho Yoon Kyung, Seorim, JQ
Composition by: Chikk, Adrian McKinnon, LDN Noise
Produced by: LDN Noise
The funniest thing about Lotto is that many broadcasts found the metaphor of gambling too damning for the public so they banned the track. Korean broadcasters have some wrapped up reasons for banning songs.
I hate this song. Actually I don’t. It’s just more a dislike, a strong dislike, which isn’t hate. The autotune firstly ruins it for me; Out of every group who needs autotune, it’s not Exo. Their voices stand out on their own, they don’t need autotune to water down their skills. There’s no function for the autotune to be there as well. Autotune was originally used to replicate a vocoder (the intro of Let’s Groove uses one), but many musicians misunderstood its meaning. Lotto is one of them. I suggest the autotune is there to make the members sound cool, whilst doing the exact opposite. The production itself is alright, just a hip-hop influenced rhythm with the use of strings here and there. The percussion adopts a trap beat. Nothing wrong with those aspects, I just think it doesn’t make for a strong song to promote. The chorus doesn’t sound like a chorus, more like the pro-chorus building up to something bigger. But nothing bigger happens, there is no climax in Lotto. The verses are nothing to write about. If there’s anything good, it’s that having no rap verse does make the single stand out. However, being a hip-hop track, having a rap verse would’ve made the song take a more route but may be stronger in writing in my opinion. I’m happy Lotto is out of the way, time for positivity!
Hooks: 6
Production: 7
Longevity: 6
Bias: 10
Total: 7.25
Lucky One
Written by: LDN Noise, Adrian McKinnon, Andrew Choi, Jang Yeo Jin, Choi Jin-seon, JQ, Seorim
Lyricism by: Choi Jin-seon, Jang Yeo Jin, Seorim, JQ
Arrangement by: LDN Noise
Composition by: Adrian McKinnon, Andrew Choi, LDN Noise
Produced by: Lee Soo Man (get ready to see a lot of his name on here lol)
The Genius annotations describes Lucky One as an “RnB dance track with a tinge of disco-pop.” I disagree, I’m with Youtuber kpop stuffs who described the track as “Disco House.” It’s a way more fitting word.
Lucky One is a banger of a song. The production is immaculate; The thumping drums, the guitar that kicks in during the first verse, the electronic rhythm that flows throughout the duration of the track, they all work so well together. There are the right amount of elements arranged in Lucky One, there’s no annoying bell that clunks the song, but there’s also no minimalism. The track’s production is detailed. Yeah that's the word. The writing of the single is stellar as well. Kyungsoo’s opening line is not only well-delivered, but the verses as a whole are written with thought. K-pop songs tend to be wordy due to Korean being a wordy language, but Lucky One negotiates with lyricism and writing, and creates a balance between the two. The song took me by surprise when I first listened to it. I was expecting a high note but I’m happy that there is none since it may’ve made the track cluttered by the final chorus. I’m also pleased there’s an outro with just instrumental, I think it goes to show how dance-worthy Lucky One is.
Hooks: 10
Production: 9
Longevity: 10
Bias: 10
Total: 9.75
Monster
Written by: Chikk, LDN Noise, KENZIE (KOR), Deepflow
Lyricism by: Deepflow, KENZIE (KOR)
Arrangement by: Chikk, LDN Noise, KENZIE (KOR)
Composition by: KENZIE (KOR), LDN Noise, Chikk
Produced by: Lee Soo Man
Monster is like Lucky One, both songs are written to balance language and song-writing. The verses are stellar, the lycrism flow from “she got me going crazy” to “my goddess.” The second verse is also nice, I like Lay’s delivery on his lines. The verses are meaningless compared to the chorus though. The chorus is just, mwah! Usually in pop songs, good writing is thrown away to create simple but addictive choruses. Here though, I’ve never heard a chorus so catchy yet jammed packed with detail in my life. The production is amazing. LDN Noise has made a video explaining the intricacies of their composition and it made me hear sound I didn’t hear in the arrangement, such as the piano chords during the chorus (it’s more noticeable in the outro), the bells, the beats that make up the portion of the percussion. The rhythm of the synths adds so much darkness but sensuality to Monster; The track is so passionate that’s shown through Exo’s delivery. I don’t know if any other K-pop act can pull off the high notes and rap verse, this is Exo’s song. I used to dismiss Chanyeol and Sehun as rappers, I surely don’t now.
Hooks: 9
Production: 9
Longevity: 10
Bias: 10
Total: 9.5
Artificial Love
Written by: MZMC, Tay Jasper, Adrian McKinnon, Timothy “Bos” Bullock, Ji Ye Won, Seorim, JQ
Lyricism by: Ji Ye Won, Seorim, JQ
Arrangement by: Timothy “Bos” Bullock
Composition by: MZMC, Tay Jasper, Adrian McKinnon, Timothy “Bos” Bullock
Produced by: Lee Soo Man
Artificial Love was originally pitched for NCT, which yeah I can see that, this has NCT written all over it. But, I think this bside suits Exo more. Artificial Love is very much an outlier in Exo’s discography; You don’t associate a vogue-like club sound with Exo. But as I’ve stated, I love dance tracks, so this is right up my alley. The refrain is probably my favourite part of the song, it’s used to build up the tension during the most minimalist parts. The lyrical rap verses are also amazing, especially the tag team portion at the second verse. The chorus is just so simple yet so effective, and the members give it their all on Artificial Love. Baekhyun and Kyungsoo are made for this type of shit. The production is brilliant as well. It’s such a stimulating beat, with the rhythm of the bass synth(?) is addictive and draws me in more than I would’ve thought. Though I don’t have much to write about, Artificial Love is one of my favourite songs of the album, and in Exo’s discography, and I wish the group had or will produce more club-heavy tracks like this.
Hooks: 10
Production: 10
Longevity: 10
Bias: 10
Total: 10
Can’t Bring Me Down
Written by: Kim Young Hoo
Arrangement and production by: Droyd
This track starts off strong. The hip hop influences work well for the verses and Exo’s vocals work well with it. The rap verses are also to build towards the chorus, but the chorus itself just sucks. Isn’t the chorus supposed to have the majority of the energy? Like, there’s no adoption of the anti drop, the chorus just loses its energy. The writing during the chorus doesn’t help the segment either. The melody would’ve suited the pre chorus more than the actual chorus. Unfortunately, after the first chorus, Can’t Bring Me Down never recovers the energy the start of the track had. I like the production, anything with the use of synth has me beaming, but I wish there was more to the arrangement of the song. The song is alright, I can fuck with it. The chorus is just disappointing, but I have a feeling it’ll grow on me.
Hooks: 7
Production: 8
Longevity: 7
Bias: 10
Total: 8
I can understand 
