EXO - LOVE ME RIGHT (EXODUS RE-PACKAGE)

Tracklisting:

1. Love Me Right
2. Tender Love
10. First Love
14. Promise

Note: Songs are numbered according to where they appear on the disc.

Unless you've been hiding in a cave* recently, you undoubtedly have heard of two of K-Pop's brightest stars releasing new albums: Big Bang's 'MADE' and EXO's repackage of their 'Exodus' album, 'Love Me Right.' They'll be promoting without Tao, making the release somewhat bittersweet.

*no offense to those of you who have been, of course.



I covered their album 'Exodus' here. Strong stomachs only, please. ;)

1. "Love Me Right" was one of those songs that really had to grow on me. At first listen, I wasn't impressed. It seemed like a lot of repetition, but didn't take much more than one replay to hook me. The chorus is very hooky and catchy, just like the rest of the tune. One of the things that helps make this pop is that there's not one but two rap parts. Just when you think you know where it's going, they switch it up.

2. As much as "Tender Love" sounds like a ballad from the title, well...it's not. Characterized by a retro-funky vibe with sassy horns, it's not hard to *love* this bouncy track. Not to mention Chanyeol and Sehun come in to lay down a sick rap.



10."First Love" is a slower song than the other two, sort of a mid-tempo ballad. It's very tender, possibly more so than "Tender Love":

"Even the sweet, sweet words that I practiced every single night
Melt straight out of my memory
At the sight of you smiling so brightly at me."  

The whole song continues in that vein, and it works well.

14. Last but not least is "Promise." Despite the lack of the word 'love' in the title, there's no lack of that here. It's a bit of a change in theme, however. There are hints of a relationship gone bad -- a lot of "though it will be hard I'll push through it" kind of lyrics here. It's got a comforting sound, something to wrap yourself in the blankets and listen to on a cold night.



This is pretty good collection of songs added to an already kickin' album. It could almost be a mini-album all by itself, if it weren't scattered among the re-released songs. If you're an EXO fan, you owe it to yourself to check these tracks out.

MV REVIEW

Way too many videos haven't had a plot lately, so I thought maybe I'm too hard on 'em -- after all, sometimes there's a lot going on in some of these bereft-of-plot MVs. Maybe I'm not seeing the bigger picture. So here goes:

The boys lose a football game, and take in some pink vapor to console themselves. Well, it has to be better than soju, as each of them act out in their own different ways. Sehun sleeps it off on some railroad tracks, others go out and work off some of their nervous energy, spray-painting walls, and still others break into a theater after hours and sit in solitude. Kai's out to do some damage with that bat he's carrying, smashing bottles and who knows what else. Not everyone's up to no good, some of them break out the vinyl and spin some tunes. Xiumin looks like he's been doing this too much, given the piles of dishes on the table (whose turn is it to do chores, anyway? Maybe it was Tao's turn). But EXO has a secret weapon to combat a hangover -- it turns out if you dance in sync, it expunges whatever poisons you've put in your body. (Remember that, kids, if you ever find those pink vapors).

In all seriousness, this is a busy video. You really have to see for yourself. SM gets the band out of the box for a few takes this time, which is refreshing. If they keep raising the bar like this, I may have to put plans for my own group, Boyz in a Box, on hold. ;)   

I do like the dancing, though. It helps that it's a fun tune, and the boys from EXO know how to bring it. While I wish it made more sense, at least it was highly enjoyable. It kept me watching, and I never got bored. It's obvious SM dug into their funds for this one, so they deserve kudos for that. I have to give this one thumbs up.  

SEE ALSO: Song Jae Rim's former manager opens up about late actor