Love Shot is the repackaged version of EXO’s 5th studio album Don’t Mess Up My Tempo. SM Entertainment made EXO-ls wait months for this album, so I was very happy to see EXO making new music and promoting again.
The title track of this repackage album is called Love Shot – this is the first time that EXO have gone for a sexy theme for their title track, and I must say, I really enjoyed it. It’s so different from their last release, Tempo, which shows off EXO’s incredible versatility as artists. I really did enjoy this song; I thought it was catchy, exciting and showcased EXO’s abundant vocal and rapping skills. As a diehard EXO-l, I literally countdown the seconds until EXO release a new song – I must say however that this song did not leave me as floored as Tempo did – unfortunately I thought that it was lacking in texture, and the melodies were a little too simple… Obviously I thought it was great, but I didn’t think it really compared to the wealth of songs that EXO have released previously (maybe I would even say Love Shot felt a little trashy).
Don’t come for me EXO-ls – in my review of Don’t Mess Up My Tempo I literally said that Tempo might be the best song I’d ever heard in my life… I guess I just expected EXO to raise the bar even higher, as they almost always do. Nevertheless, I loved Sehun and Kai’s raps, as well as Baekhyun and Chen’s impressive vocalisations. Of course I loved everything about the music video too, and the choreography blew me away.
I’m thirsting, And with this one glass It’s like I’ll overflow
On this dangerous night, It’s the love shot
The next track is called Trauma – it’s an upbeat song with an interesting instrumental. A special commendation must go to Baekhyun, who’s smooth and sexy vocals fit this song’s mood perfectly. I liked how there was several layers of singing, instruments and backing vocals – one of the things that I love about EXO songs in general is how they are so rich in texture – almost every song feels expensive, with the absolute highest production quality.
Surpassing the moment, Making it past the walls that held me in
Watch closely, in front of me
The traumas of yesterday fall apart
I absolutely adore the final song Wait – it is the perfect EXO ballad, with a simple acoustic guitar strumming away in the background, complementing EXO’s heavenly vocals perfectly. This is the type of song to listen to when you’re lying under the stars with your eyes closed – let EXO sing you to sleep with this perfect tune. EXO ballads are never boring; there are so many vocalisations and harmonies to catch in this song, and each time you hear it, you discover a few more. Chen in particular is on absolute top form in this song. The vocalisations in the ending chorus made my heart burst with happiness – to be honest I literally could not be more effusive about this song.
It looks like it could snow, You can’t be too late (promise me)
So I don’t accidentally miss you on my way
Now all I do is wait
Although I was a little disappointed with the title track Love Shot, I still really enjoyed this comeback as a whole. I have faith that EXO will continue to make excellent music and keep their title as the crown princes of Kpop. I adore EXO with my whole heart, and really hope they make another album before members start leaving for the military in 2019.
Kpop Review Café’s Album Ranking: 7/10
