Villains gather around, because Xdinary Heroes are back! Just four months after releasing their first mini-album Hello, world!, Xdinary Heroes returned on November 11 with their brand new release Overload, a mini-album consisting of seven songs: “Zzz..,” “Hair Cut,” “LUNATIC,” “Crack in the mirror,” “Ghost,” “X-MAS,” and an instrumental version of “Hair Cut.” 

From “Happy Death Day” to “Test Me” and all the other songs featured on Hello, world!, Xdinary Heroes proved themselves to be a refreshingly distinctive band for the K-Pop industry. The songs and concept of Overload further emphasize this, expressing so much character and uniqueness among Xdinary Heroes’ sounds and performance delivery. From the highlight film sampler alone, we Villains already knew to embrace ourselves for an interesting, creative, and overall wild ride with our favorite Heroes. 

Overload opens with the fun and sound-pleasing melody of “Zzz…,” a unique and unexpected track that leaves you wanting to hear more. The vocals are great, and many sections allow listeners to really appreciate the members' high vocal registers (especially keyboardist and vocalist Jungsu’s). The lyrics are kind of gibberish, particularly Gunil’s section where he sings about bananas being long, but at the same time, it works because the lyrics perfectly encapsulate the nonsenseness of sleep talking. 

The next track on Overload is “Hair Cut,” the mini-album’s title track. From the very first few seconds of the song, with the high pitch laugh and guitar melody, “Hair Cut” feels exactly like an Xdinary Heroes track; it carries the same vibe as their previous title tracks, “Happy Death Day” and “Test Me,” feeling like a mash-up but with an added newness and excitement.  The chorus is very different and unusual but at the same time brilliant; the lyrics are literally just, "Get a haircut, get a haircut, get a haircut," on repeat but with this sleek guitar sound and drum beat that carry this modern blues, rock feel to it, with an interesting scissor sound effect also adding to the section.  The lyrics are a metaphor for negative thoughts and trying to overcome poor mental health with a “Hair Cut,” singing, "my mind is full of bad things / I gotta find the way out now / with my scissors, snip, cut away the darkness, snip." “Hair Cut” also takes on many different turns through its melody that are quite unexpected but work really well, adding to the song's addictive nature - in particular, guitarist Gaon and keyboardist O.de’s rap section and bassist/vocalist Jooyeon’s vocal delivery in the verses and bridge. 

The music video for “Hair Cut” shows Xdinary Heroes all arriving in excellent, alternative styles at a carnival called bform Dream Garden (with "Garden" later changing to "danGer"). The music video then takes the viewer around different parts of the carnival where a stall is shown with the words "PURCHASE HAPPINESS" above it, adding to the metaphorical meaning of the song. The video is really creative in the way that it tackles the songs meaning while also providing entertainment and creativity. In separate sequences, Jungsu is shown surrounded by fans, taking photos of him as he looks out at a piano. Jooyeon can be seen signing a paper with an image of scissors, the word "HAIR CUT" and the band and members' names written on it, for a mob of people around him who then quickly disappear, leaving him by himself. O.de and Gaon are shown walking through a crowd of fans before disappearing and being pulled into a dark place full of large, broken glass mirror shapes. The music video then enters a trippy, psychedelic visual with the members surrounded by a colorful, warped background, plus many other exciting and creative imagery later on. There are solo shots of electric guitarist Jun Han that, although quick, are somewhat stand-out moments for him and his fans, especially with the shot of him saying, "Welcome," before smirking at the camera. As a whole, Jun Han really shines throughout all the tracks (as do all of the other members), but there is just something about his guitar skills that really help elevate the instrumentations of this mini-album.

Following “Hair Cut,” the third track “LUNATIC” takes on a different style than “Zzz..” and “Hair Cut.” The rock sound delivered through “LUNATIC” feels very reminiscent to western rock songs from the 2000s, especially the ones used for the theme songs for American TV dramas during those years. It’s a great song with an instrumentation that truly allows the guitarists to shine. Like “LUNATIC,” the next track “Crack in the mirror” also highlights the guitarist's skills, with a great focus on electric guitar riffs and melodies. “Crack in the mirror” also uses a really interesting staccato instrumentation, with the way that it sharply breaks up and pauses between some of the notes. 

The fifth track, “Ghost” offers another different sound, one that has quite a haunting and old undertone to it. The singing style within the chorus, with the way the vocalists flow into their high notes with ease, along with the whistle sound effects, is an excellent choice that really catches the listener's attention while also showcasing the members’ skills at taking on different music approaches.

Overload closes with a song that is very unexpected; not through the musical deliverance but with it having a Christmas concept, highlighted through the very obvious title “X-MAS.” After the success of Stray Kids’ “Christmas Evel” in 2021, JYP Entertainment artists clearly have a knack for delivering great Christmas tracks to obsess over. Although, despite its title, “X-MAS” doesn’t carry a heavy Christmas vibe, making it a perfect song to listen to during any season. The song has a fun melody that is catchy and is another song that highlights Xdinary Heroes’ skills at playing along and experimenting with the instrumentation through their vocals. 

As mentioned in the Hello, world! review, it’s crazy to think that Xdinary Heroes are still at the beginning of their career. Their music just gets better and better with each new release, and with Overload only being their second mini-album, Villains enter with high anticipations and are never left disappointed. If this is the kind of music we’re getting now, then Xdinary Heroes really do have a great future ahead of them, with the talent and personalities to continue growing their fanbase and platform within the K-Pop world. I, and all the other Villains around the world, really do look forward to seeing what Xdinary Heroes do next.

Edited by Deshalia Murray