Xdinary Heroes Explore the Meaning of Love in Seventh Mini-Album, LXVE TO DEATH
Photo: Xdinary Heroes Official X
Over the last four years, Xdinary Heroes have become champions at experimenting with sound; constantly pushing and challenging themselves through each new release with no restrictions as to what they can, and want to, achieve on their ever-expanding musical scale. A band who go above and beyond with their concepts, instrumental arrangements, and lyrical attributes, Xdinary Heroes’s music speaks to people across all generations, with their recent Lollapalooza debut and opening performance for English rock band MUSE being solid proof of this. Their music embraces and honors all aspects of rock (and all of its sub-genres) with their latest mini-album, LXVE TO DEATH, being no different-diving into soft rock, hard rock, synth-rock, and more, as Gun-il, Jungsu, Gaon, O.de, Jun Han, and Jooyeon, explore the meaning of love through the album’s seven new songs.
LXVE TO DEATH opens on the soft rock notes of “Lost and Found,” a song whose melody and vocal arrangement resembles the musical style of Xdinary Heroes’s JYPE and Studio J labelmates DAY6. With its airy and uplifting tones, “Lost and Found” casts a calming presence on the album before immediately being disrupted by the boisterous sounds of the title track “ICU.” After experimenting with the rock-opera genre in Beautiful Minds sensational title track “Beautiful Life” back in March, “ICU” feels like Xdinary Heroes going back to the formation of some of their older title tracks with its loud, playful, and exhilarating delivery, produced under the identity of an ‘80s-inspired hard rock song. Through “ICU,” Jooyeon continues to display his vocal growl progression and flaunt his impressive high-pitched ad-libs as the other members also capture attention with their exceptional vocals and impeccable instrument playing (just listen to Jun Han's thrilling guitar solo!) Together, “ICU” plays as a striking rock anthem that will instantly become another fan favorite at upcoming Xdinary Heroes shows with Villains (Xdinary Heroes's fandom) able to chant along to the lyrics.
Like the song, the music video for “ICU” also feels reminiscent to past Xdinary Heroes videos with its colorful visuals and onscreen theatrics that show the members in a fun and creative acting sequence. O.de takes centre stage as the video’s leading role whilst the music video beautifully brings together live action and animation to tell a story of deep love, with amusing yet sorrowful connotations depicted within its imagery.
Pre-release single “FiRE (My Sweet Misery)” follows “ICU,” leading the album into an electrifying area of metalcore that blew fans away, not only through its sound but through its gripping music video visuals when it was released back in July. Sung entirely in English, “FiRE (My Sweet Misery)” remains as one of my favorite Xdinary Heroes tracks with it having a darker visual concept and a grittier sound to other Xdinary Heroes tracks, that feels familiar but also deeply unique to the band.
Moving away from metalcore, “Ashes to Ashes” takes LXVE TO DEATH into a place of emo, alternative rock, with both “FiRE (My Sweet Misery)” and “Ashes to Ashes” consisting of exceptional vocals and addictive melodies that those looking for a heavier sound won't be able to get enough of. With an incredible vocal scream opening the track, “Spoiler!!!” follows “Ashes to Ashes,” immediately capturing the listeners attention as the song weaves itself through an electronic, synth-rock sound, being another track on the album sung entirely in English.
The next single, “Love Tug of War,” on the other hand, emits a sound reminiscent to certain areas of Japanese rock music, complete with a nostalgic, noughties element, heard through the song's structure and the melodic movement of the vocals in the chorus. The upbeat notion of “Love Tug of War” (and its intricate key change towards the end) leads perfectly into the album's final track, “LOVE ME 2 DEATH.” This song ends the album on a headbang-inducing, metal-infused, alternative rock note, leaving the listener thirsty for more metal and alternative songs from Xdinary Heroes, especially after hearing that stellar vocal growl in the song.
With each new album release, Xdinary Heroes enter a new territory of rock music, catering to the tastes of not only themselves but of everyone who enjoys listening to different sub-genres of rock, in and outside of their pop-rock music space. Being one of Xdinary Heroes’s more heavier sounding albums, LXVE TO DEATH further cements Xdinary Heroes’s place within the rock industry, although leaving a desire for them to push genre boundaries even further and deliver more of the metal sound they continue to experiment with in some of their songs. As an album whose concept is to explore different forms of love, there is no doubt that LXVE TO DEATH will receive an outpour of love from Villains worldwide, being an excellent album that leaves high anticipation for the next Xdinary Heroes installment, whatever genre that may be. Whether it's more rock music, metal, a focus more on pop influences, or a completely different band direction, Villains are ready.
Edited by Bryn Claybourne