Obsession or Love: Xdinary Heroes Returns with IMPULSE

Photo: JYP Entertainment

K-Rock band Xdinary Heroes returns with IMPULSE, a seven-track EP frontlined by “Obsessed with Youth.” IMPULSE is the group’s first release since leader and drummer Gunil's departure from the group in August 2026. The five remaining members, Jungsu, Ode, Gaon, Junhan, and Jooyeon, have returned with a dark, forlorn rock EP that teeters between heartbreak and obsession.

Title track “Obsessed with Youth” is a synth-heavy rock track, full of wordplay and despair, as the members determine to become “obsessed with youth” (or perhaps, “obsessed with you”) in a desperate bid to “kiss the days of glory.” The music video heaps on the rock and alternative visuals: a shirtless Jooyeon watches on, a bystander to those who kiss, fight, cheer. 

TRACKLIST

1. "Obsessed with Youth"

2. "Give Up The Ghost"

3. "Slashhh!"

4. "u and me in arguments"

5. "You Right There"

6. "Love in dystopia"

7. "Breathe in, Breathe out"

Powerful and ethereal, “Give Up The Ghost” is laden with high, airy vocals crashed against a power ballad shouted chorus, pushy desperation as the members reject complacency. “Slashhh!” melds electronic synths and effects, both vocal and instrumental; onomatopoeia, slicing through. A fight through and through, “u and me in arguments” launches with dueling guitar and synth riffs. With gritty vocals against overdriven instrumentals, this track serves a rock-laden feast, that really is a musically-embodied argument, screamed pre-chorus and all. 

With its math rock-esque riffs and soaring synth lines, “You Right There” would be right at home in an anime opening or coming of age soundtrack. A song rooted in cherishing each moment, “You Right There” lifts an otherwise burdened album with its glimmers of youth. “Love in dystopia” is pure atmosphere, stormy days and despairing a love long lived. Final track “Breathe in, Breathe out,” soars, open vocal lines that exhale with the beat, juxtaposing breathy inserts with belted equivalents. The song dabbles in tension before releasing it yet again, rising and falling, true to its name. 

Across IMPULSE, Xdinary Heroes tells a story of heartbreak and twisted love, a rock album laden in the gravity of sharing what it means to live, but also, to have loved.