EXODUS ALBUM

Following their last full album XOXO in 2013, EXO has made their return with EXODUS to the delight of fans all over the world. The album has a total of 10 tracks, worked on by many renowned producers and songwriters. Such as Teddy Riley, Kenzie, and SHINee’s very own Jonghyun. Upon the album’s release, EXODUS, was met with immediate success as it topped music charts, gained international buzz, and recorded high pre-order sales. EXODUS highlights EXO’s musical transformation as it showcases a more mature side to the members in lieu of their previous images in “Overdose” and “Growl“.
The title track “Call Me Baby” is an upbeat pop track with a couple of R&B sections making it perfect to dance to. The song itself is about falling in love with a girl who changed the life of her lover:

Baby girl, even among all the greed and all the words
You showed that you believe in me
Even if everyone changes and leaves me, you are my lady
All I need is for you to hold my hand.

Chen & D.O set the overall tone of the song with their fluid R&B vocals while both Lay & Kai’s verses are more upbeat and fun. “Call Me Baby” does an excellent job of combining the members talents as Baekhyun’s solo is a reminder that EXO’s vocal line is quite a force to be reckoned with. Interestingly enough, my favourite section of the song is the transition leading up to Chanyeol’s rap part at the 2:51 mark. It’s so subtle, yet powerful at the same time. While I have been critical of EXO’s rapping skills, Chanyeol did a good job on this track and I sensed improvement. The music video was pretty typical, but enjoyable. My only criticism would be that I wasn’t really feeling some of the styling or a couple of the members hair do’s which were reminiscent of Grease, but the choreography was well done and matched the content of the song as usual.

“What If…” has a classic R&B sound and the boys sing about having regrets over still having feelings for a woman who has moved on. The vocals are delivered with such feeling that I had to list this as one of my favourites from the album along with “My Answer”. As opposed to their more upbeat songs, I’ve always had a preference for EXO’s ballads. The simplicity of the piano in “My Answer” in combination with how each precise each run was delivered, was absolutely beautiful. I would also reward “My Answer” with having my favourite lyrics on the album:

I may seem strong, I may be smiling
But there are many times when I’m alone
I may seem like I don’t have any worries
But I have a lot to say
The moment I first saw you, I was so attracted to you
I didn’t weigh out my thoughts and just talked.

After reading fan responses to “El Dorado”, it seems to be the favourite among several EXO-L’s. However, I found some parts of the song to be pretty choppy and not to my taste. For instance, the repetition of “Find the El Dorado” sounded a bit out of tune compared to the overall flow of the song. At the same time, the parts that I did enjoy, I enjoyed thoroughly. The chorus was really nice on the ears. I mean, you can’t go wrong with those harmonies. There were a couple good high notes by the vocal line as well which gave the song more power.

“Playboy” is a jazzy track which was written by SHINee’s Jonghyun. The interesting thing about Jonghyun’s songs is that any listener familiar with his style would be able to recognize that it’s his work. EXO was able to put their own spin on the track and I think the finished product was fairly well done. The genre seemed to be a bit of a challenge for the members, but I liked how they took it on. “Lady Luck” was a suave and sexy song which followed  the pleading tone in “Hurt” well. The tracklist for EXODUS was organized very well as it considered each message and how the album would flow.
EXODUS, for me, is EXO’s best album to date. They seem to be improving and experimenting with their sound with each release.

Source: http://kpopme.com/exo-exodus-album-review/