Final week, EXO’s Chanyeol pre-released the extremely tender Completely satisfied Accident as a teaser for his new album. When listening to that track, I hoped he had one thing with extra chunk coming down the road subsequent. All through his solo profession, Chanyeol has experimented with rock textures and that’s confirmed to be match for him. With Upside Down, he returns to that nicely.
The distinction is that, in 2025 there are a lot of extra artists enjoying inside this soundscape. What as soon as felt daringly grungy now comes throughout as the most recent in a development, and that may uninteresting a track’s total impact. Upside Down turns up the distortion in an try and extra totally discover the style. Whereas this will likely give the observe a extra “genuine” sound, it additionally makes it much less pleasurable to hearken to. I assume that’s the purpose, however I’m gone the purpose the place I want my pop/rock stars to sound “genuine.” I actually simply need them to launch killer songs.
Upside Down just isn’t a killer track. It’s a killer temper, I assume. It’s a killer soundtrack to punching in partitions and moping round soiled alleys. It’s an honest sufficient vessel to channel emotion, and there’s a spot for that type of music even when it won’t be by myself playlist. Whereas Upside Down has fashion in spades, it’s yet one more underwritten Okay-pop observe with forgettable hooks masked by in-your-face manufacturing. The mantra-sung cadence of the refrain works nicely sufficient however feels extra focus-grouped than a track like this could. In the meantime, the verses exist to fill area, missing the sonic or emotional pathos to actually compel.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Manufacturing | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.5 |
Grade: C