Here are my credentials: nothing. Absolutely nothing. I’ve heard of them, sure, but I don’t know any of the members, I don’t know any of their songs, and I don’t know any of their albums. So this is sure to be a wild ride; let’s get into it!

(Read Part One here!)

Single #2: Open♭eta v6.1

Boy Comics hits the ground running, bombastic and sharp in a way that feels so young and honest. This kind of pop-rock sound is a great fit for them, working off of their inexperience in the industry to make them relatable (and encouraging) to a teenage audience. A lot of the background instrumental reminded me of early Gfriend, albeit with a harsher edge than their schoolgirl style tended towards. The storytelling elements of the MV are good too, and I liked the small references to their past singles. Ending it with “we are all heroes” is a perfect way to bring Xdinary Heroes’ central message—which I admittedly scoffed at a bit—back to the forefront. I think this is my favorite single so far!

Single #3: Open♭eta v6.2

Love And Fear calls back to Hair Cut, not only in the clean black-and-white styling and the dark concept but in the sense of danger that permeates the whole thing. Working in a vaguely religious chant at the beginning only adds to this. The instrumental is more rugged and choppy than their last few songs have been, and it’s a welcome change. I especially enjoyed the guitar solo that led perfectly into the bridge and final chorus. If I had one complaint, it would be that I wish the build-up into the chorus was longer, so that its sense of catharsis could hit as well as Little Things’ did. But I liked this one!

Single #4: Open♭eta v6.3

Save Me is unique in Xdinary Heroes’ discography, not only for its surprisingly hopeful sound (which they normally avoid), but for the way it completely contradicts with the lyrics, which seem hopeless at first. And yes, it’s directed at a God to “save [them]”, but beyond that, there’s this desire of wanting to get better, wanting to keep going, that’s so often missing from songs like this. The MV is completely animated, as well, much more like a special single, but it’s a good fit for the song, making its message go further than just the band members. And then there’s the vocals, which carry such a sense of desperation and pain, and yet, still hope. I’m not sure which member is singing here, but whoever it is, they’re fantastic.

Single #5: Open♭eta v6.4

Instead is the final single of Xdinary Heroes’ Open♭eta series, and so they’re marking it with a special guest: Yoon Do Hyun. I have never seen a k-pop song go so completely metal; this isn’t pop-metal. This is screamo, thrashing guitars and clanging instrumentals metal. The music video’s animations and the combination of famous art with the live action was great too, and added another layer to what would be a simple video. I have to say that I honestly don’t know if I like this song (I was kind of too busy staring at my screen uncomprehendingly) but I can’t deny that I’m incredibly impressed by the dedication.

EP #5: Live and Fall

Night Before The End goes far more in the ballad direction than any of their hits have gone so far, keeping with the heartbroken lyrics of Save Me but instead starting with a shockingly gentle guitar. Of course, this doesn’t last long, and slowly, the song crescendos into something that sounds much more like an Xdinary Heroes song. It’s subversive in a way that k-pop ballads aren’t usually, leaning both into melancholy and a kind of fragile hope, into ballad and rock, and so on and so forth, and while I often have issues when a song doesn’t have a strong identity, that’s not an issue here. In fact, I think it’s one of their strongest tracks.

From the EP, I enjoyed the powerful electric guitar of intro XH World, the chanty prechorus of Feeling Nice, and the super dramatic smash of a chorus in Xymphony.

Ep #6: Beautiful Mind

“No one’s here to find you” is certainly an arresting way to begin a song, and Beautiful Life is certainly an arresting song. It’s so wonderfully ’80s rock, with the chugging guitar, the rock ballad esque vocals, and, most excitingly to me, the anti-propaganda message in the lyrics. Its greatest strength, though, it how it keeps building and building. In its best moments, it’s absolutely anthemic, and you want to raise your fist in tandem when Gaon lifts his guitar and screams “War is peace and freedom’s slavery!” The vocal-heavy, almost operatic bridge lends a moment of softness and vulnerability to the whole thing, and when the track launches back into its final chorus, it feels even more earned. It may be their best title yet.

From the EP, I enjoyed the excellent (and I do mean excellent) opening guitar riff of Fight Me, the classic boy band feel of More Than I Like, but my hidden gem was George the Lobster. Oh yes, I am very serious. The name may be strange, but the song more than makes up for it, melding Xdinary Heroes’ rock sound with a synthy, vintage video game one that’s an excellent fit. I also really liked the stomping chorus of BBB.

Verdict: TL;DR

I’m glad I did this! I enjoyed Xdinary Heroes’ discography so much more than I thought I would. I was bracing myself for something that would make me wince, and for the most part, I liked their work! I watched the BTS of their concert and a few of their shorts, which gave me some good laughs. I don’t know whose idea the shorts were, but they were hilarious. I think I can comfortably call myself at least a fan.

My Top 5 songs are Freddy, Knock Down, Enemy, Good Enough, and Boy Comics, with Beautiful Mind as an honorable mention. Xdinary Heroes gets a 9 out of 10 from me. I am a huge fan of groups that know their work is dramatic and embrace it wholeheartedly, and even though I have my share of criticisms, I could never call the band anything less than completely dedicated.

Their music feels to me what Xikers was leaning towards in Do Or Die, but taken up to 11 and given a backing band, which is just fantastic. I think their greatest quality is the strength of their albums, even if it means that their b-sides often eclipse their titles, but over the time since I originally wrote this review (when Save Me came out), I think both have gotten immeasurably stronger, and every EP after has become a new favorite. I hope I get the chance to see them on tour this year!

Next time, we’re onto a pretty unique group. Tschüss!