In the midst of what I would call the most embarrassing era of my school years, middle school, I found a band that gave me a sense of belonging. Dressed in clown costumes and high-tech wear, their debut music video, “Happy Death Day,” was nothing short of extraordinary- besides their name.
Improving along the way, Xdinary Heroes proceeded to release four mini albums over a two year span, a small tour with a U.S. showcase, and their first full length album, “Troubleshooting.”
Around six months after the release of “Troubleshooting”, the drop of their fifth mini album, “Live and Fall” blew me away. It deters from the band’s typical lively visuals and sound, with a gloomy, despondent approach to their rockstar concept.
“XH_World_75” is the establishing first track, being uniquely instrumental. Interestingly enough, it consists of snippets that follow the immediate release of the “Open Beta” singles that creates an incredible composition of the band’s instruments, and I am all for it.
After the exquisite showcase of the band’s instrumental harmony, the album’s next track, “Night Before the End,” proceeds to hit hard in the emotional category. Along with a music video that visually portrays the somber aspects of the track, “Night Before the End” hops off the “bold rockstar” title track train, and reveals a meaningful side of Xdinary Heroes that all fans- myself included- love to hear from them.
While channeling the consistently gloomy lyricism of the album, “Save Me” continues with a bittersweet sound. Although being a single that fans have heard from the band’s “Open Beta” project before, “Save Me” adds a delightful mood to the album that earned a spot in my top songs list from “Live and Fall,” as well as two million listens on Spotify.
Acknowledging their familiar rockstar sound after a series of depressing, yet enjoyable tunes, Xdinary Heroes features “Boy Comics” on their fifth mini album, a fan favorite. “Boy Comics” is a catchy addition to “Live and Fall” that begins the next few guitar-heavy tracks that the band is best known for.
Out of the four “Open Beta” singles on the mini album, the infamous “iNSTEAD!” has the most listens from me. Korean rock artist Yoon Do-Hyun and Xdinary Heroes collaborated to create a new distinct sound for the band, taking elements from other genres of music. Because of its ecstatic pacing, “iNSTEAD!” easily became an iconic song not only to me, but to an abundance of Xdinary Heroes listeners.
Breaking the streak of “Open Beta” singles, the heroes were “Feeling Nice”- the name of one of their new releases- with another rock song. “Feeling Nice” maintains the energy of “iNSTEAD!”, with harmonious adlibs that define the song, being a lovely touch to the overall sound.
Reaching the ending songs of the album, yet certainly not being at the bottom of my favorites list, is “Xymphony.” I absolutely adore the emphasis of the keyboard in this song, played by member Jungsu, which ties the eerie mood of “Xymphony” together. Because of its vocal-heavy and symphonic atmosphere, “Xymphony” is easily my top song of “Live and Fall”.
The brilliance of the mini album does not end there. One last “Open Beta” single, “Love and Fear” concludes the album with a bang. Adding “Love and Fear,” one of the band’s most streamed singles, to the tracklist was a great choice due to its prominence in Xdinary Heroes’ discography.
“Live and Fall,” with its prodigious series of songs, is yet another incredible mini-album by Xdinary Heroes. Although they did not include as many new pieces, the band was still able to gather excitement amongst fans as to what is next for them, which is a major achievement in itself.
