The Singles Jukebox

Pop, to two decimal places.

Exo-M – History

Bi-lingual mono-lith alert!


[Video][Website]
[7.43]

Iain Mew: “History” has taken a long time to sneak up on me after I was initially unimpressed. Although it lacks a standout element, the way in which it slips in and out of funkiness and fragments of melody is impressive. As is the fact that they’re a match vocally for all of them. It’s mostly the satisfying bits where the beats accelerate and pile up at the end of the chorus that keep me coming back. Also, I know they’e not the first to have multiple squads for domestic and continental competition, but as Exo-M is the first such market group we’ve covered it’s a fitting time to say that it seems like an idea worthy of wider adoption. Imagine how much more total domination One Direction could manage if there was a separate American version to take care of all of that pesky promotional work!
[8]

Jonathan Bogart: The rhythmic intensity here is far more compelling than the vocals, the aural equivalents of the plastic-airbrushed model Looks which punctuate the video. Not that I have anything against prettiness for prettiness’ sake; but that’s some great rhythm work.
[7]

Anthony Easton: Those hard edged bubble sounds that emerge around a minute 21 seconds in are really beautiful, and the percussion pounds in ways that are common but well done. These two things, sort of move us beyond the generic.
[7]

Brad Shoup: At least one person has accused “History” of being an S.M. Entertainment scrapbook. I can’t admit I hear the connections (I think I’m auditing Remedial Timberlake), but if I did it would be no demerit. Exo-M offers super-processed vocals at the limits of their tenors; they invert the approach of a Big Bang by soaking everything in melody, rap and all. It’s classic boy-band stakes filtered through Europop, and I love the pose.
[8]

Edward Okulicz: Just as boy bands seem to be coming back into vogue, it’s worth noting that in some parts of the world they never went away, and some of the Anglosphere’s new guard would do well to listen to the evolution of their art in foreign climes. “History” is impossibly slick, sounds fantastic on headphones, and if you just listened to the music you’d assume that it was white-boy R&B influenced pop. And that’s what it might as well be: its moves wouldn’t offend your grandmother but they probably would work on your kid sister.
[8]

Alfred Soto: Everything’s copacetic until the moment at the 1:20 mark when the J.C. Chasez one provides a vocal to match the beat, and sustained high notes at the 2:55 notes almost as thrilling as Chasez’s “BABEE!” on “Bye Bye Bye.” In short, Clinton-era boy pop in no kind of cryogenic state, thanks to protean rhythms.
[7]

Sabina Tang: The Mandarin boys are the better singers, methinks, but the song was evidently written in Korean, because there’s something stilted about the way the lyrics fit in the final product — as if Exo-M all have terrible accents, even though their other songs prove otherwise. The draw here, though, is the beat, and the text a mere distraction.
[7]

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