Xdinary Heroes 'Beautiful Mind' EP Review | ReacttotheK Weekly Podcast Ep. 70
Added 2025-05-19 20:49:54 +0000 UTCIn our first Xdinary Heroes EP review, Django, Marcus and Umu have a wild time analyzing arrangements and gushing about the band members' musicianship! Whether a song production choice blows our minds or irks us, we all agree this EP has plenty of ear-catching-moments. From tempo changes in Beautiful Life to cathartic screaming in Diamond, Xdinary Heroes show they can continue to break boundaries and "upgrade their shells" like the 140 year-old George the Lobster.
Comments
Watermelon... ;)
Lydia Hartzler
2025-06-25 21:40:41 +0000 UTCReally appreciate it that you wrote your own thoughts! I had a great time reading them, and forwarded your comment to Marcus and Django as well! "THEY AGREE WITH ME ABOUT THE DRUMS ON SUPERNATURAL! FInally im not alone 😂. awesome review from this fan 👍👍" - Marcus
ReacttotheK
2025-06-06 13:53:58 +0000 UTCI had been waiting for this!! Its such a good EP and I was waiting to watch the reactions!! I just wanted to write my own thoughts on the songs since we’re here 1. Fight me - I lovee how the EP starts with Jungsu’s vocals. It was a really good song to introduce the EP. I totally agree with yall that the guitar lines are fantastic in all their songs. I love how all the instruments work so cohesively and talking about this EP we cannot skip the drums!! It’s rare to see such good compositional skills in drummers but Gunil definitely is extremely talented. I do agree that that break in the final chorus, the band coming back was way too abrupt, maybe if they let the reverb ring out just slightly, or actually had the band record that section live instead of cutting it off in the middle it would’ve sounded way smoother and appealing. For me this was a 7.5/10. 2. Beautiful life- My favourite in the EP! Just so well composed and well structured. Its extremely rare to see people do synth solos these days but Ode definitely nailed it. I Also, I love that this is the same key as Fight Me, I think it maintains the flow of the album well and doesn’t displace us immediately after the first song. And Umu, the weewoo weewoo that you talked about, I love it too!! It was so effective and addictive, like just those two notes make me excited for what’s coming next. And we gotta talk about Gunil’s drumsssss!!!! I am so glad he is part of this group, not just this EP, but even with other songs of theirs he always comes up with grooves that truly serve the sections of the song well. He always makes sure to build the grooves around the other instruments, which is honestly rare to see drummers care about. I remember Arctic Monkeys mentioning that now that they’re older, its way harder for them to play their older songs in the same tempo because of how fast they are. I cannot wait to see how this band manages to play these songs live when they’re much older hahaa! The toms on the pre-chorus is such a satisfying lead up to the drums in the chorus. And also in the chorus, they always change the chords before the 1, which gives it that forward moving momentum too. And that guitar riff at the end of the chorus!! The post chorus is amazing too and I agree that there is a tempo change of like 2-3bpm if not more. And when they sing the “hell no”, I love that we can hear the toms fade in, really builds it up. I also think the happy twinkly piano part is really good and well placed too. And of course Gaon’s yeahhhh. I absolutely love the way it ends too. As soon as that last post chorus started my brian went Queen!. I would love to hear the 6-7 minute version of the. But I do think they packed so much into this 4.5 mins song, it's very satisfying to me. (9.5/10) 3. More than i like- Agree with you that it’s a good palette cleanser! It’s emotionally lighter too and gives the listener space to breathe but still not my favourite in the album, simply because I’ve heard songs of theirs that are way more impactful. I love that synth line at the start of the chorus. I love the hihat pattern in the start of the second verse too. I cannot stop gushing over the drums in this EP, really throughout all songs, everything is so well placed (except supernatural but I’ll get to that;). I think the biggest strength of this band is that they’re all amazing songwriters, and they are truly masterful in compositional skills for their own instruments which is why everyone shines. (6.89/10) 4. Diamond- Again, love the toms fade in in the intro to the first verse. But I’m pretty sure that’s programmed. The guitar lines in the chorus are also supporting the vocal melody masterfully. I love how the instruments break down in the first half of the second verse, giving it that dynamic difference we needed. But I do think, overall the song was in the same space dynamically. But since it’s a pretty short song, I don’t necessarily mind it. Love the drums in that last chorus before the scream!! The scream was such a tasteful addition. (7/10) 5. Supernatural- I do agree that the placement of this song was a little weird on the EP. It would’ve worked better second to last or last. And I also unfortunately agree that the chorus drums are too much;( I don’t hate the bass drum triplet but it's overdone. I think it would’ve been more effective if it was used more sparingly and I think considering the tempo of the song (a little slow), the quarter note melody and the triplet, it kind of dragged the chorus out too much for me. I don’t mind the quarter note melody as much but the bass drum is really too much when there is so much that he could’ve done creatively with the cymbals as well instead. The cymbals instead were used in quarter notes and simple, where it could’ve been more. I think that’s what makes the chorus feel robotic overall. And I hate that the triplet bass drum continues onto the second verse and the rest of the song! He is such a creative drummer, I just wish he explored more options to still make it sound complex but in a gentler way, the bass drum right now just feels like someone punching my face;( Also important to note that the second verse doesn’t use cymbals at all which was disappointing too. Other than the chorus melody, I love the vocal melodies for the rest of the song. I just wish the drums didn’t get in the way of the song, because it truly is a wonderful, heartfelt song but not my favourite ballad of theirs. I can’t help but compare it to good enough and the drums on there are so masterfully composed. (5.9/10) 6. George the lobster- Love the song!!! All the instruments sound great, the melodies are great, the modulations everything is amazing. I lovee the slap bass too! The only thing that irks me is that pre-chorus melody, a little corny for me? But the chorus melody and Jooyeon’s delivery is so good it makes it up for me. I love the guitars and synths throughout the song. Love the dynamics as well. But really as soon as the pre-chorus hits, it takes me out of the song but luckily its short. Also is it just me, or are the clock ticking sounds a little out of time or maybe just the velocity might be different? I think the key change after that is also neatly done. Lovee the guitar solo as usual!! Drums were my favourite instrument on this song though. (7.34/10) 7. BBB- Not a huge fan of that second half of the chorus melody, I agree it sounds corny but I guess it has grown on me now. Love the rest of the song though. I love that throughout the song, the drums are locked in with the rhythm guitar. I love the vocal performance on this one. And yes I would consider this a guitar solo and he totally slayed!
Arya Nair
2025-06-04 18:57:14 +0000 UTC#MarcusHatesLobsters
Geoffrey Dyck
2025-05-20 22:12:45 +0000 UTC
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