Wow. A positive review. We prayed for a day like this 😭 but I’m actually really happy because Xikers and KQ/Edenary I believe have really found the pocket that works for them in terms of sound and their image/brand. And I love that it separates them from what the current boy groups are doing.
I really appreciate you pointing out how even tho Witch isn't a song you'd put on your playlist it's still an interesting song that's very distinctly Xikers. It's something I really love about Xikers; even though (as you've pointed out) they aren't as vocals-forward as I usually like they still manage to make really cool songs that you can immediately identify as coming from them. How they manage to do that while still having so much variety in their discography is honestly impressive. They've sort of carved out their own little style niche in kpop and that's really hard to find these days in the sea of sameness that kpop groups can get lost in. Tbh, Sandcastle is a lot of peoples fav from this album but it's just not my vibe. I thought it was just a stylistic thing, but after your reaction I agree that the song felt a bit empty and needed more vocal standout moments to really make the song impactful. But I appreciate the harmonies and I'm sure it will make a very cute concert encore song for audiences to sing along with. I didn't like Hang Around much on first listen, but then it came on when I was walking to work on a miserable morning where everything was going wrong, and it hit me how much fun it actually is as a song bc lemme tell ya it put a much needed pep in my step. I don't know jack sh*t about music production, but the bass in Xikers tracks always stands out to me and I really appreciate it. Bittersweet tho, that was love at first listen. The guitars and drops and anthem-y outro. So good!
When i tell you i looked at my phone and saw rhis notification I JUMPED OUT OF BED I'm really glad you checked it out haha i was really curious what you'd think of it! I really like xikers i love how different everyones tones are from each other Also when you curiously started playing sandcastle i was like YES LOL I thought you'd enjoy that Funnily enough the member you pointed out at 6:55 hes the rapper and leader Minjae he also has a pretty singing voice you heard a little bit in sandacastle hes actually the one you pointed out for his dancing in the last comeback as well lol and the one in the center at 8:40 is Yujun, you've actually mentioned liking his voice when you checked out their previous albums if i remember correctly Also theres a very smal few seconds clip of their main vocalist singing and i feel like he sounds really good i always wanted to see what you think but its a pretty short clip i dont know if i can post the link to the video here or not haha the video is from a radio show video is called "Xikers Hyunwoo singing his audition song" they honestly have two members that fit the main vocal title, its pretty even between them on who gets the high notes and adlibs some songs its Hyunwoo other times its Jinsik or sometimes its both of them together, theres a harmony high note at the bridge of their song 'Doorbell Ringing' that is stunning it sounds SO GOOD and so high I think its those two doing it but i agree with you they really don't show them off enough, with how good they sound live too they need more songs to show off their vocals because not a lot of people think of xikers when they think of 5 gen vocals but I think theyre up there especially live Also one of their members Junghoon is still not back when you reacted to them he wasnt there either he had to get knee surgery soon after their debut so he hasn't participated in a any comeback, which is unfortunate because hes the lead vocalists and i think you'd enjoy his voice or Yujun's voice the most from the group If you listen to their song 'Doorbell Ringing' he's the one singing at 1:43. Also i ALWAYS wanted to tell you about this one part in this song Doorbell Ringing because i know you'd enjoy it LOL because the way they end the song like at the very last second of the song they change the last line of the chorus into this beautiful falsetto and its one of my favorite part of any of their songs I need more stuff like that, if you listen to the songs normal chorus and how it endsnand then go to literally the final few seconds of the song you'll hear it Im so glad they added that in. Btw if youre interested they recently covered BTS fake love and butter for TMA and also performed their two latest comebacks they have two dance practice videos for both! Theyre called (Xikers BTS fake love + butter dance practice TMA 2024 Ver), and (Xikers We Don't Stop Dance break + Witch dance practice TMA 2024)h
8:15 that’s the leader of the group Minjae. You don’t understand how grateful I am to you and to the fate, destiny, karma, life right now for this unexpected reaction video. Thank you. I have to confess, when the album dropped I commented on xikers subreddit how I would have loved to see your reaction video of this album 😅😂, but I knew it was hard, not impossible but still, I hoped at least that the curiosity was there. Thank you again 😂 Anyway, their last album was lacking in something and, even though I’m extremely biased towards them, I only ended up liking just two songs, and not even that much. But this album is really something else, it might be my favorite to date of them. They really did an amazing job.
@@Koko3op yup, and he's the member with the longest training period, 7 years. He was an SM trainee too, this helped him learning choreography fastly. You can watch 1N2D recent episode with xikers and you can see their quality as performers and dancers as they played a game where they have to dance various songs.
i'm so happy that this is the album you checked out cause i do think this one where they've found their sound the most! i do agree that there could be more vocals seeing as everyone (except maybe sumin - don't jump me if i'm wrong) has really pretty singing voices but i do think they decided to lean more heavy into their rapline so focus on vocals split amongst jinsik and hyunwoo (plus junghoon being on hiatus cause of injury) isn't a priority i do hope we get a proper vocal led song from them in the future i think they'll surprise a lot of people!
I believe we might be getting a video for Bittersweet, so stay tuned. The Witch Dance Practice is up as is the dp for their Fake Love -+ Butter cover. I think the problem xikers has vocally is that neither of their best vocalists have confidence in their ability. Hyunwoo has a lower range, not baritone but his upper isn't well developed. He eats stuff in the center of his range, but shows nervousness as the notes climb (pre-debut he happily handed a highnote over to Minjae, leader and main rapper, rather than sing it himself). Jinsik naturally can go higher, but his technique isn't fantastic when he tries to mix high. I think that's why they did those ad libs the way they did--if they're background he doesn't have to regularly sing them live. He already has some songs he does have to hit pretty high notes live, so I wonder whether they're trying to maintain his vocal health. Jinsik was the main vocal early-on, but by debut Hyunwoo was the main. In a recent interview, I think they both just introduced themselves as vocalists. They are sweet, humble boys and that probably isn't helping them here. Honestly, if things keep going the way they are, I wouldn't be surprised if Seeun ended up being their main vocal. Seeun has been filling in for their lead vocal, Junghoon, while he's recovering from surgery. Seeun has been improving tremendously, and he has something the other two don't--unending confidence. That confidence allows him to try things outside of his comfort zone and grow his abilities. As long as Junghoon is absent, he'll continue to grow vocally. I agree that xikers makes music that's fits them. Thanks for the reaction!
14:19 i agree with you about the vocal thing for boy groups, & most bg are very capable of vocal moments, so idk why not. To be fair their lead vocalist(Junghoon) is on hiatus for injury, but the songs with him have more prominent adlibs and vocal stuff. I think their Japanese debut(Tsuki) did a better job of incorporating intresting vocals. Sandcastle & Hang Around are my favorite on the album. I only enjoy WITCH with their performance & concept in mind. I probably won't listen to it on it's own, love xikers tho
actually thank you for this lol now ill check out sandcastle and hang around later!! i didnt like witch i didnt even finish the mv on my own and finishing it with you even w the production being good i think its not my personal jam BUT i really like that you did the super informal album check out, might be a good format for groups who you've unofficially written off or are newer to lol bc so far ive liked and disliked a mix of xikers' music both titles and bsides so i dont always remember to check out all their bsides on new releases!
I honestly would like Witch a lot more had that last part not sounded like that. I liked that haunting aspect the instrumental provided but that last part took me out of it 😔
JOIN my Patreon for more exclusive content here: patreon.com/koko3op AS WELL as my Discord here : discord.gg/j75b23fNPa !
Wow. A positive review. We prayed for a day like this 😭 but I’m actually really happy because Xikers and KQ/Edenary I believe have really found the pocket that works for them in terms of sound and their image/brand. And I love that it separates them from what the current boy groups are doing.
That add to playlist soothes the soul 😅😅
Hahahhahah
Sandcastles ended up being my fav song on the album followed by Witch. I think this is a solid album and sound unique to them.👍
I really appreciate you pointing out how even tho Witch isn't a song you'd put on your playlist it's still an interesting song that's very distinctly Xikers. It's something I really love about Xikers; even though (as you've pointed out) they aren't as vocals-forward as I usually like they still manage to make really cool songs that you can immediately identify as coming from them. How they manage to do that while still having so much variety in their discography is honestly impressive. They've sort of carved out their own little style niche in kpop and that's really hard to find these days in the sea of sameness that kpop groups can get lost in.
Tbh, Sandcastle is a lot of peoples fav from this album but it's just not my vibe. I thought it was just a stylistic thing, but after your reaction I agree that the song felt a bit empty and needed more vocal standout moments to really make the song impactful. But I appreciate the harmonies and I'm sure it will make a very cute concert encore song for audiences to sing along with. I didn't like Hang Around much on first listen, but then it came on when I was walking to work on a miserable morning where everything was going wrong, and it hit me how much fun it actually is as a song bc lemme tell ya it put a much needed pep in my step. I don't know jack sh*t about music production, but the bass in Xikers tracks always stands out to me and I really appreciate it. Bittersweet tho, that was love at first listen. The guitars and drops and anthem-y outro. So good!
When i tell you i looked at my phone and saw rhis notification I JUMPED OUT OF BED I'm really glad you checked it out haha i was really curious what you'd think of it! I really like xikers i love how different everyones tones are from each other Also when you curiously started playing sandcastle i was like YES LOL I thought you'd enjoy that
Funnily enough the member you pointed out at 6:55 hes the rapper and leader Minjae he also has a pretty singing voice you heard a little bit in sandacastle hes actually the one you pointed out for his dancing in the last comeback as well lol and the one in the center at 8:40 is Yujun, you've actually mentioned liking his voice when you checked out their previous albums if i remember correctly
Also theres a very smal few seconds clip of their main vocalist singing and i feel like he sounds really good i always wanted to see what you think but its a pretty short clip i dont know if i can post the link to the video here or not haha the video is from a radio show video is called "Xikers Hyunwoo singing his audition song" they honestly have two members that fit the main vocal title, its pretty even between them on who gets the high notes and adlibs some songs its Hyunwoo other times its Jinsik or sometimes its both of them together, theres a harmony high note at the bridge of their song 'Doorbell Ringing' that is stunning it sounds SO GOOD and so high I think its those two doing it but i agree with you they really don't show them off enough, with how good they sound live too they need more songs to show off their vocals because not a lot of people think of xikers when they think of 5 gen vocals but I think theyre up there especially live
Also one of their members Junghoon is still not back when you reacted to them he wasnt there either he had to get knee surgery soon after their debut so he hasn't participated in a any comeback, which is unfortunate because hes the lead vocalists and i think you'd enjoy his voice or Yujun's voice the most from the group
If you listen to their song 'Doorbell Ringing' he's the one singing at 1:43. Also i ALWAYS wanted to tell you about this one part in this song Doorbell Ringing because i know you'd enjoy it LOL because the way they end the song like at the very last second of the song they change the last line of the chorus into this beautiful falsetto and its one of my favorite part of any of their songs I need more stuff like that, if you listen to the songs normal chorus and how it endsnand then go to literally the final few seconds of the song you'll hear it Im so glad they added that in.
Btw if youre interested they recently covered BTS fake love and butter for TMA and also performed their two latest comebacks they have two dance practice videos for both! Theyre called (Xikers BTS fake love + butter dance practice TMA 2024 Ver), and (Xikers We Don't Stop Dance break + Witch dance practice TMA 2024)h
Oohhh I’m happy to hear they do have vocalists at their disposal. I hope their music starts to highlight this more
xikers just dropped a performance MV for Bittersweet!
8:15 that’s the leader of the group Minjae.
You don’t understand how grateful I am to you and to the fate, destiny, karma, life right now for this unexpected reaction video. Thank you.
I have to confess, when the album dropped I commented on xikers subreddit how I would have loved to see your reaction video of this album 😅😂, but I knew it was hard, not impossible but still, I hoped at least that the curiosity was there. Thank you again 😂
Anyway, their last album was lacking in something and, even though I’m extremely biased towards them, I only ended up liking just two songs, and not even that much. But this album is really something else, it might be my favorite to date of them. They really did an amazing job.
Haha you’re welcome. Ohh okay Minjae, good to know
@@Koko3op so I wasn't hallucinating 😅😅
@@Koko3op yup, and he's the member with the longest training period, 7 years. He was an SM trainee too, this helped him learning choreography fastly. You can watch 1N2D recent episode with xikers and you can see their quality as performers and dancers as they played a game where they have to dance various songs.
@@IamGiammaThey ate those songs up--I can't wait for the next episode.
i'm so happy that this is the album you checked out cause i do think this one where they've found their sound the most! i do agree that there could be more vocals seeing as everyone (except maybe sumin - don't jump me if i'm wrong) has really pretty singing voices but i do think they decided to lean more heavy into their rapline so focus on vocals split amongst jinsik and hyunwoo (plus junghoon being on hiatus cause of injury) isn't a priority i do hope we get a proper vocal led song from them in the future i think they'll surprise a lot of people!
Waooo xikers let's gooo king witch!!!❤🔥💯
I believe we might be getting a video for Bittersweet, so stay tuned. The Witch Dance Practice is up as is the dp for their Fake Love -+ Butter cover.
I think the problem xikers has vocally is that neither of their best vocalists have confidence in their ability. Hyunwoo has a lower range, not baritone but his upper isn't well developed. He eats stuff in the center of his range, but shows nervousness as the notes climb (pre-debut he happily handed a highnote over to Minjae, leader and main rapper, rather than sing it himself). Jinsik naturally can go higher, but his technique isn't fantastic when he tries to mix high. I think that's why they did those ad libs the way they did--if they're background he doesn't have to regularly sing them live. He already has some songs he does have to hit pretty high notes live, so I wonder whether they're trying to maintain his vocal health. Jinsik was the main vocal early-on, but by debut Hyunwoo was the main. In a recent interview, I think they both just introduced themselves as vocalists. They are sweet, humble boys and that probably isn't helping them here.
Honestly, if things keep going the way they are, I wouldn't be surprised if Seeun ended up being their main vocal. Seeun has been filling in for their lead vocal, Junghoon, while he's recovering from surgery. Seeun has been improving tremendously, and he has something the other two don't--unending confidence. That confidence allows him to try things outside of his comfort zone and grow his abilities. As long as Junghoon is absent, he'll continue to grow vocally.
I agree that xikers makes music that's fits them. Thanks for the reaction!
Bittersweet ended up being my favorite on the album.💛
And it's a really good album overall I love it.
Thanks for the reaction! 😊
More reaction to xikers please
14:19 i agree with you about the vocal thing for boy groups, & most bg are very capable of vocal moments, so idk why not. To be fair their lead vocalist(Junghoon) is on hiatus for injury, but the songs with him have more prominent adlibs and vocal stuff. I think their Japanese debut(Tsuki) did a better job of incorporating intresting vocals.
Sandcastle & Hang Around are my favorite on the album. I only enjoy WITCH with their performance & concept in mind. I probably won't listen to it on it's own, love xikers tho
Ohhh that’s interesting
THANK YOU JESUS
actually thank you for this lol now ill check out sandcastle and hang around later!! i didnt like witch i didnt even finish the mv on my own and finishing it with you even w the production being good i think its not my personal jam BUT i really like that you did the super informal album check out, might be a good format for groups who you've unofficially written off or are newer to lol bc so far ive liked and disliked a mix of xikers' music both titles and bsides so i dont always remember to check out all their bsides on new releases!
Yeahh I think I’ll do it again in the future lool
I honestly would like Witch a lot more had that last part not sounded like that. I liked that haunting aspect the instrumental provided but that last part took me out of it 😔
That was nasty
Could you expand lol