Regardless of any future material, EXO are one of those K-pop groups who I will have undying respect and admiration for. They played a massive part in my initial deep dive into the genre and while they may have strayed from the sounds that made me fall in love with them in the first place, their dynamite vocal blend and innate charisma more than elevate anything they touch. And with Cream Soda being their first real comeback in almost 4 years, expectations were as such, exponentially high.
Which is a shame because despite an overall solid return, Cream Soda feels rather lukewarm for such a monumental moment. Its opening few seconds gave me immense hope, buoyed by a sticky melody and wonderfully driven clap based production that resonated with a genuine sense of rhythm. Unfortunately, the first verse plunges into a blustery mess, punctuated by a variation of that god awful horn synth which just sucks the majority of the energy and life out of an otherwise potent performance. The underlying percussion is a nice touch but is too far removed from focus to really bear any notable weight.
But of course there are moments where the course is heavily corrected. The airy pre-chorus is absolutely magnificent, making fantastic use of the groups immense pool of vocalists and resonating with some genuine pathos. The same could be said for the bridge, which ups the ante courtesy of some even stronger and more resonant vocal work and percussion. The chorus however feels a little too pitched for my liking. The melody is strong but borders on grating, an issue which could either improve or get worse with time.
However I think the main problem I have with Cream Soda is that much like many other SM tracks of late, it just feels like an NCT rehash. Sure we’ve got elements that are distinctly EXO but Cream Soda much like SHINee’s Hard feels as though it could have easily been an NCT single from any of the past few years. Even to the point where you could point out which member would get each segment. This results in Cream Soda losing the kind of madis touch you’d expect from a group like EXO. One that made songs like Growl, Love Me Right or Mama such absolute behemoths. And one whose absence leaves Cream Soda as nothing more than an above average comeback in a sea of full of the same.
Verses: 7
Chorus: 8
Production: 8
Performance: 8
Final Rating: 7.75 / 10
KBopped 