Song Review:: xikers: HOUSE OF TRICKY: WATCH OUT- Witch

 

• Release date: 2024 September 06

• Album tracklist: Watch Out, Witch, BACK OFF, Bittersweet, Sandcastle, Hang Around

• Album runtime: 17 minutes

Xikers were one of my starting points, as they were the first kpop group I chose to go see. Most of my starting points have been with March debuts. I don't know how I manage it. Despite the fact that their music isn't what I would normally choose to listen to, they caught me as a fan because of how insane their stage presence is. Normally, I avoid the comeback stages, but I can't with xikers. Y'all, I think they may have a stronger stage presence than ATEEZ, whom I've also seen in concert and generally love more, despite the years of experience between them. I walked out of xikers's concert going "I would see them again tomorrow." And now we have a new comeback, still missing OT10 for the third one in a row, but I'm sure KQ is making sure that Junghoon is healthy enough to handle their insane choreography.  

I will continue shouting into the void for xikers. 

AND THEY FINALLY HAVE A TITLE TRACK I DON'T HAVE TO FORCE MYSELF TO LOVE. They've been plagued by the shouting that I don't like since debut. But this? 

Okay. I will attempt some objectivity.

It took me an uncomfortable amount of time to realize why the background instrumentals sounded so familiar from the preview for the song. And I was standing in my kitchen pouring myself a glass of milk when I realized that it was the intro track from Trial and Error. I felt a little disappointed in myself for not recognizing it sooner, as I loved it then and I really love it now, because now I have lyrics to accompany the instrumental. It's so deliciously spooky, and I thought it was interesting that something so Halloween-sounding would come out in March. Well, joke's on me because this is perfect for the upcoming spooky season. Halloween is my favorite holiday. So, we got spooky. We also got something that sounds like chimes or a triangle maybe? A xylophone? There's something very tinkly going on during the pre-chorus, and I'm not entirely sure exactly what the instrument is, but it's perfect. This is a high-energy, driving song where the instrumentals propel it forward even when they are minimal, while simultaneously having a pretty slow BPM. I am fascinated by what they're doing with the background instrumentals. You only think that the energy drop could affect the energy. But it doesn't. It's a shove off balance, because the tempo changes there and increases afterward. I also love the sound where it's like a notification alert on my laptop. I kept thinking that's what it was when I was listening to it. 

First thing I noticed on that first listen-through was the lack of shouting, which is a welcome break from their songs of the past. Do or Die was my favorite of their title tracks because it was the zombie dance one, but it has been catapulted like a potato clock at the moon from that position in favor of Witch. I even like the rapping, which surprised me. But there's a part where Yechan, Sumin, and Minjae trade off with the rap, just boom, boom, boom. The "tippy tippy tippy toes" part is going to be living in my brain rent-free for the next few months. I'm not sure what it'll take to kick that part out, but I look forward to other songs attempting it. It also sounds like their voices have matured more. This makes sense considering half the group was underage at debut, but it's been barely a year and a half since debut. Or maybe it's less that their voices have matured and more that they're allowing their voices to be lower. Except for Yechan, but his voice is just generally fairly high, even when just speaking. I also just love the random voices in the background. Oh, and the chorus. I love the chorus. I just love everything.

The music video is... Just give me a Halloween stage for that choreography. It starts off as like a haunted funhouse type thing. And the "Do you want to make a bet with me?" card? The Lore is loreing. Loring? I don't actually know. I'd assume the second one because of English grammar, but the fact that autocorrect wasn't mad at that word actually makes me more suspicious. The Lore in the video deserves it's own separate post, but I'm not going to. Instead, it's all very thematic. And I'm actually getting kind of...1940s vibes off the costuming? That maze is super cool. The choreography is super cool. Why are they so cool?