Song Review: Excel by 8TURN

8TURN’s debut song ‘TICTAC‘ ended up growing into one of my favourite boy group debuts of the year. It was able to distinguish itself from the competition through the combination of a unique tone and atmosphere thanks to its interesting chord productions as well as sheer charisma from the members. Its motif ‘oohhh’ ended up being able to effectively tie the song together and balance itself from the chanty sections. The fact that the group has some strong vocalists also really help. Hence, I was coming into ‘EXCEL’ with high expectations.

‘EXCEL’ surprised me in a really good way. In particular, its chorus is absolutely unrelenting. Its rhythm and energy swept me up in a way that reminded me of BLOCK B’s best work (see Very Good). Funnily enough, I haven’t had a K-pop hype-track particularly impress me yet this year with the exception of ATEEZ’s ‘Bouncy’, and I’m quite welcoming of another great addition to this kind of song in my playlist. It’s fast pace paired with the charismatic chant/rap delivery (8Turn has among my favourite rapping/chanting delivery in K-pop at the moment) makes for a very appealing hook, even if the verses don’t match up.

The way the song also executes the final chorus is only the cherry on top. I have a thing for K-pop songs that climax appropriately and feel utterly satisfying. ‘Excel’ joins the crowd with full marks.

There isn’t much to say about the verses honestly, but ‘Excel’ was clearly written with the intent to hype up the crowd, and here, it easily scores full marks.

If anything, I preferred how the group sang their debut song as some of the member’s have noticeably weaker delivery than others. The voice placement was not the most ideal at times, though the good does overcome the bad.

Overall, ‘Excel’ is another strong boy-group release that will surely make anyone’s workout playlist and perform its role with excellence.

Hooks – 8
Production – 9
Vocal Delivery – 8
Rap/Chant Delivery – 10
Overall – 8.75