[Album Review] Troubleshooting (1st Studio Album) – Xdinary Heroes

1 month ago 16

The next album up for a review on the blog is Xdinary Heroes’ 1st studio-length album, Troubleshooting. This album was released at the end of April and features 10 songs, including the title track Little Things. Xdinary Heroes impressed me with this album, which contains no songs worth skipping. Four songs got a 10/10 rating from me, and no songs went below 8/10. That is impressive and makes Troubleshooting one of the highest-rated albums this year thus far.

More recently, Xdinary Heroes also returned with their 5th mini-album, Live and Fall. I have reviewed the title track Night Before The End. The band has also been releasing monthly singles since June through their 2024 Xperiment Project, such as Love & Fear, Boys Comic, Save Me & iNSTEAD (ft. YB Yoon Do Hyun), all of which also form part of their Live & Fall mini-album.

1. No Matter – No Matter grabbed and held onto me with its intensity. This is a bold track to start the album and get people hooked to the rest of the album. But Xdinary Heroes nailed it. The band’s rock instrumental was super-duper prolific and energetic, maintaining both a head-banging and foot-tapping (it is hard to not do both!) vibe throughout the song from start to end. Powerful vocals are also in the song to match the intensity and energy (as you would hope). But it also added texture and grunginess to the mix, making No Matter even better. (10/10)

2. Little Things (어리고 부끄럽고 바보 같은) – Click here for the full review for Little Things. (8/10)

3. UNDEFINED – To me, UNDEFINED starts with a little more pace during the verses and a mysteriousness to its pre-chorus before launching into similar intensity in its chorus as the initial track. Once again, the rock instrumentation was very cool. The drumming gave UNDEFINED suspense and bass, while the electric guitar in the chorus was pure electric. I just think it could have been longer. (9/10)

4. Paint It – Paint It continues the rock intensity coursing throughout the album thus far. It starts off with some fun and playful instrumentation, which the later intriguing and catchy “Ra-pa Ra-pa Ra-pa la-la-la-la” post-chorus hook is layered over. I really liked the playfulness the members added to the song via the different textures and tones they adopted throughout the song. Gaon and O.de pair up to rap alongside one another in the first and last choruses, which were executed well. In place of a bridge, Paint It opts for some guitar shredding and intense rock vibes that just give Paint It even more character and personality. (9/10)

5. Money On My Mind – Xdinary Heroes keeps to a clean and traditional rock profile in Money On My Mind. I like how straightforward the song is, unlike other songs on this album. I liked how the energy never lets up, and the choruses hit the ‘just right’ vibes. The guitar work by Jun Han in the instrumental break was superb, and those ad-libs at the end just give Money On My Mind something a little wild and out-there that fits Xdinary Heroes’ usual style. (9/10)

6. Dreaming Girl (꿈을 꾸는 소녀) – Dreaming Girl speaks of a girl who is struggling to follow her dream, with Xdinary Heroes telling her that everything will be okay and to be persistent with what she wants. It is a comforting song, especially since it has a bit of emotion to it. You can hear it in the music and the heftier atmosphere that the song exudes. The members sound very genuine, and I like this more vulnerable side of the band. (8/10)

7. until the end of time – The band continues exploring their emotional side with this rock ballad. until the end of time is about the feelings upon realising that the promise one makes to be by their partner’s side ‘until the end of time’ is broken. I really love the emotional outpour reflected in both the music and vocals. You can hear the heartbreak and the dwindling hope the promise might be upheld behind the members’ delivery. And it is this that convinces me that until the end of time is another 10/10 ballad under Xdinary Heroes’ name. (10/10)

8. Walking To The Moon – After two vulnerable songs, Walking To The Moon brings a bit of cheer back into the album and puts a smile on my face. There is a slight groove to the song, thanks to the electric guitar and keyboard in the instrumentation. The vocals were awesome, and the energy that came from the chorus was delightful. (9/10)

9. MONEYBALL – MONEYBALL is the song from the Troubleshooting album I see everyone raving about online. And I agree with them. MONEYBALL returns the group’s energetic side and goes hard, particularly in the choruses. The instrumental goes down a prolific rock direction, with the guitars giving MONEYBALL great texture. I like that whispery delivery in the first verse and how it got relatively shoutier in the second verse. The chorus itself was a highlight, with great vocal melodies and the shoutier delivery of the song’s title, which also had me mouthing it alongside them. (10/10)

10. Night of Fireworks (불꽃놀이의 밤) – The final song on the album is Night of Fireworks. And it is another great yet deceiving song since it is a breakup song. Yeah, I regret digging into the lyrics for this one because I feel really wrong for vibing with the instrumentation whilst Xdinary Heroes is singing about their final night with their former lover. But the consistent drumming in the instrumental has just great head-banging energy, and I love the little synth work amid all of the band instrumentation. Another 10/10 for me, despite the bittersweetness Night of Fireworks holds. (10/10)