1 week ago
29
I am a bit late to start the new week. But as the saying goes, better late than never. Doh Kyung Soo (otherwise known as D.O from EXO) made his solo comeback today with a new single titled Mars and his 3rd mini-album Blossom. This follows his pre-release single Popcorn (which I will return to review in the future) last week, and his 2nd mini-album Expectation from last year (led by the single Somebody).
Mars is a song about loving someone so different to you, it is as if you and that someone are from two different planets. From that little reflection on the song, you can imagine how heartfelt and comforting the track is. I felt that Doh Kyung Soo portrays that messaging and tone very well in Mars, through all aspects of the track. I enjoyed the simplicity and straightforwardness of the medium-tempo pop track from the very first listen. The acoustic and band instrumentation was profound, with the guitar work being a big driver towards Mars‘ bright and meaningful outlook. Similarly, I felt the sincerity and affection behind Doh Kyung Soo’s vocals. The melodies were great. And altogether, Mars does bring a smile to my face when I listen to the track. I think a slight challenge to the song are the hooks. And this challenge isn’t necessarily unique to Mars, but more so to all ‘simple and ‘straight forward’ songs. To ensure longevity of a song like Mars, the song itself needs to be memorable and the melodies/hooks play a big part in this. Personally, I find Mars‘ hooks to be okay, but I think this aspect of Mars is also a little lacking. I am not too sure how Mars can hold its ground amongst the stiff competition. But as it stands, the song is still a great listen.
I found the music video to be a very cute watch and works well with the simple nature of the song. We see Doh Kyung Soo in his own little world throughout the video as he attempts to communicate with his special someone who is on a completely different planet to his. We see him get ready for the day ahead and ride his bike to the primary site in which he has set up to communicate with the world beyond his. On his bike are all the flowers he could find, which he later uses to write ‘I Miss You‘ on the ground in a bold colour for the other someone to see. In the end, his attempts to communicate work, with the special someone leaving simple and literally small messages for him. At the very end of the video, we see the different messages left behind for Doh Kyung Soo, that he has kept as little momentos. The outro sees him do it all again the next day (the presence of the rain helps us differentiate it is a new day), excited to extend the communications even further.
Song – 9/10
Music Video – 9/10
Overall Rating – 9/10
English (US) · 