EXO’s Baekhyun possesses one of my favorite voices in K-pop, but our musical tastes don’t usually seem to align. His solo work has favored the kind of slow, vibey sound that too often feels like background music to me, even as those vocals pull me back in fits and spurts. New single Elevator is no different, bopping along a subdued beat.
I’ll write what I always write when reacting to songs like this: it’s all about the melodies. The production is largely cut and paste from so many other songs of this nature — trap beats and atmospheric synths. So without that element to grab hold of, listeners must focus on the vocal. Baekhyun sounds excellent as always, but the melodies aren’t doing much for me. There’s not a ton of range to the tune, preferring instead to repeat the song’s title in quick succession. Baekhyun tosses in some nice ad-libs toward the end, but even this feels restrained.
To compare him to another solo superstar, Elevator feels like Baekhyun in his Justin Bieber Yummy stage. The song is pleasant enough to pass the time, but someone of his caliber deserves music that’s more interesting and indelible. Elevator feels like a stopgap rather than a forward-pushing highlight.
Hooks
7
Production
7
Longevity
7
Bias
8
RATING
7.25