'est. summer 2017'

eclipse; exid

[reworked from 2017]

01. boy

let me tell you, re-visiting the album opener 'boy' was truly something. i commented in the past that it was probably my favourite song of 2017 and it has lasted the test of time and remains one of my favourite kpop songs. what makes this song truly magical isn't the minimalist instrumental that stood out when kpop was slowly entering its 'noise pop' phase. it was hyerin's power but clear vocals in the start of the 2nd verse. god it still gives me chills to this day. a fantastic start to the album and it leaves you wanting to hear the rest.

02. night rather than day

'night rather than day' was honestly a great choice following 'boy'. as the title shows, 'night rather than day also shows a jazzy summer night. the saxophone and the bass guitar paired with LE's crunchy low tone and the vocalists softer tones makes the song dynamic, but it still retains its clarity. this is one of the cleanest title tracks i've heard in 2017. sometimes one just needs a refreshing song to centre us again. i think we've all somewhat adapted and have grown to expect the louder noisier songs. but that's not all kpop is. exid reminded us of that with 'night rather than day'.

03. how why

and so it begins, 'how why' is the mid point of the album and what do we get? tropical house. every album i have reviewed from 2017 has tropical house. lets just say the album gets minus points for its inclusion. i understand staying on trend, but you need to do something fresh with it otherwise it's a complete skip.

04. woo yoo (hani solo)

hani has a really nice voice, its hypnotic. the difference between her vocals in 'how why' to here is so drastic. it goes to show how wider her range is.

the song slows down the album from the fast paced 'how why'. i believe 'woo yoo' represents the album the best. the strings and the rnb bring familiarity to the song; a combination everyone loves. overall, its a solid song.

05. velvet (LE solo)

LE is quite talented. i enjoy that she brings something new to the table by singing. as for the music, its more rnb but has more sensuality than 'woo yoo'. it is similar to ciara's 'body party' in that regard. i still listen to 'velvet' to this day (2021), so it must have some last appeal.

06. night rather than day - instrumental

here you can actually hear all the sounds they've incorporated, and there's a lot. but as mentioned earlier, it is still very clean. i usually think instrumentals are unnecessary to albums (especially mini albums), but i liked this one.

final comments

if you observed exid's discography, you will realise that "eclipse" is very light for them. their music normally has more meat on the bones than what this album suggests. in any case, it was still good for its time and fit well in the summer. perhaps it's lightness is what made it stand out from the crowd in 2017.

would i listen to it again? sure, why not. perhaps in the summer time.

rate: 8/10