CURRENT #29: BAEKHYUN- CANDY

Released: May 25th, 2020

Exo's Baekhyun officially becomes the 5th member to release a solo album, just 2 months after Suho released his. With Suho and Xiumin now in the military, it only makes sense for the rest of the members to constantly stay active with their solo activities. It seems like the laid-back mood of the members' title tracks continues as Candy showcases Baekhyun's softer side. Unlike Suho's Let's Love which relied entirely on a rock sound, Candy utilizes the synthesizer to the greatest extent, with heavy influences from future bass. As I mentioned earlier in the review of Moonbyul's Absence which also took on a similar genre, a slow-jam song doesn't need to have out-of-the-ordinary elements in order to sound good, but it should be good at what it does. As a pop-orientated track, Candy does hit the right notes, and is therefore average to my ears.

Keyboard synths both in the low and the high octaves take over the main melody throughout the entire track, giving Candy that softer edge as it takes on smooth R&B. It doesn't feel just soft, but also very spacious, as it gives Baekhyun plenty of room to sing. Otherwise, nothing in the verses really stood out to me that much. The pre-chorus does take a step forward with an injection of some bass to build some crescendo. Unfortunately its duration felt too short, as I really wanted to hear more progression out of it.

The chorus though keeps things moving with the additional of the bassline in the background to add layers and distinguish the section more. It also unleashes the song's true pop moment with some eargasm hooks containing lines like "pop rocks, strawberry, bubble gum" that will surely stay in your head for a while. Otherwise, that's the only thing Candy has to offer. I would have loved to hear more of a vocal-centered production in this section, where Baekhyun's voice simply takes over and controls the entire flow. Instead, even with the stacked layers the vocals are still a little bit underwhelming compared to the superior bassline rumbling on here. A nice dose of woodwind changes things up in the second pre-chorus while the bridge consists of some beautiful ambient sound effects, before heading to the final chorus.

Candy has a good amount of catchy lines here and there, but it ultimately comes down to longevity and legacy, and I don't see Candy appearing on my playlist anytime soon. An commonly-built pop song with uninspired vocal production best describes Candy and I have yet to hear a slow-jam in the past couple of years that truly breaks the mold.

RATING: 7.25/10