WINNER - EXIT: E

Track List:

1. Baby Baby
2. Sentimental
3. Immature
4. I'm Young� (Nam Tae Hyun solo)
5. Pricked (Mino & Nam Tae Hyun)



It's been one and a half years since their debut, and Winner has finally staged their comeback with the EP 'Exit: E!' If you've been following them at all, you know that they were involved in the writing and production process for their first disc, and this one is no exception. 'Exit: E' includes five tracks, including the dual title tracks "Baby Baby" and "Sentimental," and the Mino & Tae Hyun duet "Pricked."

"Baby Baby" is the first of the title tracks, a funky, bluesy piece, with Tae Hyun belting out the intro. In particular, I like he part near the end where Mino lays down the raps before Seung Hoon comes in and continues the train of thought. The effect is quite nice, a slow groove that comes in unobtrusively, and should have you swaying in your chair. The main point is the boys' hitting on a girl and trying to get a date. �



"Sentimental" is a more playful track than the first one, with more of a beat and is decidedly soft rock. There's a lot of authentic sounding instrumentation, no EDM for these guys. This adds a lot to the song. I like the sound of this song, but the lyrics are a lot scarier than the beat might suggest, with the guys missing the girl a lot.� �

If I thought the previous tune was playful, I hadn't heard "Immature" yet. The boys describe how immature they are:

"I'm not a kid anymore but my eating habits are totally childlike
I'm an adult now but when I watch movies, all of them are rated age 12."

And that's just a small sample of the lyrics that had me chuckling through the whole song. And all this to a kickin' melody punctuated by electric guitars and the somewhat mocking voices of the boys. You can tell they had a good time recording this one.



The Tae Hyun solo song, "I'm Young," was apparently a catharsis of sorts. He wrote it while in pain a couple years back, and it ended up on this album. A personal and tender ballad, it definitely looks as if all of his emotions ended up on the page:

"It'll be alright"
I comfort you and comfort you again but
With your one word, "I see the end"
I close my eyes gently and
Send tears that hold all our memories

"Pricked" is the Mino and Tae Hyun duet, and here the two boys sing about how hard it is to say goodbye. Mino launches into raps, but turns them into clean singing soon enough, and layers melody around rhythm rather skillfully. It starts with an acoustic guitar, but ends rather more forcefully with an electric one. Tae Hyun provides the softer, silkier vocals that help make this study in contrasts pop.



It's an interesting album, and it differs a lot from the synth-drenched output I've been listening to lately. There's a certain authenticity there, and I particularly like Mino and Seung Hoon's contributions. Overall, it's a decent album, but the slower songs is where the boys really shine. I don't know that this album is a 'winner,' but it's not half-bad at all.

MV REVIEW 1: "BABY BABY"

See who is lucky in love, and who strikes out in "Baby Baby."

In the game of love, there are winners and losers. Most of the boys have struck out, sitting in a corner eating, or at home drinking. It's a simple premise but filmed to great effect here.



The emotions here seem pretty genuine, though I'm not sure it matches the tone of the song. You can see agonized expressions, heads hung low, listless boys and at the same time the guy who got lucky looks like he's having the time of his life.

Overall this is an attractive MV. Not only do you have hot young stars but you also have the backdrop of the city at night, and I've always loved nightscapes. They pull back from some of our boys, showing just how lonely they are, long shots and panoramic scenes giving you a great view of the city. This MV is stylish and classy and definitely gets my vote.

MV REVIEW 2: "I'M YOUNG

See the heights and heartbreak of young love in "I'm Young."

As I said, this is Tae Hyun's solo song, and it's primarily him in the video, as he and a French girl fight over various things, as he tries to win her back. It juxtaposes the scenes of happiness with those of heartache, and we get to see a good thing descend into despair and loneliness, and tears for Tae Hyun.

The acting is pretty good here, although I wasn't sure at first, since the girl acted bored and standoffish, but soon the plot moves along and you get to see her really pull out the stops. She's from Montreal, rather than France, but her nationality has no bearing on her acting.



This is a somber MV, one with muted blues and grays providing a lot of the color. It accurately portrays loneliness and pain, perhaps even the emotions Tae Hyun was feeling when he wrote this. It's a pretty fun watch, even if it does end badly. There were some nice touches here, such as the rival staring at our hero through the shutters, because the rival won.

This one gets a thumbs up.

MV REVIEW 3: "SENTIMENTAL"


Watch the boys get silly in "Sentimental."

If the other two MVs were sober in tone, this one is decidedly not. We have the boys lazing around, sleeping, or doing other things in all kinds of multicolored, cluttered rooms. It's a top-down view to boot. They sing while they eat, they perform in a studio, and it looks for all the world like it's not serious at all.� The scene changes between the rooms were genius, because it almost looked like they built the sets together so they could move the camera and show them in the same house (though I'm positive it was just some CGI magic).



This was one that had me laughing, just because it's so crazy. With dayglo sets, cluttered rooms, crowded bathroom stalls(!) and exaggerated antics, this is your remedy if you found the other two videos depressing. Is there really anything to it? Not really, but it's nice to see this kind of chemistry from the boys. One could only hope they've lightened up some since their debut.

Thumbs up, because it made me laugh.

SEE ALSO: Read Min Hee Jin's complaint email to HYBE, calling out the underhanded 'advanced purchase' tactic