Ateez's little brothers, KQ Fellaz 2, KQ Rookies.
However, you may have known them previously, Xikers have officially debuted, and they're ready to make their presence known.
While the group only debuted on March 30th, they have been highly anticipated since early 2022. Initially becoming popular as "KQ Fellaz 2" during their pre-debut, the members of Xikers have been training nonstop.
This includes idol training, busking, posting promotional dance videos, as well as opening performances for their sunbaenims, Ateez. Finally, it's time that the 10 member group debuted!
Members Minjae, Junmin, Sumin, Jinsik, Hyunwoo, Junghoon, Seeun, Hunter, Yujun, and Yechan debuted with Xiker's first mini-album, HOUSE OF TRICKY: Doorbell Ringing.
The alum starts off with "The TRICKY's Secret".
More than anything, this opener really serves as a prologue to the album, if not Xiker's career.
It's a short track that is recorded as a poetic declaration of the group's overall concept.
The prophetic words speak of a terrible inhuman thing called "Tricky" that terrifies people across the world.
Unsure whether it is good or bad, it is something that clearly has influence over others.
It gave children abilities beyond what they could bear and then prospered in the chaos.
These are the words spoken right before the track erupts into heavy base and technological effects. Chills.
You know when you get on a roller coaster, and then they play a voice recording that kind of tells you about the lore of the ride? Then the doors for the ride are opened, and you plunge into darkness. This is the music version of that.
It's kind of weird. It's kind of scary. It justifies the anticipation behind the album. It truly instills a sense of excitement in the listener, and it's a 10/10 from the very beginning.
The first official song on the release is Doorbell Ringing. Honestly, this song is disorienting. If a house of mirrors could be transformed into music, it would be this track.
Doorbell Ringing is fast and wild. The rhythm changes suddenly and without warning, and the lyrics themselves invite you into a world that causes you to lose your bearings.
Don't kill my vibe / out of control
That's exactly how the track feels. The song feels uncontrollable while still being extremely cohesive and fun. It's a great listen, and it's something that you can listen to over and over again without getting bored.
It's easy to see already how this general sound may not be for everyone. Both tracks are very base heavy and lean almost towards dubstep or EDM. However, the producers are already establishing a very consistent sound.
The pace and themes of Doorbell Ringing are addictive. This song is a 9/10.
Tricky House, the title track, elicits a severe love/hate battle inside of me. I love this song, and I think the story continuation in the music video is out of this world. I mean, the whole purpose of a music video is to visually engage people into the music itself.
However, the music video highly distracts from the complicated choreography of this track. The choreography is incredible, but viewers actually see very little of it in the video itself.
The music video is good, and it does encapsulate the song's lyrics and overall vibes. But after you watch the dance practice for the song, you realize how much content is actually lacking from the music video. Let's be real though.
If there's one thing the boys of KQ are going to do, it's perform.
Unfortunately, a lot of their performance was cut out of the video. Don't get me wrong. I'm going to watch Hunter goblin spin any time, anywhere, and I'm going to lose my mind every time.
Tricky House is absolutely a 10/10, but the music video and dance practice need to be a package deal for viewers.
The middle track, Dynamic, acts as a type of intermission in the album. As a short instrumental, the genre differentiation is a breath of fresh air.
Until this point, the production has been very electronic. Most of the tracks focus more on the rhythm than the melody itself.
There's nothing wrong with that, but it can become exhausting if listeners aren't super-fans of that particular sound.
By including a short instrumental that has a rock inspired sound, listeners get a welcomed change of pace.
Additionally, the track allows for continued unity throughout the album if the producers choose to include more instrumentation into tracks later in the release. There are no vocals featured in this track, but it still earns an 8/10 for being a great inclusion with a high quality sound.
Speaking of rock, Rockstar is the album's 5th track. This track was a little disappointing.
While the overall sound is different from the rest of the album, it's really nice. The track itself has a lot less production than the other songs, and it is generally less overwhelming than the other tracks we've heard.
However, the vocal tone during the chanting chorus is somewhat underwhelming. The verses are great, but I'm not one to enjoy a unison chant in the chorus as it stands. Partnered with a vocal placement that is a little too high for the vibes of the song, I don't love where the song goes.
Rockstar is fine in general, but it's definitely not a favorite. Because of a chorus that really just lacks some engagement, this song ranks as a 7/10.
Xikey begins to bring the album full circle as we trace back to a sound that is much more similar to that of the first songs on the album. This song is dynamic yet smooth.
There is a staggering change up nearing the end of the song that is a little random. The song basically changes genre, and it's weird to say the least. Good weird or bad weird? I'm not really sure yet.
Although, I am sure that the rap line absolutely shines in this track. All of the members do well on the song, but the rappers of the group bring a certain energy to this song that is electrifying.
This song is a little more theatrical than the others, but it works really well. There is an urgency throughout Xikey. Maybe it's the way the members shout the groups name repeatedly throughout the song. Maybe it's the call throughout the song to look at the members and pay attention.
Regardless of what causes it, there is a sense that Xikers are ready to be seen as an individual entity in their company KQ Entertainment. They're ready to make their name known outside of being the group that came after Ateez.
Xikers are ready to find their own identities, and Xikey really highlights that. Xikey is a strong 8/10 as the album begins to wrap up.
The seventh and final track on the album is Oh My Gosh. This song is a little more tame when compared to the other songs on this release. However, it doesn't necessarily make a lasting impression.
So many of the other aspects of this album are hard hitting and demand attention. This song didn't reach that same level of intensity. For it to be the last track on the album, that's a little disappointing.
I was really hoping that Xikers would end there debut album with something as equally memorable as the title track, but Oh My Gosh couldn't live up to the standard that was set early in the album.
Honestly, that's perfectly fine. The track is nice over all, even if it doesn't leave an incredibly deep impression. Oh My Gosh wraps up the album with a 7/10 score.
In all, HOUSE OF TRICKY: Doorbell Ringing rounds up to an averaged score of 8/10! This no small feat for a debut album.
This album is full of great tracks and a ton of energy. It's clear that the members of Xikers have poured their hearts and souls into this debut.
The release was extremely unified, and it has set a high standard for the group's future releases.
As much fun as this album holds, I'm very excited to see what lies in store for Xikers.
Hopefully future releases will showcase the rappers and dancers as well as the vocalists. While this album was high energy and enjoyable, I do feel as though the vocalists in the group didn't have many opportunities to show off their skills.
There's still a lot more to see from these boys, and I look forward to what their careers will produce! Congratulations on your debut Xikers!
What do you think of this debut? Let us know below!
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