Oh, how K-Pop be killin me these days. I started out with the steady bias groups of TVXQ-SHINee-U-KISS-Big Bang, and the cozy sub-biases of 2PM, Teen Top, Infinite, B1A4, 2NE1, and miss A, and then the past few years came by and catapulted NU'EST, 100%, MYNAME, and JJCC into my life, and now VIXX and BTS are also trying to snuggle right into my ulti-bias roster. Needless to say, I was eagerly waiting on ERROR to see if VIXX would further their standing in my fangirl heart, and sure enough, the boys didn't fail to deliver.
Let's take a closer look at the overall mini!
Steel Heart-- Intro: This is the lead in to title single "Error," and features some of the mechanical noises of the steel heart from the "Error" video being created, as well as some dub step to pump you up if you like dub step (which I usually don't, but hey, I'm a NU'EST fan and I liked DBSK's "Catch Me," so apparently I'm not as picky as I think). It's a decent intro, intense VIXX style, but am I the only who thinks it sounds like someone is saying "FART!" before the dub-step breakdown? I can only hope they are really saying "Heart."
ERROR: The real slayage starts with "Error," which stays true to VIXX's taste for dark concepts with a breathtaking video featuring a tragic romance between Hongbin and KARA's Youngji where Hongbin resurrects his lost love as a cyborg, but still struggles to hold onto her in a world that won't accept his actions. The whole video is goosebump-inducing (other than Ravi's hat -shudders-) and is as well worth the watch as all of VIXX's other efforts so far. You also get an extended instrumental break that isn't in the CD single, so give that video a watch!
The song itself shows a lot of polish. Ken and Leo of course have rangy vocals well suited to VIXX's often moody concepts, and every high note they hit is beyond glorious. N, to me, has also been impressive. He excels the most at dance, but his sub-vocal support is quality enough that he never gets overshadowed, and he always has memorable parts in VIXX's catalog. Hongbin also sneaks in some pretty deep voice lines in, and though he is dominantly a visual, his vocals are improving nicely from his MyDol days. Hyuk takes on the more traditional support role with more minor parts in the song, and I would have liked to hear more from him since he is one of my bias members. Ravi doesn't let his hat get him down, and delivers his unique rap style in a clearer way than is usual for him-- he isn't always the best at enunciating, but here he does a much better job.
Overall, it's one of their best singles when you pair the vocals with the atmospherics, and shows the level of skill level that has managed to launch VIXX past some their other 2012-debut competitors.
After Dark: This track is has the more traditional electro/dance sounds of K-Pop and is in particular flattering to Ravi, though technically Ken and Leo get the most show off moments since they perform the chorus and have plenty of support moments on the verses. It's an enjoyable song, and probably could have also served as a title single, but the overall nature of "ERROR" strikes me more as the kind of style only VIXX excels at.
Youth Hurts: Truthfully, Leo and Ken's falsetto slay the life out of this slower paced track, but it's well-balanced to give Hyuk, Hongbin, and N their chances to shine vocally, too. I liked Hyuk's part in the second verse in particular, which is nicely followed up by a killer high note by Leo in the same verse. I loved the lyrics in this one, too: "Everyone looks at us and says/We're at our best age/That there's so much to experience in the world... Don't speak too easily/Don't envy us/Our youth hurts so much". Preach, VIXX, preach.
Time Machine: Perhaps VIXX did take a time machine, because this one hits a little too close to their overall sound on "GR8U" for comfort. They sound great, of course, but production should have been a little bit more careful in reusing such a similar tone-- that's Brave Brothers' job! Still, I'm not going to say no to Ken/Leo high notes, and fans do seem to be into time machine concepts after the hell of 2014 (not that a lot of the years they want to go back to were any better for K-Pop. JYJ and Hangeng... how soon we forget).
What U Waiting For: This one is a Ravi original, and I sincerely compliment Ravi on having a good grasp on his group-- this song embraces the standout VIXX aesthetic, gives everyone their chance to show off, and is super catchy to boot. I hope he continues to build his role as a writer in the group, because this shows a lot of promise and is fairly infectious for a composing debut!
Overall, I'd put VIXX in the A-/B+ range with this. "ERROR" was phenomenal, as was "Youth Hurts" for me, and "After Dark" and "What U Waiting For" are both solid upbeat tracks to round out the album. "Time Machine was the only one I was disappointed by, namely because it pulled too much off of "GR8U" and other current songs. Overall? A job very, very well done. VIXX's ascent to the top of my list continues.
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