XIKERS released their first debut album, “HOUSE OF TRICKY: Doorbell Ringing,” on March 30. The boy group formed under KQ Entertainment is made up of 10 members: Minjae, Junmin, Sunmin, Jinsik, Hyunwoo, Hunter, Junghoon, Seeun, Yujun and Yeechan. 

The debut album consists of seven songs and fans were not disappointed with the music. XIKERS’ music video for ‘Tricky House’ reached 10 million views in less than 24 hours. 

The first track, “The TRICKY’s Secret,” is not an actual song. It opens with a woman’s intriguing voice, which tells a story that pulls people in and makes you want to listen continuously to the lullaby-vocals. After the women’s voice, there is a series of evil laughing and upbeat instrumental music, which contains little snippets of their other songs mashed together. 

The next song, “Doorbell Ringing,” opens up with a slow and steady tone that quickly picks up pace with every other line. When it hits the chorus, the line “gotta go gotta go gotta go” has a fast tempo that makes the listeners have an adrenaline rush. Though the whole song is high-speed, the end of the song is the real show stopper. The last few seconds makes it feel as if you’re dancing in the middle of the night; the music is loud and the beat frantic with that pop-like tone. This song is a great opener for the album. 

The third song, “TRICKY HOUSE,” is a fan-favorite. Straightaway, the opening tone is Middle Eastern instrumentals, where the lute instrument is the attention grabber. The chorus is more of a sprechstimme, which is a cross between speaking and singing; a whisper can be heard with a few words, but then it’s overpowered by the music. It definitely became ‘the song’ since they performed it as an opening number during the ATEEZ World Tour. 

“Dynamic (Cheongryang)” is a whole different genre of music from the previous three songs. The song has an electric, metal type beat to it. As there is no singing, the song is a little intermission in the album so fans aren’t swamped with the new tunes, though the song itself is overwhelming, in a good way.  

If non-KPOP stans ever wondered what it felt like to be standing on stage and strumming an electric guitar, drums blasting in the back while singing their heart out, then “ROCKSTAR” is the song to listen to. The opening beat is immediate low guitar vibrations that send shivers throughout the listeners’ bodies, but then hits with massive drums a few seconds later. The vocals in the chorus are minimal, but they leave an impact that makes shouting along with them a must. The entire song has an early 2000’s feel, bringing reminiscence on older songs that used to be popular. 

When people hear a song, they don’t expect flutes and screaming to be what they hear first, but in “XIKEY,” the combination of both releases a pleasant sound. In verse one, a low growl from the members adds to its unexpected opening. The tone has a spooky, almost Halloween-like beat; it’s unsettling but in the best way possible. There are more whispers in the song, adding to the scary feeling. Although, toward the end of the song, people notice a shift that transitions into a calmer hip hop beat. If a song could give someone whiplash it’d be “XIKEY,” but fans like the contrast between this song and the rest of the album.

“Oh My Gosh” lives up to its title. Right off the bat with an electro-cyberpunk beat, it makes it feel as if the song was in a movie. The fast tempo brings the adrenaline the audience craves when listening. The chorus becomes slower with the singing, but the rapid pulse keeps every listener on their toes until the end. The vibe has an outgoing ending stage presence and brings every last breath to finish the album just right. XIKERS wanted to end their album off with a final stage that will have their fans in a standing ovation that is greatly deserved. 

“HOUSE OF TRICKY: Doorbell Ringing” is a one-of-a-kind album, especially for newly idols who haven’t had years of experience. For rookies, they left an outstanding impression on their debut, and fans are ready to see where they go. This album deserves its recognition and should be on every KPOP stans playlist. This album is a 9 out 10.