A month ago, Doh Kyung Soo (or D.O from EXO) made his solo comeback with his 4th mini-album, Dopamine. The lead single from the new mini-album, and the focus of this review, is Guitarist. This is Doh Kyung Soo’s first solo release since Bliss and SING ALONG!, and his first release since EXO’s long-awaited Crown comeback earlier this year.

It makes sense that, with the song titled Guitarist, a prominent feature of the instrumental is the guitar. As we all know, the instrument is versatile, and in Guitarist, the guitar (alongside other band instruments) delivers a bright, upbeat, funky tune. It is an extremely nice listen from the outset and has me boogieing in my seat each time it comes on. Alongside the instrumental, Doh Kyung Soo’s vocals are equally bright and effortlessly warm. The riffs and his crisp tone add to Guitarist‘s ‘extremely nice’ appeal. The “Da-ra-da” hook was super pleasant, as were the melodies.

As for the music video, we can view it as two halves. The first half shows Doh Kyung Soo coolly playing guitar in a striking red leather jacket and driving his friends to a party or hangout. The second half shows Doh Kyung Soo meeting up with a girl on the side of the road, where they vibe and dance together in a cute yet light-hearted way. I much prefer the second half, as this is what I know of Doh Kyung Soo, and the whole montage just makes you want to smile.

This comeback includes a performance with dancers. It is a super easy-going routine for Doh Kyung Soo to focus on his live vocals, but he does execute the moves well (alongside the dancers to give the stage some oomph) when it comes to the “Da-Ra-Da” hook. He also sneaks a bit of that fun, light-hearted dancing from the music video into the routine.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 8/10