Sometimes, straightforward can be stunning. Xdinary Heroes’s newest comeback, “Night Before the End,” proves that point. There are no bells and whistles here. Instead, “Night Before the End” relishes its identity as a traditionally-structured emo rock-pop song. Thanks to the members’ superb vocals and a couple of smartly selected visual motifs, there’s more than enough to make “Night Before the End” stick out.
“Night Before the End” is all about falling, or alternatively, about failing to fly. The MV begins with a stomach-lurching visual of an anonymous figure who, wings disappearing at the last second, free-falls off a tower. The Xdinary Heroes members are then pictured (in emotional close-ups) flying/falling as they sing about the imminent, torturous end of a love:
The night before falling
Out of what we thought love is
A tangled story that no words can untangle
Hoping to leave behind the ending that will be too painful
Let’s just leave it tonight
Where once they — presumably, flew on the wings of love — Xdinary Heroes now plummet alongside the once hopeful promise of a failing romance. While not groundbreaking, the MV’s visual interpretation of the song’s key message is wonderfully succinct and effective. By the end of the first chorus, through the combined power of imagery, vocals, and lyrics, Xdinary Heroes’ precise angst is unmistakable and oh-so-easy to empathize with.
“Night Before the End” does have some mediocre moments, like the scenes during its second verse which see some of the members running through a stereotypical rundown industrial landscape. However, a flame-filled band set introduced in the song’s second chorus revitalizes the MV’s momentum, which carries through until its conclusion. Again, fire is not exactly new for rock-pop videos. However, the use here is striking, incorporating the recurring motif of wings. It also, once more, works in tandem with the track’s soundscape and narrative to create an immersive and compelling world.
In “Night Before the End,” Xdinary Heroes show that a solid concept executed with conviction can create something exciting, distinctive, and enjoyable, contrary to the somewhat conventional feelings those words might evoke. From its opening jolt to its deliciously ambiguous closing image, “Night Before the End” never tries to be more than it is. Instead, it embraces the (sizeable) challenge of being as good as possible at being exactly what it is, and precisely because of that strategy, succeeds marvelously.
(YouTube. Lyrics via YouTube. Images via JYP Entertainment.)
