We got a double review today! A 2-for-1, doubleheader, whatever you want to call it. I'll be looking at both the digital singles of S.M's newest product NCT. Part of me didn't want to have separate posts just for a debut, and part of me planned to be lazy so I can (possibly) cheat the system by writing less for each song. In traditional S.M fashion, they always alternate between debuting boy and girl groups. With Red Velvet being the previous debut, it's a new boy group. NCT, or "New Culture Technology" is part of the company's new plans to expand business take over the world. Let's see if they can hold up to their sunbae's high standards of debuts.
Quick sidenote: I'm not really gonna talk about the whole subunit concepts and rotating members and all that. It's honestly either the best or worst decision for the group, with plans to promote in multiple countries. Anyways, "The 7th Sense" was the first track released. As soon as the music starts you knew this was gonna be trippy. This choreography is pretty awesome. When you consider that S.M houses dancers like Taemin, Eunhyuk, Hyoyeon, Luna, etc. these rookies have some excellent teachers available to them. The movements are all fluid and flow into the next very well. Rather than focus on synchronization (an S.M strongsuit), there's plenty of individuality and that works with a smaller group like this. The dance matches the instrumental, and all in all this is yet another impressive showing of S.M choreography.
The rapping on the other hand, is a little suspect. Given that they're from S.M, it's only natural I compare them to their rapper labelmates. And honestly, they don't have many good role models in this department. Yunho, Eunhyuk, Minho are relatively laughable, but at least we can look at the EXO rappers. Taeyong gives off Kris vibes, what with his low voice and all. He's also responsible for ruining Red Velvet's "Be Natural" cover, so good to see him do better than that. Considering how many lines he got, they needed him to be at least decent, and he does, He's really the standout member with his dance abilities rather than rapping. Ten sounds a little like Tao with the way he raps and sounds similar, too. Apparently he's also Thai, which means JYP no longer has the monopoly on Thai Kpop stars. Mark is sort of on his own, and has the unfortunate reality of sharing the same name as GOT7's Mark, who is a better rapper in every aspect.
"The 7th Sense" is put together well. The unimpressive rap is unimpressive, but it's slow and matches pace with the rest of the song. The choreography is the highlight and pushes this song as a dance track much more so than a rap track.
[ Overall: 82 / 100 ]
Someone call DAY6 because this song is right up their alley. This and DAY6's "Freely" go together giving that energetic feeling with refreshing vocals. Like most of the boy groups in this label, the vocalists are way more interesting and inspiring than the rappers. And like the NCT rappers, I also draw parallels from EXO. Jaehyun and Baekhyun have similar voices, with Jaehyun sounding a little lighter. He makes a good combination with Doyoung, as both were more intriguing in "The 7th Sense" amongst the sea of weak rapping. As for Taeil, I hear glimpses of Luhan from him. Let's see now, hmm, Kris, Tao, and Luhan reincarnates? Seems like more than coincidence. This is like when JYP debuted JJ Project, and how Jr, and JB's Korean names happened to be "Jinyoung" and "Jaebeom," respectively. I don't think I had similar thoughts when EXO debuted so we'll see how this develops. I'd like to point out that both song's endings are pretty good, perhaps influenced by my review of Oh My Girl just yesterday. The slow jam of "The 7th Sense" eases into a stop, while "Without You" rides the instrumental to a close. Neither are awkward, so they get the job done.
"Without You" is by far the more entertaining track. Strong foundations, uplifting vocals, and a good-enough ending. If you're having a bad day, this needs to hit your playlist. If it can't put a smile on your face, then I'm not sure what can. Oh, and you've noticed I've not talked about the MVs at all. They're stereotypical S.M and Kpop videos, I'm certainly not gonna waste my time talking about those. I will admit though, NCT lacks a standout visual, unlike EXO, SHINee, and Super Junior. Maybe some of the unrevealed members will be it?
[ Overall: 88 / 100 ]
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