NCTzens have had a wild year, we have been fed with the best content and music from every single unit of the NCT-verse. Today they are back with ‘RESONANCE Pt.1’ as OT23 including the new members Shotaro and Sungchan, and this album will for sure deliver and exceed everyone’s expectations.
Let’s dive into the music, and get ready for heavy fangirling. WayV, NCT 127 and NCT Dream are in my top favourite groups.
RESONANCE Pt.1
The title track ‘Make A Wish (Birthday Song)’ welcomes listeners and from the beginning this song delivers. The whistling throughout this song is incredibly catchy and the constant bass makes it super addictive and leaves a very strong impression.
The mix of vocals is incredible, Jaemin’s voice and rap delivery and Taeyong’s one are a mix I didn’t know I needed in my life, they complement each other flawlessly. Xiaojun’s verse was beyond amazing, and the mix between him, Jaehyun and Doyoung for the bridge was exquisite.
The music video is visuals left, right and center. The choreo is impactful, goes hard and really lets Shotaro show off his great dancing skills. Check it below.
The rapline takes over in ‘Misfit’ with fire delivery and killing verses. The flow reminded me a lot of 90s rappers, and I have to say the style suits them extremely well. Yang Yang and Hendery showed an absolutely new style of delivery in this track and I am here for it. We also get rapper Johnny back, and a taste of Sungchan’s rapping, what else can we ask for?
‘Volcano’ featuring the legendary ‘BOSS’ unit comes next, with a more hip hop sound, a lot of bass and a flow I totally dig. As expected the bridge includes Jungwoo, Doyoung and Jaehyun’s vocals and that is a mix we don’t get often but it truly delivers.
With a completely different sound, style and even delivery we get ‘Light Bulb’. This track is a gem, Taeyong’s intro verse feels extremely raw and emotional, Doyoung’s vocals are exceptional in this track and will have more than one tearing up.
In this track we get to listen to Sungchan’s rapping potential and I am shook. Kun’s vocals are incredibly soft and beautiful. Honorable mention to whoever decided to add the rain sound at the end of this song, this track is pure emotional whiplash.
Starting off with fantastic instrumentals with a jazz and R&B vibe ‘Dancing In The Rain’ plays. Rappers Johnny and Jaehyun are back in this track, Jaehyun co-wrote this song (we love a multi talented king). The harmonizing in this song is breathtaking, the vocal line of NCT really took over this song. Chenle’s vocals had me super surprised and Yuta’s high note was really smooth. This lineup is legendary and had me shook in every single second of this song, big props to the producer for the very jazzy intro and outro. WE STAN!
‘Interlude: Past to Present’ marks the half of this album and as expected it is a blend that describes NCT’s music to perfection.
Seven member Dream is back in ‘Deja Vu’ with what it feels like a new sound and vibe, I’m loving this more mature sound of the dreamies, the music feels different but at the same time the core feels like the NCT Dream we all love.
WayV is next with ‘Nectar’ and as usual it slaps. From the beat to the singing and rapping, this song to top tier quality. I am loving how they kept the very unique sound that makes WayV so appealing. I loved Winwin’s part in the track, and overall it’s catchy, trendy and a smooth listen.
Next we have NCT 127 with ‘Music, Dance’ and this song is perfect to hit the dance floor, a total bop. It goes hard and I loved the electronic sound. The perfect track to feel re-energized and get hyped up.
Lo-fi tunes mixed with stunning piano instrumentation start ‘Faded in My Last Song’, there is something very addictive about this song’s lyrical delivery. Everything about it is stunning, Taeil’s high note as usual left me speechless, this NCT U line-up killed it.
‘From Home’ plays next and this track left me speechless, the vocals are out of this world but what made it so special was the inclusion of English, Korean, Japanese and Chinese for the lyrics. This track is sung in four languages and it is the first time I listened to a song including different languages in such a flawless manner. Legends!
The last two tracks of this album are the Korean version of ‘From Home’ and the English version of ‘Make A Wish (Birthday Song)’.
Overall this OT23 comeback of NCT delivered and went beyond all my expectations and we are looking forward to the upcoming part 2.
Make sure to listen to this release here.
