All of the NCT members gathered for their third album ‘Universe’. Let’s dive right in!
Universe
We start off with the track ‘New Axis’ by members Taeyong, Mark and Yangyang. It’s a hard hitting hip-hop track with the members spitting straight-up fire. There are some interesting effects happening in the back but the focus is mostly on the rap. There are some harmonizations added towards the very end that were super dope. Check out the lyrics here.
Next up is the pre-released ‘Universe (Let’s play ball)’. We wrote about that track here.
Next up is the NCT 127 track ‘Earthquake’. The hip-hop dance track hits hard and effortlessly flows between rap verses and the vocal heavy pre-chorus and chorus. The layering in the chorus is super intense, but it’s well done and honestly a vibe.
‘OK!’ comes after with a super interesting opening. The members Taeyong, Yuta, Ten, Mark, Hendery, Yangyang, and Jeno are straight-up vibing in this R&B track. The instrumentation is so dope, and together with the low rap it is such a dope track. I liked the tempo change in the bridge, it makes it very dynamic. Check out the lyrics here.
After that we get ‘Birthday Party’ with members Johnny , Jungwoo, Hendery, Jaemin, Shotaro, Chenle, and Jisung. We’re partying with this track. The tempo is fast and the beat cool. The elongated ‘wow’ is honestly a moment.
Next up is ‘Know Now’ which is R&B by members Johnny, Doyoung, Mark, Yangyang, Renjun, Jeno, Jaemin, and Seongchan. I really enjoyed the gospel sample, I wish they had used that a bit more. I also enjoyed the bright vocals and high synths. The harmonies are lovely and it just sounds very wholesome.
Next up
‘Dreaming’ is the track by NCT Dream. It has a lovely vibe in the beginning before switching to a more EDM meets R&B mix.
After that ‘Round and Round’ comes along. Taeil, Ten, Jaehyun, Xiaojun, Haechan and Seongchang teamed up for a mid-tempo R&B track with some sick bass. We get some outstanding vocals and I love how they played with their vocal tones.
‘Miracle’ is by the WayV unit. This is one smooth track. It feels very much like their style with the mid-tempo R&B. It’s catchy, has great vocal work and is all around a 10/10.
‘Vroom’ starts off absolutely adorable. The instrumentation is relatively light, especially with the twinkly synths. The tempo picks up traction towards the chorus, but then switches back to the adorable vibe. It’s an interesting listen by members Kun, Jaehyun, Jungwoo, Hendery, Shotaro, Chenle, and Jisung.
After that we get ‘Sweet Dream’ by Taeil, Kun, Jaehyun, Haechan, and Chenle. We get super, super good vocals, some jazzy trumpet in the background and a soft R&B tempo. The layering in this one is so well done!
‘Good Night’ follows that with acoustic guitar and the vocals of members Taeil, Doyoung, Xiaojun, and Renjun. This proper ballad is absolutely wonderful and I think we all desperately need a live version of this.
The closing track is ‘Beautiful’ and it is also the second title track of the album. We get all of the members together in wonderful harmonies and a beautiful message. It’s a wholesome end to this album.
‘Universe’ by NCT is a great album that displays all of their various strengths. You can find it on Spotify here.
