CW: discussion of sexual assault

NCT is a behemoth of a group, with half as many members as there are states in my country. They’re separated into four fixed, smaller groups. First is NCT 127 with Taeyong, Johnny, Yuta, Doyoung, Jaehyun, Jungwoo, Mark, and Haechan. The last two are also in NCT Dream with Chenle, Jisung, Taemin, Jeon, and Renjun. WayV is their Chinese group, with members Winwin, Xiaojun, Hendery, Yangyang, Jun, and Ten. NCT Wish is the newest addition, a Japanese group with Sion, Riku, Yoshi, Jaehee, Rio, and Sakura.

There are also four former members: Lucas (who left in 2021), Shotaro and Sungchan (who redebuted in RIIZE), and Taeil (who was kicked out in 2024 and who we will get to in a moment). Besides the discographies of their respective groups, the entirety of NCT has gotten together four times throughout the years for larger albums with all of their members, as well as forming smaller units through NCT U, both of which we’re covering in this review.

And breathe. Right, so that was a lot. Here are my credentials: I consider myself a fan of NCT Dream (see my review here), and while the music of NCT 127 isn’t always for me, I do know a fair bit about them, having done a review and having watched their documentary The Lost Boys. I also did a review on WayV, whose career I’m divided about. I don’t know much about either the music or the members of NCT Wish.

Intro:

Now, if you know anything about NCT, if you’re an NCTzen, or if you’ve been following kpop news in the last year, you’ll know that on August 28th of 2024, Moon Taeil was quickly removed from NCT after he was charged with a “sexual offense”, which set off a series of horrified reactions from the public. More specifically, he was charged with “aggravated quasi-rape”, which in this case, means that (TW: very specific) he “assaulted an intoxicated woman with two non-celebrity acquaintances” (according to Vulture). There isn’t much more verified information out there, so that’s why I’m only mentioning what was in the police report.

(Very specific ends, TW from beginning reinforced)

Why am I mentioning this? Why is this important for a music review? Because as much as SM Entertainment and perhaps NCTzens themselves may want to think otherwise, Taeil was an important member of the group for the better part of six years. He was someone who fans trusted and liked, much like Seungri of Bigbang (though, thankfully, his crimes seem less widespread). All of this also occurred at the same time as other sexual crimes came under the spotlight in South Korea. And, with whatever platform I have, I want to raise awareness about things like this. You may want to roll your eyes when I say it, but if you see something, for the love of whoever you believe in, fucking say something. If someone comes to you for help, or asks for guidance, believe them. Take care of them. Support them in whatever way you can. Please.

For further discussion about this topic, please read my posts about Goo Hara and Burning Sun.

With that, let’s all take a deep breath, grab a snack and a fluffy dog, and begin with this review.

Single #1: The 7th Sense

The 7th Sense is one of those songs that you hear about constantly, but I’d honestly never listened all the way through until this review. Sacrilege, I know. But having listened to it now, I give it…a resounding shrug? There’s interesting things about it, definitely; the instrumental is unique, the vocals are great, the dancing is seriously impressive, and the beat is solid with no super out-of-left-field rap breaks or insane tempo shifts. The MV too is pretty solid, with its saturated colors and simple lines. It’s fine. But I don’t get the hype.

Single #2: Boss

Taeyong’s distinctive voice is one of the biggest players in the song Boss. It has a lot of what I now look at as the “NCT hallmarks”: a mix of lovely vocals, an anti-drop, a harsher chorus, etc, and I’d be lying if I said it’s as good a song as it could be. But, compared to the majority of NCT 127’s discography, it has a clear vision and executes it well. I wish it had a better payoff and a more melodic outro, but it’s overall pretty strong. The best part is the bridge, courtesy of Doyoung and Jungwoo, no surprises there. It’s alright for what it is.

Single #3: Baby Don’t Stop

Next up, we have Baby Don’t Stop. Firstly, what a name. It’s not exactly being subtle about its meaning, between the overdone breathiness of the vocals and the obvious lyrics, so credit where it’s due; there’s no Highway To Heaven Genius interview bullshitting here. It says a lot about Taeyong and Ten as performers and rapper and vocalist respectively that just the two of them could make a song sound as full and well-developed as this one does, especially being on an album with twenty other people. It doesn’t feel lacking or empty, even with pretty minimal instrumentation. The MV for this one crystallizes something I’ve thought about Ten for a while, which is that he’s an incredible dancer, but not in the way that’s usual for kpop. He’s very fluid, almost boneless (?) and manages to make the whole thing look completely effortless, something I’ve only really seen in someone like Taemin or Koharu Sugawara. But I digress. This is definitely my favorite single so far.

Album #1: 2018 Empathy

Black On Black may be the most NCT song to ever NCT, like an early-years BTS song on steroids. In short, it’s exactly what I expected and I despised every minute of it, from the random snarling in the background to the nonsensical tempo changes to the weird instrumental that makes Sticker’s off-key recorder sound like Yechan’s violin playing. The amount of times I said “ugh” out loud is a bit sad. I will say that the dancing is genuinely impressive; Neo may have my back, but I’m wincing looking at theirs in this photo. At least Taeyong doesn’t have to carry anyone.

I wasn’t sure how to address this album, so I’m just going to focus on the tracks that aren’t counted as singles. Intro Neo Got My Back is…fine, but the over-auto tuning isn’t for me. I was much more a fan of the peppy 90’s boy band pop of NCT 127’s Touch, the vulnerable lyrics both Yestoday and Timeless, and the exquisite blend of traditional and electronic instrumentals in Ten’s solo Dream In A Dream (the dancing again…is just stunning). My hidden gem from this album was easily Without U, which seems tailor-made for a road trip, and has never failed to make me smile with its maximalistic production, soaring vocals, and encouraging lyrics since the first time I heard it.

(TW reinforced for next paragraph)

And this time is no exception—well, mostly. Because one of the owners of those soaring vocals is Taeil, something I didn’t actually know until this review. And he has a fantastic voice, as much as I hate to admit it. Which leads me to ask something I’ve been wondering since I did my BigBang review: do the despicable actions of a singer or performer, producer, etc, mean that their work can no longer be appreciated or even loved? I know first hand how much specific songs can mean to people, and I can’t imagine how heartbroken I would be if one of those artists turned out to have done something so heinous. I don’t really have an answer to my own question, but I feel like it’s important to bring it up. Let me know your opinion.

Single #4: Make A Wish

I think of Make A Wish a bit like The 7th Sense part two, in that I’ve heard constantly about how it’s just trailblazing and incredible and…it’s not, guys. Maybe there’s something very important that I’m missing, but I just don’t get it. Again, there’s good parts—the pre-chorus is a clear highlight and the bridge’s vocals are excellent—but they don’t seem to go together. Part of this is because, I confess, I don’t like Taeyong’s rapping tone (which isn’t his fault, just personal preference), but it’s not helping. Between that, the random unnecessary cultural appropriation, and the several different hooks that cancel each other out, it’s a hard pass from me.

Single #5: 90’s Love

90’s Love is bright and bubbly, a bit like NCT 127’s Touch was, but an added jazziness to it that makes it more suited for the album. It’s a little harsher on the ears in places than I’d like, but that’s par for the course with NCT. The best part is probably the build-up before the chorus, but the main hook and the bridge are pretty good too; I even didn’t mind the rap breaks. As for the vocals, they’re all great but Haechan’s voice especially feels like a great fit for this song. It’s probably my favorite single as a whole so far.

Single #6: Work It

Work It starts with the phrase “we’re hot, Czennies tell us right”, which more or less provides the ethos for the song. It’s more on the confident, what-are-you-gonna-do-about-it side of their discography, but it’s pretty solid, managing to still feel like fun and make you want to dance. It seems tailor-made (no pun intended) for the runway, between the vogueing-inspired dance movies and the shots in the club. I’m not the biggest fan of such a stark anti-drop, to be honest—I wish there was a fuller hook—but overall I like it.

Album #2: NCT Resonance 2020

From Home, as befits the name, is on the more emotional side of NCT’s discography, with just a gentle piano for instrumentation during its verses and a laid-back MV half shot through a hazy, polaroid-esque lens that really adds to its warmth. The choruses are a bit more sprawling than I was expecting, which is a nice surprise, since I was expecting just your average ballad. I was also surprised that the original version includes Chinese (courtesy of WayV), Japanese (Yuta), Korean (Haechan and Doyoung), and English, a lovely tribute to the internationality of NCT. The many thank you in languages around the world made me a little emotional too.

This album, like the first, was a bit uneven, not surprising for a twenty one track epic. the mix between a harsher underlying sound and gentle vocals in Lightbulb, the smooth jazz of the interlude, and the traditional instrumentation in Deja Vu. For my hidden gem, I couldn’t choose between the bass guitar led Misfit with its forceful beat and the emotional, layered Faded In My Last Song. The other songs, like Music Dance or were very much not for me.

Next time, we’re onto Part 2. Tschüss!