Welcome to my review of Monsta X’s latest album release, The Connect: Deja Vu. This is the group’s first release of 2018 and their 6th mini-album overall. Once again, the group has put out a top-notch album for their fans and I just can’t stop coming back to this album. To find out which songs I liked and while I just didn’t connect to, continue reading!

1..Jealousy (Title Track) – Click here to read the full review for Jealousy. (8.7/10) 

2. Destroyer – This particular track featured in the pre-release music film video, which provided the continuation to their Dramarama. From the very start of this track, you can get a sense of the intensity of the track. The chorus had a melodic hook, which made it catchy and memorable.  I like the post-chorus rock change-up, which injected more intensity into the track. Usually, I nick-pick at the small details but Destroyer had no flaws. It could have easily been a contender for the title track. (10/10) 

3. Fallin’ (폭우) – The song opens up with a rap sequence, which feels heavily based in the hip-hop genre. Within seconds of the vocals start, it changes more into a pop song. And once the chorus started, a funky and groovy instrumental also managed to change up the song a second time around. While these changes may not be everyone’s cup of tea, this track sounds really good (in my point of view). All the other elements that I comment all were all amazing in this track as well. (9/10)

4. Crazy In Love (미쳤으니까) – This track is an intense R&B dance track. The chorus has a nice melody, which makes it easy on the ears of the listener. Furthermore, it doesn’t rely on EDM, which we tend to hear a lot of nowadays and relief given the previous track on the album. Compared to the previous tracks, however, it does lack a little something, resulting it being not so memorable. But it was a good break from the other songs. (7/10)

5. Lost In The Dream – The song opens with a ‘Na Na Na’, which did catch me off guard at first. However, it is soft and seductive. The song had a good pre-chorus build-up but the drop into the chorus felt weak in comparison. That left the chorus a tad underwhelming, which should have been more powerful. Thankfully, the chorus did get better as the song went along. The raps included in the song lifted the intensity, while Kihyun’s vocals during the bridge sounded so awesome. Both managed to give the song a peak, which I was worried it wouldn’t get to. (7.5/10)

6. If You – The song is incredibly sweet sounding and has this noticeable cheery tone to it, which I really liked. I like all the vocals from each of the members (including Jooheon) and IM’s raps was a nice addition to the song. The build-up to the chorus was prolonged but it was worth the wait with the great chorus the song has. The song could have used a bridge (the sudden stop at the end of the second chorus felt abrupt) but what we got instead was fine as well. (8.5/10)

7. Special – At the very start of the song, a rap sequence was used to set the tone of the song. I particularly liked the drop and the strong chorus’ instrumental. The vocals don’t really seem to shine, which was somewhat disappointing. But the raps did a good job covering for that. It is another intense song with an awesome instrumental. It had a great ending, which also served as a great ending to the album. (8/10)

Overall Album Rating – 8.5/10