Tag: TXT

TXT returned yesterday with their 4th studio album, The Star Chapter: TOGETHER, and the lead single Beautiful Strangers. It follows their Love Language single from earlier this year, which is not included on this new album. TXT is also due to start their 4th world tour, Act: Tomorrow, from next month.

Beautiful Strangers see the group return with an emotionally charged single. I really liked the contrast between TXT’s sometimes soft, sometimes powerful vocals in Beautiful Strangers and the bold synth drops, which make for a fantastic centrepiece in the song’s background. In between all of this, we get a blend of trap and rock, which the group has attempted previously in Deja Vu. While not novel in TXT’s discography, I honestly didn’t mind this and thought it made the instrumental ‘leap’ at the correct times to gear the song towards those bold synth drops. However, despite all attempts to make Beautiful Strangers a powerful and impactful track, there was an overwhelming lack of development in the song that holds back its full potential. The contrast mentioned earlier gives Beautiful Strangers ebbs and flows, but it doesn’t really go anywhere, and this gets frustrating the more I listen to the song. I blame the lack of a climax in Beautiful Strangers, which is primarily due to its incredibly short runtime of 2:18 minutes. There simply isn’t enough time for the song to really develop.

The music video for Beautiful Strangers showcases the members’ bond as a group, conveying the message that they are more powerful together. How fitting, given that it has been confirmed the group is currently up for contract negotiations. The music video depicts the members struggling without one another, particularly during the aftermath of an accident that leaves one of the members no longer by their side. I think the member in question is SOOBIN, given that he wasn’t part of the montage of solo scenes at the start of the pause in music in the video. TXT’s acting was really good throughout the video, and I liked the moodier atmosphere that matched the music.

Those synth drops mentioned earlier lend well to the performance, which is dramatic and powerful to watch. As such, this performance is definitely one to watch, especially with TXT giving their all to reflect that same emotionally charged energy from the song in this routine. The routine itself was apparently choreographed by YEONJUN. Well done to YEONJUN for such a fantastic routine.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 8.5/10

TXT returned at the end of last week with their new single Love Language. This latest release follows their 7th mini-album, The Star Chapter: Sanctuary, from the end of last year and the title track Over The Moon. It also follows a well-deserved extended break for the group.

Love Language is a pleasant release from TXT, but I wish there was more to Love Language than what it had to offer. Everything from the darting synths in the background, the members’ sweet vocals, and the contrasting deeper spoken tone of the post-chorus sequence from YEONJUN, SOOBIN, and BEOMGYU was all fine. The opening line to the choruses was memorable, and I liked the extra raspiness from TAEHYUN and HEUINGKAI. But Love Language is such a safe release (relative to the rest of their discography, which has been bold and striking at times) that it feels extremely basic. I can’t hear anything exciting enough in Love Language to attract and grab my attention, aside from this being a TXT release. This will put the song’s longevity at risk. I feel like that exciting element is what Love Language is missing. But I am not entirely sure what could be used (perhaps a different texture or something that builds on the edginess that the post-chorus sequences attempt to get across), given the mellowness of Love Language, which restricts their options.

The music video shows TXT in a very cutesy light, searching for their special someone’s love language. It is interesting yet different from the usual portrayal of the members, but I thought it was quite a good watch. The video style and creative decisions really complement the song quite well. I particularly liked the scenes where one member would be at the forefront of the screen, and the rest would be just doing their own thing in the background.

I don’t think we expected to see SOOBIN’s abs as part of the choreography for this comeback, especially with such a sweet song and cutesy video. But I am sure no one is complaining about its appearance in the routine. I actually quite liked the sharp and fast movements during the chorus. It added a little visual oomph to the routine and offered the comeback a little more intensity and dynamic flair.

Song – 7/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 7.5/10

TXT returned at the start of the week with Over The Moon, the lead single from their 6th mini-album, The Star Chapter: Sanctuary. This is the group’s first release since April’s Deja Vu (which led their 5th mini-album, Minisode 3: TOMORROW, and July’s We’ll Never Change.

TXT takes us down a dreamy motif with Over The Moon. It is a good pop track with a decent beat. Several elements in the song are quite subtle, such as the slight oomph the chorus got through the paced electric guitar strum and the groovy bass guitar. However, they stand out in an otherwise simple and straightforward pop song like Over The Moon, though some more than others. The melodies are nice and pleasant throughout Over The Moon, as are the vocals that deliver them. But the song’s key and most memorable point is the “Over The Moon, Over The Star” falsetto. It is smooth and silky, which works well in a song as pleasant and dreamy as Over The Moon. But while Over The Moon is melodic, dreamy, and pleasant, the song doesn’t have much else to stand out in the sea of other KPOP songs out there at the moment. I do have concerns about how the song will linger in our minds past this week after their promotional cycle for Over The Moon is completed. It also doesn’t help that Over The Moon is how short and quick it is, which exacerbates my concern above.

The song expresses the exciting idea and prospect of love. Throughout the music video, we see the members getting ready in various ways, presumably to see their lover. YEONJUN is getting ready in the bathroom (hygiene is important), HEUNINGKAI exercises to look fit, and TAEHYUN prepares flowers for his lover. Beomgyu and Soobin were also doing other things in the music video, but I couldn’t exactly make out what or why they were doing what they were doing. I also like how the video shows how the rainy weather doesn’t dampen their spirits and emphasises their excitement for love. The dreamy colours were also a nice touch.

I like how smooth and upbeat the performance looked. This combination complements the dreamy nature of Over The Moon and the upbeatness of the song. It also made the song feel more substantial than it sounded. I enjoyed this routine and how it boosted the comeback’s appeal.

Song – 7.5/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 8/10

Also making their comeback at the start of the week was TXT with their 6th mini-album titled Minisode 3: Tomorrow. Leading this mini-album is the title track Deja Vu. This new release follows on from TXT’s October 2023 comeback with Chasing That Feeling and The Name Chapter: Freefall.

New song Deja Vu takes us down a more emotive route, with the new song relying less on instrumentation and flair to connect with the audience. Instead, Deja Vu relies more on the members’ delivery and melodies to convey their emotions and message of the song. And by extension, I feel that Deja Vu‘s rock elements (amongst the trap) in instrumental aids in that as well. It becomes more noticeable and profound the more you listen to Deja Vu, particularly in the later parts of the song. Despite the harmonious intent of the song’s elements, I do think that Deja Vu isn’t their strongest release to date. We have heard TXT pour emotions (of some form) into their comebacks in the past but they were successful as they had some form of a punchy demeanour (e.g., 0X1=LOVESONG (I Know I Love You)). I find that to be a missing element in Deja Vu. Instead, the production of Deja Vu to be more of a seamless construction – continuous and consistent. This isn’t a criticism of Deja Vu, however. I find the seamless nature of the trap and rock elements makes the song its own thing. I just think Deja Vu needs a bit more character (and have said character flow onto other parts of the song) to really take it to the next level and be more memorable.

The song’s lyrics “express how [someone wants to] reunite like promised in the past, describing the moment of reunion as deja vu” (taken from SOOMPI). And in the music video, we see the members convey the feelings and desire of wanting to reunite with someone in their past. From the looks of it, the determination to reunite, the feeling of being lost and the anticipation of the reunion were some feelings explored by the members in the video. I also like how in one of Heung Kai’s scene part way through the video, it looks like he was knocked back, which may depict the times in which a reunion was in sight, but wasn’t fruitful for one reason or another. I liked how the video’s colour palette also plays into the emotional side

The emotions are definitely conveyed well in the performance for Deja Vu. That was my main takeaway from watching the performance. My favourite aspect of the routine has to be the rock coloured dance break we get, where Yeonjun does an amazing high kick spin. Best part of the routine, in my opinion.

Song – 7.5/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 8.5/10
Overall Rating – 7.9/10