Tag: TXT

TXT kicks off the week with their latest comeback, Stick With You from their 8th mini-album 7th Year: A Moment of Stillness in the Thorns. It is their first comeback since their The Star Chapter: Together studio album (yet to be reviewed) and Beautiful Stangers, their 4th world tour, Act: Tomorrow, and the announcement that all 5 members had renewed their contracts with Big Hit Music (meaning there will be more of TXT coming our way!).

Stick With You is an electropop song that sits on the more ‘pleasant’ side of the spectrum of songs. It might be too soon for me to say whether “pleasant” is meant positively or critically (I have been busy and tired from work the last couple of days, so I haven’t had time to listen to new songs), so my reaction has been fairly neutral thus far. There are some good aspects to Stick With You that jump out at me, like the solid beat, the slight autotune behind their vocals to give some texture, and that deep “Is this a dream?” that serves as the main hook. I must say, their vocals do a really neat job of conveying a ‘yearning’ feeling (this isn’t their first time showcasing this feeling in their songs), and the autotune enhances it well. However, outside what has been mentioned, Stick With You also feels rather ’empty’. It doesn’t elicit much motivation to revisit the song, if I am being honest. I wish there were more prominent melodies in Stick With You and I felt like the producers could have leaned more on the electropop backing.

I applaud Big Hit Music for managing to extend the 2:33-minute song into a 4:30-minute music video. It does give a false impression that the song is of a decent length. Anyhow, the music video shows the TXT members stuck in a dream loop, constantly chasing and yearning for the female character after she leaves the apartment. In these dreams, fate ends up blocking the members from reaching her, or someone else distracts her or takes her away from the members. When they do reach her, the happiness is short-lived, with the members falling back asleep. However, towards the end of the video, it is revealed that these dreams are the members’ insecurity. SOOBIN manages to confront the ‘fate’ that is putting the female character just outside their grasp – it’s themselves (HUENINGKAI also glimpses himself walking away with her whilst he was on the ground). The whole time, she has been committed to just them, but their insecurities made them feel like they were losing her. I am glad there was a ‘happy ending’ to the story, even though they wake up again after the TXT logo, suggesting their insecurity is constantly at play. Their acting is also quite impressive throughout the video.

I quite liked the choreography for this comeback. There is a sharpness to the routine, particularly during the first half of the chorus, that makes the arm movements look so cool. The second half of the chorus (i.e., the “Is this a dream?” sequences) infuses some really dynamic intensity that elevates the routine and showcases TXT’s performance abilities.

Song – 7.5/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 8.3/10

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