Agree with everyone's thoughts on cohesive nature of this album. It felt like there was a true story arc in this album from song to song (and I feel like that is somewhat rare these days but maybe that's just because I'm old) We start with ican'tfeelanything with the doubt and numbness of it's concept, then into the struggle to rise or get free in Smoothie and Box, we move to something euphoric and free about Carat Cake and then there is the encouragement and comfort in Unknown and also gratitude to those who help us through difficult times in Breathing. Breathing's last lyrics and notes feel like light and hope is peaking in, just beginning to truly come out the other side thanks to the help of a friend.
Imagine icantfeelanything as opening of their new concert 🔥🔥🔥 One thing i can't enjoy in this album is ... THE SONGS IS TOO SHORT 😭😭😭 WE (or at least me) NEED AT LEAST 3 MINUTES OF EACH B-SIDE 😭😭
This is definitely my favorite nct dream album in terms of story and cohesiveness (and i actually dig the title song, its very catchy and badass). They were super badass in smoothie including the incredible choreo, and in the b-sides they expressed more of their feelings. icantfeelanything is the best intro song ever that actually makes sense, and Unknown and Breathing have amazing lyrics and vibe
I do think in the mv of smoothie, they fight bad people in kwangya related with black mamba 😂 bcs the place when Mark fighting the old people is somehow similar to the place in drama, where they killed people with their sword/katana
59:40 the way i gasped bc u got that right! dream just held their concert and this is exactly what they did for breathing. lights dimmed, each member with their own mic stands, standing around the edge of the stage!
I love this album so much. The album honestly reminds me of nct127's 1st full album regular which was also one of my favorite album ever. Both of them are very cohesive but different in their own way
Overall: This album is just unfulfilling and monotonous to me. A lot of the b-sides and tracks fail to capture my attention, and it's just something that I don't enjoy from NCT DREAM. This feels like a departure from NCT Dream's original musical and visual identity. Their cbs like Glitch Mode and ISTJ have that NCT Dream charm with the youthful but at the same time, mature concept. This just falls into a very stereotypical darker prison concept, and I just don't find it attractive in NCT DREAM, and its out of brand to me imo. I will say that the middle chunk of the album is quite strong and sonically interesting but I only liked Carat Cake and BOX sounds a bit b-side to me. This is overall a very mid-album, 5/10.
Kpop fans are always so unsatisfied lol. Not every album should be the same. It's so annoying how focused ppl are for Dream to song youthful (or cutesy). They are growing and changing so will their music. NCT always bring something new and they will continue to do so. Your taste seems pretty basic, mentioning Carat Cake as your fav pls. The most basic ass song that seems like something HYBE does. You said everything. So many NCT "stans" will like their most basic ass songs, which is ESPECIALLY the case for Dream. This might not be their best album or whatever, but this thought process is odd lol.
