NCT Dream is breaking away from their usual upbeat and optimistic vibe to showcase their vulnerabilities in their latest mini-album, ‘Dream( )scape’. The album, which features the same offbeat yet highly melodious sound that sets the group apart from NCT’s other sub-groups, offers a range of emotional experiences that explore the challenges of growing up under the spotlight. Despite crafting a collection of creative, cohesive and enjoyable songs, the album’s lead single, ‘Smoothie’, undermines their path to maturity and uniqueness with its predictability.
Featuring poignant film teasers that reveal the cracks beneath the polished exterior of their boyband image, NCT Dream showcases themes of loneliness, bruising routines, and muddled identities. Shedding the truth is a necessity for a group that is set to celebrate its eighth anniversary soon, with members ranging from 22 to 24 years old. They ask for freedom through the nostalgic hip-hop track, ‘BOX’, where they say, “Don’t put me in a box / I’m banging on the roof / Don’t put me in a box / I’m a lion on the move.”
‘Dream( )scape’ traces these vulnerabilities to their roots and transforms these emotions into musical experiences that listeners both relate to and can learn from. The album features closing mid-tempos, ‘Unknown’ and ‘숨 (Breathing)’, which encourage facing these doubts and highlight the sublime vocals of the septet. Even the peculiar ‘Carat Cake’ with its quirky, 8-bit synths and addictive singalongs fits seamlessly into the collection.
However, despite the album’s creative offerings, the lead single, ‘Smoothie’, is where the collection falters. With its grating repetitions, it encloses NCT Dream within a predictable and borderline-exasperating track. The sexually suggestive lyrics, “feels sticky on me,” “to the bottom, swallow it all chewy,” and many more, seem out of place beside the rest of the album’s creative genius and undermine its uniqueness and maturity.
NCT Dream’s ‘Dream( )scape’ is a must-listen to anyone who truly appreciates creative, melodic, and emotional music. While ‘Smoothie’ may be a misstep, the album’s remaining tracks offer a vivid sub-group of NCT and an act that remains one of SM Entertainment’s most successful
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