nct dream glitch mode thoughts/review/shitpost

[bestfrenjun]

unhinged thoughts incoming!! not many insights on individual members and their abilities because i am here for renjun.

first listen: based on my literal first run through of the album

fire alarm:

• chenle??
• very good album starter
• instrumentals during the verses >>>
• THE WEEOOOWEOOOWEOOOo
• there is a lot of yelling but i mean this is the type of track that invites yelling so.

glitch mode:

• i was hoping the intro wouldn’t be part of the song… ugh
• the reload mention <3
• the chorus melody is insanely catchy
• i looove the video game sounds they’re very entertaining
• the first half of the prechorus reminds me of winter’s part in the bridge of step back
• the rock bridge is incredibly um. itzy LMAO and i get why they put it (to keep the song interesting) but there’s no cohesion between that part
• it’s like the bad part of favorite that is exclusive to the mv

arcade:

• ASS SHAKER?
• muffly chorus :(
• THE POST-CHORUS!
• got a little bored halfway through it. the chorus reminds me of a track from shinee’s lucifer

it’s yours

• GIRL
• the haechan > renjun > chenle > jisung singing sequence mmmmmmm
• the chorus is very nct u know now especially the “say yeaaaah” and “yours yours yours” repetition
• somehow this song is giving even bigger dj khalid no brainer vibes than know now
• the electric guitar is lovely
• JAEMIN IN THE BRIDGE <3

teddy bear

• the johnnyfication of mark with the intro
• THE QUIET GUITAR THE PLUCKS IN THE BACKGROUND
• ohh this is The One
• IMMACULATE CHORUS. THE HARMONIES?
• haechan sounds so incredible holy shit
• MARK SINGINGDFNG
• this is the closest dream has made to an exo track
• RENJUN’S ADLIBS PLEEAASSE

replay

• YEESSSSSS
• OH THE SYNTHS THAT KICK IN DURING JENO’S PART
• i like this switch up after the second chorus
• the way the production empties out during the bridge

saturday drip

• mark… ungodly things.
• ass shaker.
• JISUNG “I’M AN ARTIST”
• JACKSON POLLOCK?
• i love this production it is so artificial and bit-y
• this would be a great mid-concert song to perform to get the energy back up

better than gold

• OH YES THIS NEW JACK SWING
• soooo feel good
• THE YEAAAAH IN THE CHORUS
• cash cash cash cash someday will vanish
• haechan’s voice shines so much
• chenle in the second chorus!
• RENJUN IN THE BRIIIIDDGE

drive

• natasha called it this Is the skip
• it’s a little too feel-good for me the tambourine really makes it sound corny
• the piano is so CORRNNYYY

never goodbye

• the xylophone clinks are very sweet accents
• the production is interesting
• group chorus <3
• this is their dreams come true
• i can see myself warming up to this later

rewind

• glad this is far away from better than gold on the tracklist
• end of a musical and everyone is happy together type of song
• the “take me back” melody is memorable
• MARK AND CHENLE TOGETHER

track thoughts: formed after listening to the album at least 10 times throughout the day

fire alarm: this song was not made For Me but it's the kind of noisy that scrambles my brain a little. it is so loud. very good album opener but i've never been a fan of songs with a lot of sirens or alarm-y lmao which is... the title. won't be seeking this song to listen to on its own but not gonna skip it either unless i'm craving something quieter

glitch mode: based on the mv teaser i was not expecting that chorus melody/top-line... would love to hear it reimagined because i like the production of the chorus but not that melody with it? it's stupid catchy though and has good choreography from what i remember. renjun's part in the prechorus is soooo reminiscent of winter's part in the bridge of step back. i'm not entirely sold on the rock dance break, the lyrics are cheesy and worsen an already jarring section of the song. a grower but not a song i will learn to love.

arcade: i loooove the intro. the haechan start is so good, the sounds they use in the verses are really interesting. i wish i could hear all of their voices more in the chorus, it's already so full and Thick that their group singing is totally lost. i like the post-chorus (??? the "in the arcade" bit that follows the "power up" chorus). renjun's adlibs are sooo <3 that is my baby. also the shinee song i was thinking of was a-yo do not ask how that makes sense it just does. i'm looking forward to the performances

it's yours: another haechan start!! the guitar is very funky and overall i love the instrument choices, they flourish the song so well. the "say yeah" and "it's yours" coupled with the clapping makes the song sound veeerry similar to no brainer, and because know now also sounds like that song... yeah. my favourite moment on this song is the delivery of 그 어떤 말이 너만큼 많이 빛날까 in the post-hook, the way chenle > haechan > renjun trade that part and they all do it sooo uniquely. 

teddy bear: this is the one. i hate the introduction but i'm gonna forgive mark because the whispering makes me feel tingly. the vibes are immaculate on this track, very spacey and ethereal and perfectly dream-like. hearing all the members sing is so <33 the guitar (bass guitar?) that kicks in during jisung's first part makes my brain tingle. this song is the longest on the album and it absolutely deserved all four minutes of its run time. haechan's voice stands out the most in the group-singing on the chorus. mark's singing ♡___♡ one of two tracks that i read the translation for and for a song called "teddy bear" it is much more uhhh Seductive than you'd expect. i'm a little sucker for The Bed and Sleeping so this song was after my heart before i even heard it.

replay: another thick chorus that i cannot enjoy. does better than arcade though. another case where verse production > chorus, mostly because the sounds used in the verses are more interesting and propel the song better than the chorus. the empty bridge is so relieving, i wish it were slightly longer. i don't have any strong feelings for this song either way and i'm not expecting to look for it in the future. the beginning of the song with haechan sounds like baekhyun's r u ridin'? and haechan is the biggest exo-l so what i'm saying is: hyuck bbh cover WHEN? 

saturday drip: slutty hot girl shit. okay maybe not slutty but fun feel-myself-confidence-boosting song like this would get the energy going. rap line did great, i hope we get something like this again from them. i want to see this performed! let me see na jaemin shake his tiny ass!

better than gold: very feel good <3 wonderful choice to place this song after saturday drip it carries the same energy but in a different way. this song would have really cute choreo. the sirens in the second verse bother me but not enough to affect how i feel toward the song. the "yeeeeaaah yeaaaaah" in the chorus feels like a warm hug. the bridge switch-up is so welcome, renjun sounds great. the horns and cowbell are fun.

drive: a skip. i hate that renjun and i have opposing taste in dream songs </3 corny snoozer. the vroom of this album except i don't skip it because i like hearing renjun sing!

never goodbye: unexpectedly one of my faves??? it is very lo-fi-beats-to-study-to. reminds me of another shinee song but can't figure out which one? knowing the korean title of this song is "polaris" helps set the ambiance of the track, it's very fitting. i need to look at the english lyrics. i am Hearing renjun's backing vocals. minimal rapping on this one which hmmm my other fave has minimal rapping too... i'm sensing a pattern.

rewind: another corny song but in a good way! album closers are allowed to be corny and feel-good and this song makes me feel like i watched a musical and it's coming to an end. i expect cute choreo. chenle and mark overlapping during the "every verse and every line" part was so GOOD we need more of those moments. it's funny to me how surprising it is to hear certain members singing together when they're literally in the same group.
 
album thoughts

we love cohesion! however i'm worried that the distinct ~sound~ of each nct unit will slowly dissipate because this album (to me) sounded similar to universe. i question how much of a group's sound is attached to the members' voices themselves instead of the surrounding production. with nct this issue is amplified by the fact that mh are shared between 127 and dream, and then all the members participate in nct u projects so the intermingling of sounds gets complicated. dream's dream-ness comes from their line distribution which is definitely improving now. a noticeably fair line distribution across their projects is what separates dream from 127 and wayv.

i can see myself coming back to teddy bear, saturday drip, and never goodbye, but the rest of the songs will be album tracks in my mind and not exist outside of the top-to-bottom album-listening experience. overall i like the growth in this album and how sm seems to have a better idea of what they can do with dream. hot sauce may have more skips to me (that album tapers off and dies after countdown in my opinion) but the moments i love on hot sauce far outweigh the moderately enjoyable glitch mode project.