yuerstruly

overview of my thoughts on nct's 2024 music release can be found here. once again, please do not click if you cannot accept criticism of any unit or member of nct

for 2025, i'm switching it up a little (and writing this in lapslock because i'm trying not to sound serious and stilted). no transitions because i don't have the energy or brain capacity for that. i am covering albums, minis, singles, and features (do let me know if i have missed any). nice OSTs will get shoutouts, but i truly cannot bore myself enough to pretend i care about most of them when OSTs are paired with the dramas they're coming out of. i am not watching most of these dramas anytime soon! sooooo without further ado, from the start of the calendar year:

ten: obsession feature (1-21)
i feel like artist features can be so hit or miss, but the song is nice and i LOVE ten's parts. not sure if i could call the song a 10/10 (worth looping though), but the feature? a 10/10 for me. FOR TEN LEE

smtown remakes (2-14)
sorry to nct wish but i don't care about "miracle" and sorry to nct 127 but i don't care about "you in vague memory". anyway, "love me right" first. kind of crazy that mark starts off and somehow sounds like KYUNGSOO? obviously, a cover being a cover, it's hard not to compare to the original, but i do like dream's version in that i can hear it as BOTH a good cover and dream-flavored song (kudos to whoever was distributing these lines because the voices fit well). and then we have "juliette" from wayv. xiaojun stands out by far, followed by ten. i'm never sure how i feel about hendery's rapping because his flow isn't that great, but i guess it could sound worse here. great song though, i can listen to it all the way through. i think

ten: stunner (3-24)
MY ALBUM OF THE YEAR. yes, i know it's a mini but it's still MY album of the year. ten was my top artist on my spotify wrapped, and "stunner" was my top album! i was truly looping that album because it was so good. stunner is such a good title track, and i think i like it more than "nightwalker" (still a good song, but sorry). my only caveat with it is that i did not enjoy "bambola" so i was actually listening to this album by putting all the other songs in a playlist, excluding "bambola." i didn't care about it, and it was grating to the ears. the rest of the album though? perfection. my favorite b-side is probably tied between "enough for me" and "waves," but i may also be influenced by the "enough for me" stage. the setup for that was just too good. special shoutout to "sweet as sin" for being only a smidge under the other two. i do love that track though. all in all, a spectacular mini and i'm really hoping he can do a FULL album next year. with the same quality of course :)

mark: the firstfruit (4-7)
a solid debut album from mark!! it's very mark, and i know i sound like a broken record talking about every member's solo work, but i find it important to note that i highly enjoy how much every one of them has carved their musical identity, whether that execution ended up being a 10/10 or not. my holy trinity run is probably basic—raincouver, loser, watching tv—but will there really be anyone who doesn't like these picks? i also looped "watching tv" a lot. "1999" is a fun title! loved the performance, loved the trend that was born out of it, and nice to see how everyone has welcomed and cheered for mark the soloist. on the other hand, i'm not sure the storytelling aspect of the firstfruit was 100% effective, and i wonder if it had to do with the tracks that had been released as singles."+82 pressin" is a great song, i won't deny, but i'm not sure if it was doing it musically in this album. and when followed by "200" there's a weird dissonance but idk … maybe i'll change my mind about it. "fraktsiya" wasn't crazily out of place since it came after "righteous" but i guess the song itself left much to be desired. i say that! even though i loved it on release! but we've seen so much better from him when it comes to flow and lyricism, it just feels like a pity that this is what we got. is the quality of this album that leaves more to be desired correlated with how overworked he is? probably. but we cannot think of whatifs, so we will never truly know what his work is like outside of his current condition

wish: poppop (4-14)
i'm obsessed with the title in comparison to the rest of the mini, in that i looped it as soon as i heard it versus trying to give the mini a few plays. this does create a problem because to this day, i don't have any standout b-sides from this mini, though if i have to pick one, "silly dance" is my favorite. because of that, "still 3PM" falls off a lot in comparison for me, but it's fine because i don't hate the song. i'll probably give this mini a revisit next year to see if i feel any differently

ten: humanity (4-23)
lol. lmao, even. compared to this kr/en releases, his jp debut felt very lackluster. i don't fault him in any way, but the existence of his jp solo debut feels a lot more contract related than anything, which i hate on so many levels. humanity ep IS, however, better than wayv's jp mini, which was grating to my ears on so many levels, and for that i am mad because what is going on with A&R?? unfortunately, no standout tracks for me from this ep, so i will just hope whatever next jp release ten gets is better

jaehyun: call it off (4-25)
10/10, no notes. amazing collab, jaehyun's use was voiced perfectly, and this dropping during his enlistment made it all the more special

chenle: lucid (5-5)
don't know how this is being categorized, but i'm simply going to call this a … chinese solo ep. because it is. well, i think "lucid" and "tear bridge" are comforting songs, but i don't know if i was that into it. he has a nice voice though! pleasant to listen to, easy on my ears, and perhaps this is better for a rainy evening by the fireplace while you stare solemnly outside the window?

yuta: twisted paradise (5-14)
i'm actually really into yuta's solo music direction, and i probably don't say that enough because i spend so much of my time getting emotionally tormented by other music, but he has been consistently good! i do wish "when i'm not around" had been the title though. i think it's the better song and i would've loved to see a music video for it. the original one for "twisted paradise" was great though :)

doyoung: soar (6-9)
this album came out in june. okay, well, i didn't get around to it until … mid october? i remember this because i was spiraling over a situationship and i listened to this album while going out for a walk to clear my head. it did, kind of! my favorite track was "sand box" by far. i liked "wake from the dark" and "be my light" but "sand box" was that one song i looped so many times outside of listening through the album. "eternity" was also nicely slotted as the last track, and i think it was a great way to end the album

dream: go back to the future (7-14)
despite this album showing up on my spotify wrapped as one of my top 5 albums, i have absolutely no recollection of listening to this album. AND IT ONLYHAS 9 TRACKS, WITH ONE OF THEM BEING AN INTERLUDE? what happened to sm length full albums? i was taken aback when i saw it, and that's when i realized—i didn't like either title track, and as soon as this album had dropped, i had taken all the non-title tracks and placed that into a playlist, then looped THAT. "i like it" was my most played track, followed by "dream team." i like the rest of the album, but i'm not sure this was a standout album to me (hot sauce/hello future repack you are still the GOAT to me). i do remember listening to my non-title track playlist a lot in the shower over the summer though LOL

wayv: big bands (7-18)
wow, where do i even begin? i think wayv's music direction has sparked a lot of discourse, and unfortunately, i felt that their move to prism had taken a turn for the worse for their musical identity. that being said, it felt like "big bands" is what they were looking for to solidify their "new" brand, and it works a lot better than "frequency" or "give me that," which felt like such low quality productions, especially coming out of sm (we will NOT be getting into the xenophobia of that company, but let's acknowledge it's there). "big bands" could be a lot more; i felt like the instrumental was carrying the song here, which isn't a bad thing and i'm a sucker for good instrumental, but if you could do more for the song outside of that, why shouldn't you? "ice tea" was giving me mixed feelings, but it's not bad in the slightest. they should make a horny english version (unless they secretly have and i missed out on this? i've been very out of the loop these days). "sad eyes" was my favorite on this album, and i don't mind "your song" at all. wayv has way better ballads though, so these two sound lackluster in comparison

wish: color (9-1)
3rd mini and their sound is getting into "everything is starting to blend together" territory, which i don't like at all. i think "color" was fine and fell in line with wish's discography sonically, but i feel like it doesn't stand out in any way. "surf" was a fun song and glad they got to perform it, but something about it is at odds with whatever goes on in my head. i'll probably have to come back to this later. and now, i rarely dislike tracks, but "videohood" was not doing it for me. the only thing i liked about the song was one of yushi's parts around the middle of the song, but that might be because i dislike most of the song, especially the chorus. overall, a mini that sounds like wish and is, what i call, cutely boring. i hope they get some more standout songs in their next comeback

haechan: taste (9-8)
THE SOLO ALBUM OF THE YEAR! i didn't listen to it as soon as it dropped. i used to be on top of music releases, but i realized mood is so important to the music listening experience. after i saw a bunch of people on my timeline saying the album was pretty horny, i decided to time it with my cycle so that i was listening to the album when my libido peaked for the month. and guess what? IT WORKED. one of my top albums of the year overall, and the way the outro eased you right back into "camera lights" when you looped it made for the best listening experience. i did not want to get out of there at all. like many others, "adrenaline" was my favorite track. if i had to pick a top 3 from this album, the other two would be "roll with me" and "WYN?" heaven-sent listening experience, and i can't wait for what other music he has in store for us

yuta: persona (10-26)
genuinely very happy with what yuta is doing for his music and if i'm going to be honest, persona was a solid release. i thought "new world" was the perfect track for kicking off the album here, which, y'know, is important because first impressions can make or break your experience. that being said, i felt like i couldn't get into "ember" despite it being the title track (someone correct me if i'm wrong here). as much as i appreciate yuta in his natural music habitat, i do also get concerns about his vocal chords … i hope he is taking care of his voice well because "ember" sounds like a lot of voice straining. i don't dig it and i am worried. on the other hand, i thought the latter half of the album was pretty solid! my favorite track is still "when i'm not around," but "if we lose it all tonight" is a great follow up to it. funnily enough, i like how "twisted paradise" sounds in the album vs the standalone experience i had, and on revisiting it, i realized the reason i didn't like it as much as "when i'm not around" is because i like the first 50 seconds of the song a lot more than the rest, where it kind of mellows out. banger instrumental and beats though, so i'll take it

wish: dreamcatcher (11-6)
my initial thoughts for "dreamcatcher" as a stand-alone song are that 1) it's a predictable wish sound and 2) i wish they had done more with the song. that being said, it's fine for a pre-release, and i did like their winter album from last year (by that, i mean the NEW tracks they released in the album), so i'm looking forward to the jp full

dream: beat it up (11-17)
oh dream, what would i do without your minis? to ride the highs of how i love every mini you've ever released, only to be tossed into the reality that none of your full-length albums have come close to the quality of what your minis are giving us? i know, bad take, but this is how i feel. and as for this mini album? it's so good quality-wise i kept calling this dream5 in my friends' dms (SORRY TO BTTF) because i was like, yeah, this is totally a full album! it's not. great title and "rush" is a nice follow up to the order. funnily enough, but also not that surprising, my favorite track on this mini is "tricky," and i think this speaks to where i stand on the nct sound

jungwoo: sugar (11-28)
cute song, i don't know if this was meant to be a solo debut because i would certainly like to see more from him, and it's kind of evil this was lowkey his enlistment goodbye song ?? LIKE HEY SIR COME BACK? i feel like i don't have much to say about the single itself except that it's good for a light bopping session. i am more looking forward to what his solo albums will end up sounding/looking like, and i think he can pull off a decent range (you can see how well he fits throughout the spectrum of dojaejung's music, from "perfume" and "kiss" to "strawberry sunday")

wayv: eternal white (12-8)
i want to be nice, but let me get this out of the way first: if wayv had this consistent quality of music from the moment they moved to prism center, i wouldn't feel like i'm yelling at a brick wall about how their releases are stripping them of their musical identity. ANYWAY. great title track, and the best they've gotten since their move to prism. the title has that wayv sound (though it does remind me of some of their earlier b-sides? if i tried hard enough i could probably name it as mixture of two tracks on their discography prior to this release) and mandopop flavor, which i find to be fundamental to their identity, them being a chinese subunit of nct and all. and most importantly, we got more of wayv singing in MANDARIN, which is a win for me, and hopefully everyone else that has been following their unique career trajectory. my favorite track? STAY. i AM a sucker for dem jointz, yes, but it really is such a good song. maybe this will lead to more wayv x dem jointz, hopefully on a title track!! i'm not sure if this winter special album is a one-off for their new discography, but i'm happier with this so obviously i hope their next release is closer to this than …[checks notes] "give me that"

doyoung: promise (12-9)
"promise" is very doyoung in a "let's make you cry from comfort and the comfort you will miss" way. i like the latter half of the song, which feels more impactful, but yeah, i'll probably listen to this on a random wednesday afternoon at some point next year and go "I MISS DOYOUNG" and have a random breakdown. on the other hand, i don't know how to sugarcoat it but i don't care about "whistle" as a song and i don't care about belle. i think this would've sounded better with another artist … seulgi? wendy? i just don't think belle's voice sounds good with doyoung. it doesn't mesh, and her group's controversy isn't helping me warm up to how she sounds here in the slightest

shoutout to the two OSTs that caught my attention:

xiaojun: 幸逢你 (10-21) blood river
i haven't watched blood river yet and am not sure i will in the near future, despite having watched both the blood of youth and dashing youth. let's just say that, if you watched them in the order they were released, you would have given up on the third show like me. anyway. xiaojun has such a good OST voice, and wow this song is REALLY CHINESE. from the instrumental to the melody … i don't think it's a bad thing. i do like this song! given the lyrics, i'll probably listen to this song when i'm crying and spiraling and need something to reel me back to reality and tell me everything will be alright

nct wish: princepingsong (12-11) princess catch! teenieping
i fucking love a cute song so i'll be bopping to this a bit. don't care about the chorus that much? i like the first verse though

here are the other OSTs. i gave them all a listen, but let's be real, OSTs hit harder when you're actually watching the show. i don't know if i ever said this anywhere publicly, but last year i was telling a friend that i hoped haechan would get to do an OST, so really glad he got to sing one this year:

kun/winwin: first snow (1-25) perfect match
jaehyun: look at me (5-13) dear.m
haechan: a thousand reasons (5-26) second shot at love
doyoung: i find you (8-24) bon appetit your majesty
wish: if you love me let me know (10-17) would you marry me?
doyoung: still here (11-12) EXchange

and while i'm here, i want to spotlight xiaojun for covering "baby don't cry" with lars. BEAUTIFUL VOICE, BEAUTIFUL SONG. i'm glad he's getting more opportunities to go on chinese TV, to get more people to hear his voice. his skills feel undermined when talking about nct vocalists as a whole, but i hope he knows he's up there!!

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, though not a release from 2025, shoutout to walk by nct 127 for being the perfect album for my WALKS (pun? intended?) in which i would take a loop near my apartment and pray i wasn't getting stared down by COYOTES

and that's the end of it! nct had a total of 117 NEW songs this year (according to my playlist count) with 6 albums (both mini and full) for solos and units (added together) each. 2 features, 2 singles/EPs, and 8 OSTs. my fandom and listening experience this year was drastically different from my last, but i think to maximize the potential of enjoying music, i think waiting to be "in the mood" largely works in my favor, even if that takes six or ten months

until next year, yuer <3