Neo Got my back, and they have returned with a new album! I have been pumped for NCT 127 Regular-Iregular since it was announced. NCT Empathy was so good (you can see my unboxing here and review here) so I was DYING for more NCT to come at me (there was an NCT Dream release, but I didn’t review that, cause that’s jail bait right there). 127 is at least almost all overage.
I did pre-order copies of the album from Choice Music LA. You can pick up both versions here for $36.99 plus shipping or one version for $18.99 here. On Amazon, on version, with free shipping as a Prime Member cost about $25. You can get it here. Both version run for around $50 here.
If you don’t have Amazon Prime, you can get a 30 day free trial using this link here. I will not lie, the free 2 day shipping, plus all of the free music and videos are totally worth it. I also now use it for books for my Kindle paper white too, and it is honestly a life saver. They have a program called Kindle Unlimited where you can check out 10 books at a time, read them, and put them back in the kindle library. The program cost $7.99 a month, and you get the first 30 days for free with this link.
For the purposes of reading the remainder of this post, I recommend that you put the album on in the background, and read through it while listening to the track that I am talking about. This is what I recommend for all of my song reviews.
NCT 127 Regular-Irregular Track by Track:
지금 우리 (City 127)
I really like the simplicity of this bop. They grace our ears with smooth vocals, Taeyong’s smooth rapping, and tambourines. There is a lot of this going on:
Overall, this track is a nice soft easy listening song. SImple piano chords, smooth Doyoung and Taeil vocals that could soothe me to sleep for years. That whistle too… love it. Great track. It’s making it into my ballads playlist (you can listen to it here)
Regular (Korean version)
The first track flows very nicely into this one. They didn’t jump tempos or sound too much, but enough that you can hear it is a different style. So, I already reacted to this. You can watch the video here:
I think my reaction says my thoughts pretty clearly… this song is extremely catchy! I only heard half of it, and it had to be added to my playlists.
Replay (1:27 PM)
This track is my solo dance party jam! Give me some glow sticks and a disco ball and I will be jamming out to this! Like full on:
I could also do some voguing to this track as well, and feel like I popped out of dance high, which doesn’t seem too much like a bad day to me! I think the gif explains in no words at all how I feel about this track. This track is a full on “Yes, Please! and body roll over everything. Clearly it is in my playlist.
Knock On
So the beginning of this track borrows a riff from one of the EXO Songs off of LOTTO. I just double checked, and it is from “Can’t Bring Me Down”. Pretty sure they are identical. I think it might be a marker for songs composed by MZMC, as they helped compose both songs. Besides that part, there are no similarities between the songs at all. This track is 100% a ballad and “Can’t Bring Me Down” is far more up tempo. I like to very chill blues vibe of this song. It is very easy listening. It’s in the ballads list.
나의 무든 숙간 (No Longer)
I really like the violin and piano at the beginning of this track. I love the smooth easy chords that help to highlight the members voices shine. Honestly, this song is so depressing and sad! That part of me that lives for emotional songs is all about this track, and I want to blare it in the car while going on a long distance drive. Like how sad is it that they are talk about how the situation changed and this girl no longer needs them anymore? This song really takes me back to my N*Sync days, and I’m totally in love with this track and Doyoung’s BEAUTIFUL voice. This made it into my playlist in a heartbeat.
Interlude: Regular to Irregular
The transition from the first half of the album to the second is interesting because it starts with just piano chords and spoken word. This is then joined by a gorgeous cello, viola and violin. Honestly, this track is so simple, and it sounds like it should be in the Korean Pride & Prejudice. This of course shifts into the irregular half of the album, and the chords shift into minor chords with a lot of dissonance. This dissonance is then enhanced by an electronic beat. I’m not going to lie, I actually totally love how the track shifts and ties the first and second half of the albums together as we move from normal to trippy NCT.
내 Van (My Van)
Okay, trippy Yestoday NCT is in full force here. Not hating on it, but I love how the can straddle both worlds so effortlessly. This track really enhances the main thing that i love about which is this ability to handle mainstream music, as well as expand music’s boundaries with tracks like this. This is a heavy rap track with these very interesting metallic dissonant chords in the background. They add this echo to half of the track, and occasional piano chords. Honestly, this is a song someone would write if they were on something… I kinda enjoy it on it’s own, as well as a part of this piece.
악몽 (Come Back)
Okay, totally digging this track too. It has very happy sounding chords to it, but the title in Korean is “Nightmare”, which is totally opposite of the English title. So the song sounds like it is super happy, but the lyrics read a different message:
네가 한숨을 내쉬면 (If you sigh)
내 머리 위로 바람이 불어 (It’s blowing over my head)
네가 잠들어 눈 감은 밤이면 (if you sleep and close your eyes at night)
내 세상엔 어둠이 와 (My world becomes darkness)
How I’m reading these lyrics, as well as the rest of the track, where they have lines like “불빛이 꺼진 채 버려진 외톨이” (A loner whose light is off) is that they’re living their own nightmare. It’s like they are getting sucked in farther, and farther away form reality. Let me know down in the comments below how you are reading these lyrics.
신기루(Fly Away With Me)
I like the down tempo, heavy beat to this track. It is very heavy on percussion whenever it starts out. This is contrasted nicely by the vocals, as they start the track off at a higher register. The composition of this track is generally well rounded. Only complaint is that it might be slightly too heavy on the lower pitches, as there are these very heavy percussive elements plus the electric bass in the background. Does this mean I do not like the track? Absolutely not. I still enjoy it, but there is so many heavy sounds, and not as many mid tones in the middle. Benefit to this arrangement is that it highlights the vocalists and the harmonies far more than anything with mid-tones.
Regular (English Ver.)
Honestly, I don’t have much to say about this track besides what you read above. The track is basically identical, but in English. Moving on.
Run Back 2 U (Bonus Track)
I love the electronic vibes to this song, and how it starts off with Johnny talking. Then when the verse drops with just the light chords and the rapping. It’s a nice switch. Once the song shifts again into the chorus, I love the heavy, electronic club vibe to the song. I think it is highly fitting to NCT 127’s highly energetic style. Honestly, I love the complex nature of this song, as there are so many little pieces to it that you can pick out. They bring in so many different instruments and sounds, while still maintaining some consistencies throughout the whole track. Not going to lie, this song made it into my playlists as well. It’s a very strong track that had me immediately bopping.
K-Points: 218/5
Overall, I really enjoy this album! I think they have a great mix of songs on the album, from the normal to the strange. My Van, a strange one, but still interesting. It pushes the boundaries of music while still maintaining general accessibility. Overall, I just enjoy the variety of styles that the group manages to maintain.
Should you buy a copy of this album? Yes. I think it is an excellent album with MANY different sides to it. Can you just stream it? Absolutely! As I always say, albums are expensive, and streaming is way cheaper. This is a listen you won’t regret!
What are your thoughts on the album, K-Nuggets? Let me know in the comments below!
사랑합니다!
–Rachel
