I have been seriously looking forward for the debut of BTS’s little brother group. Up until now, BTS has been the only group under Big Hit Entertainment. TXT is a brand new boy group that’s name stands for Tomorrow X Today. Just like BTS, TXT is rumored to have an interesting back story, heavily rooted in the dream realm. Back in December, Big Hit started teasing fans with little teasers of TXT, using them secretly as backup dancer for BTS at end of year performances. Now that their first official release is out, TXT The Dream Chapter: Star, I am seriously looking forward to what they are about to do!
I ordered a copy of the album from an eBay seller in Korea. This is a link to the exact one I’ve ordered. I got my copy for $19.99 plus shipping, which is a fair price. Plus, with eBay, you can save a little bit of money by using the E-Bates extension on your browser, as it will save you 2% on all album purchases, which definitely adds up.
What is E-Bates?
E-Bates is a cashback site that gives you money for purchases you may have already made. They even have an extension for multiple browsers so when you go to a website that uses Ebates, it will automatically pop up the cashback button to make sure you are saving money. I use this all the time, and I got over 80$ back from them for purchases I was going to make anyway. That’s about 3 more albums I can buy!
If you’ve never used EBates before, you can use this link to get $10 when making a qualified purchase of $25 when using EBates. You will also get whatever percent cashback is being offered from the site you are purchasing from. Sephora, typically has 4% cashback, through here. Sokoglam typically has 3%. These percentages Many other major retailers are on there as well.
Can I get it on Amazon?
Yes! You can pick up a copy using this link here for $25.50 (not as good of a deal), with free shipping if you have Amazon Prime.
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.
How do I read 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. It will help you understand what parts of the music I’m referring to when I talk about different instruments and different vocal parts. This is what I recommend for all of my song reviews.
TXT The Dream Chapter: Star Track By Track:
Blue Orangeade
I must say, I really love the retro record scratch at the beginning of this track. It starts the mini-album off strong. On top of that, I love the “a capella” chords in the background. They’re a bit different from what you normally hear as a back track on an album. I dig it. It moves the track forward.
Overall, this track for an album opening sets the whole tone for what we can expect from TXT. We can expect high energy, fun tracks. Honestly this track really moves, and I really like it! It has that special, but fun feel. It makes me excited to listen to the rest of the album.
어느날 머리에서 뿔이 자랐다 (Crown)
I have already gone and watched the music video for you all and I must say, I greatly enjoyed it. It was adorable. You can watch me watch it below:
I must say, this track is a serious bop! It has an extremely positive energy to it, yet again. It 100% lived up to my expectations, if not surpassed them. Debuts always make me nervous because they get so hyped up and then they always can flop hard. This one is rock solid though! I love the members harmonies throughout the track. I feel like they really add to the feel of the song and give it that full electronic feel.
More than anything, I love how the song is all about loving yourself, no matter what comes your way, even if it is a horn out of the center of your head!It mimics a similar message to what we have been getting out of all of BTS’s tracks of late, and I think it is something we cannot reiterate enough. LOVE YOURSELF PEOPLE! This is a great, catchy song that immediately made it’s way into my playlists.
Our Summer
Our Summer takes a wee bit of a departure from the previous track, but it still maintains that BigHit feel to it. It is heavily electronic, with strong thick harmonies that we all know I live for. More than anything on this track, I love how the beat drops into the chorus. It’s a complete shift in the sound of the track. Honestly, it gives the song a serious groove to it.
Besides that, I think my favorite thing about this track is definitely the harmonies. TXT are very strong harmonizers, and I’m impressed. The one thing I’ve noticed thus far in this whole debut mini-album is that they hasn’t been much rapping. It’s a complete departure from most K-Pop groups these days, and I’m kinda in love with how they go vocal heavy. I think it separates them from BTS, as well as other KPop groups that are on the market today. How many groups don’t feature a rap verse in every song?
Cat & Dog
The boys of TXT also released a music video for this track, which I also filmed my reaction to. You can watch it here:
Okay, the instrumentation in this song is very interesting. It has a very modern, rap feel too it, like something out of a Drake album. I’m not mad at it! It’s a really funky song! This is also the first track on the album where the guys truly rap on the track. I really love all of the auto-tune they are using throughout the track as well as the synth-ed marimbas in the track. It’s cool it’s different.
I think my favorite part of the song is definitely where they say “I just want to be a dog” and then bark. It’s kinda weird and quirky, but it shows that the members don’t take themselves too seriously, and I really like that. Catchy song and I will definitely be listening too it more.
별의 낮잠 (Nap of a Star)
Finally! We’ve got a ballad! I really am a fan of ballads because with vocal artists they allow them to show a completely different side of themselves, as well as present a challenge to a vocalist. They typically have a ton of sustained notes and vocal runs that can truly show vocal prowess. What I think is different about this ballad in comparison to other ballads I’ve heard is that they went more of a lullaby direction than I anticipated they would. The benefit of this is that they don’t have to show off those vocal runs or power vocals that are common to ballads.
I think Big Hit purposefully chose this style for their ballad. The guys in the group are still quite young, and their voices haven’t fully matured, so going for more of a lullaby style of a song will allow them to sing in hushed tones. Honestly, this style doesn’t require much vocal prowess. You can be an okay singer and pull off a hushed toned style. It removes most of the ability to critique their vocals so soon after their debut. Well played Big Hit, well played.
K-Points: 76/5
Honestly, this was an extremely solid, well thought out debut. Big Hit stayed within a comfort zone for the boys in order to make sure that their debut went off without a hitch and was approved by the masses. Honestly, I can’t blame them. As the follow up to BTS, these guys have HUGE shoes to fill. So, playing it safe with extremely catchy songs that play it safe musically was genius. I’m actually a really big fan of this mini-album as well as the song on it.
So should you get yourself a copy of this album? Even though I’m giving this debut albums top marks because I can’t really pick at it, I don’t think having a copy of their first mini-album is absolutely necessary. Yes, I did buy it, but I have an album collection problem! Should you stream it? I definitely think that is a must. TXT’s mini-album is pretty dang good, and most of the tracks are a serious bop. You won’t regret it.
What track off of this mini-album is your favorite, K-Nuggets? Let me know in the comments below!
사랑합니다!
–Rachel
