CURRENT #22: TXT- CAN'T YOU SEE ME

Released: May 18th, 2020

As the newest label-mate to arguably the hottest boy band in K-Pop and in the world right now, it can be overwhelming having to be constantly compared to that kind of perfection, no matter how spectacular your comeback and music is. However, the group didn't seem to falter under pressure musically with their hit debut single Crown and their last album "The Dream Chapter: Magic". With the latest release Can't You See Me, TXT continues to explore different sounds of music and experiment with the seldom-used Reggae genre. Can't You See Me overall has sparks of potential, but it fails to overcome a major roadblock where it mattered the most.

My takeaway with reggae is that with its relatively slow tempo, a song like that needs to make up for the lack of impulse with a dynamic structure, a setting where the song sections not only differentiate from each other, but gives the power to the chorus to decide the direction the track wants to go into. This is my biggest frustration with Can't You See Me, where the chorus fails to continue speeding forward after a strong start in the verses. The intro instrumentally is nice, but doesn't really translate to the first verse. Nevertheless, the verse has its own kind of charm, with the guitar alone dictating the progression and the whistle providing a refreshing nice contrast to it. Unfortunately, the sound here doesn't evolve any further in the chorus, where the change-up in guitar only temporarily amends for the lack of variety introduced here. The use of vocal layers makes the part sound louder which is nice, but the production itself is quite lazy, heavily relying on the "Can't You See Me" hook. It's too repetitively used, and there's almost no space to breathe in between the phrases. The post-chorus may be even worse, as the countless repetitive phrases bunched together is just lousy and cheesy. Additional complaints include the strange post-chorus breakdown rap that proceeds and the awkward pause between the verse and the chorus. If anything, the rap should have at least been extended to properly transition back to the chorus with a chord progression or something like that. The bridge shows a little bit of promise, but the instrumental stutters too much before it is too late.

My biggest wish for Can't You See Me is a longing for the ambient sounds used in the intro, where all the chords combined together without leaving any blanks in between, along with the dreamy vocal effects. The verse tries to hang on tight to those notes, but they ultimately fall apart by the time the chorus is over. Reggae is not an easy genre to experiment with, and unfortunately it seems like TXT has fallen for the trap.

RATING: 6.9/10