CURRENT #26: NCT 127- PUNCH

Released: May 19th, 2020

As Neo Culture Technology continues to expand across multiple continents and cities, so do their capabilities of fusing various music genres and sounds together. As shown by the group's concept photos and video game-inspired logo, their latest title track Punch has the NCT 127 heading towards a fast-paced, adrenaline kind of image. Although much of Punch's musical structure devotes to this concept, it's more than just that. Punch intertwines the worlds of electronica, hip-hop, and even some elements of ballad and dubstep to produce one of NCT 127's most compelling singles yet.

The best way to describe Punch is that it slowly unravels itself as the song goes on, to where the ending is nearly unrecognizable from the beginning. As much as the huge 8-bit like electronic bass desperate wants the track to increase Punch's tempo, the song's veins stays acourse to a modern hip-hop beat, but that's just scratching the surface. I love the unpredictable twists the song throws at us, where the result is usually different mixes of music styles. In the pre-chorus, the electronic synth completely disappears, and a piano out of nowhere dampens the mood with its somber melody, but still maintaining enough crescendo to transition to the chorus. Punch continues to adapt to this erratic method till the very end, where an orchestra-filled instrumental break elusively defines the song's climax. I would have liked a more seamless transition to the break and the continued use of the new beat, but it's still a unique twist.

The biggest disappointment though, has got to be the chorus. The less-than-powerful hip-hop beat already sets it up for failure, despite the numerous vocal layers sprinkled around. Unfortunately this is becoming the normal trend in K-Pop nowadays, to where it's now expected that a melodic, uplifting atmospheric pre-chorus, out of nowhere, can never be surpassed. The only difference here is that NCT 127 actually tries to make the chorus part the loudest by beefing up their vocals, while other artists will only repeat a couple of chants.

I love the concept that NCT 127 was going for here, and I like how the song gets progressively better. By the time Punch ends, the same 8-bit sound from the beginning is almost non-existent, and is instead replaced by elements that were slowly introduced throughout the song. The song though does create a lot of what-ifs if the chorus was polished more, or if they simply changed in the beat in the chorus.

RATING: 7.3/10