NCT 127 Becomes “Superhuman” in Their New Music Video
NCT 127 is taking off running with their first Korean EP of 2019, We are Superhuman. Complete with two singles and a music video, NCT is making a strong start for 2019.
The Song
If I had to sum the song up in one word it would be “groovy.” This track reaches back into the archive of the classic SM Entertainment sound. The first listen made me think it was a SHINee song that was given to NCT instead; it has that type of classic K-Pop feel. The track was composed by up-and-coming producer team 1Time and Tak. This team is responsible for such tracks as WANNA ONE’s “Wanna Be,” Lovelyz “Twinkle,” and INFINITE’s “Air.”
The beginning of the track has eerie sounding piano notes mixed with electronic sounds, then our ears are hit with a vocal harmony. Haechan then takes over for the beginning of the song. While recent NCT 127 title tracks have been dominated by the team’s rappers, “Superhuman” allows the vocalists of the team to shine with smaller pieces of the track dedicated to the rap breakdowns. The chorus is one that really does allow the classic SM sound to shine. The one thing about the song that does throw the listener’s ear through a loop are the strangely placed tempo slowdowns. As the song comes to a close, the song's vocals fade out to allow the unique pieces of the backing track to shine through. The very last seconds of the song feature one last acapella harmony from the members. Although the ending is quite pretty, it also brings a screeching halt to an overall busy song, making it feel a bit incomplete.
The Music Video
The first thing of note in the video was the creative use of light and shadow. Several scenes feature the members cast in various colors of lights and shadow. The main place these shadows are seen are across the members’ faces, adding a sense of mystery. The video sets cycle between clean-cut and simple to straight up futuristic. Water or more simply flow, was another key part of the music video, from things falling from the sky to water drops and ripples appearing as a recurrent thought. One thing that many people are drawing parallels with is the floating of the members; people are connecting this to WayVs music video for “Take Off,” making NCTzen hopeful for a cross between the two units very soon.
Check out the MV below!