TXT (Tomorrow x Together) is back with their third release, The Dream Chapter: ETERNITY. Filled with stories of fleeting youth and the dark realities one must face as they grow up, ETERNITY and the album’s title track “Can’t You See Me” show a new matured image for TXT.

During press rounds, the group stated that their previously released The Dream Chapter: MAGIC was about the enchantment of youth while ETERNITY is about having to come to terms with reality. With all of their previous albums centered around the theme of companionship, it’s no surprise that this latest installment is a testament to eternal friendship—a perfect fit for the mini-album’s title track “Can’t You See Me.”

“Can’t You See Me” is a song with lots of interesting musical choices fit inside your standard pop track. It’s a little similar to October’s “Run Away” in its experimental sound; the song has everything from wubby bass to gritty electric guitars to a pied-piper-like flute motif. For this reason, you’ve probably never heard anything like it before. Both lyrically and visually, it’s the group’s first darker concept, as they sing about the anxiety brought on by a friendship up in flames. The music video takes this imagery literally, with the boys set against a house on fire after spending a night together. Though “Can’t You See Me” does a great job at following the storyline set by TXT’s previous albums, it’s not the best song on the album. This is a bit regrettable since it’s the title, though that may just be because the rest of the album is so shockingly good.

Before things get dark with “Can’t You See Me,” TXT lures listeners in with the impossibly funky “Drama.” In past releases like “Crown” and “New Rules,” this kind of upbeat sound has worked extremely well for the boys. Full of youthful fervor, boundless energy, and striking horns, “Drama” is the kind of opener that compels you to listen to the rest of the album. Admittedly, the song gave me very high hopes—and I was not disappointed.

Following “Can’t You See Me” is a cover of Light & Sound’s 90’s city pop track “Fairy of Shampoo.” The original track is about the whimsical image of a shampoo model on TV and this revamped TXT version features a rap written by Yeonjun. As unexpected of a release as it is, the pop synths and dreamy guitars fit TXT’s honeyed vocals like a glove. It’s the last song I expected from the group but honestly, I could listen to an entire album of this—which is great news for the next song on the tracklist.

“Maze in the Mirror” is the first co-penned track from the TXT members, who have expressed their desire to participate in songwriting for a while. With all five boys partaking in lyric writing and Beomgyu even contributing to composition, the song, though simple, is just as much a knockout as it is beautiful. The track is mostly acoustic—a great fit for their token smooth vocals—and sounds more like an indie release rather than a B-side from an idol group. BigHit Entertainment’s in-house producer ADORA offers some breathtaking adlibs to the track, adding that next level of dreaminess that complements TXT’s voices so well. Though the song is already mesmerizing, Taehyun and Huening Kai’s final build in the bridge and the explosion of percussion at the end give the track an extra emotional push.

ETERNITY dips back into murkier waters with “PUMA,” a bass-heavy song that is the closest fans have gotten to a hip-hop track in a while. Much darker than its predecessors like “Cat & Dog,” “PUMA” takes a similar edge to “Can’t You See Me.” Yeonjun gets to shine in particular, though the focus is still very much on the melodic power of the group as a whole. 

The album ends on TXT’s well-tailored dream-pop note with “Eternally,” or at least, it does for the first half of the song. Halfway through its hazy melodies, the song shifts to a hard-hitting verse evocative of “Run Away.” The cut to Yeonjun’s low rap verse is quite literally jaw-dropping; musically, it’s almost shocking, but his delivery is just so enticing that it’s impossible to dislike it. The song continues to shift back and forth between the lighter tones of the vocalists and the heavier raps, with leader Soobin’s “Don’t go breaking my heart, don’t go” line weaving throughout the chaos.

With one listen to The Dream Chapter: ETERNITY, it’s clear that TXT are trying to illustrate the challenges faced in adolescent friendships, but what’s even clearer is that they’ve mastered their sound. If last year’s MAGIC was about navigating through youth, then ETERNITY is the sweet payoff at having finally found themselves as artists. And it is so, so good.