N.Flying Shoots for the Moon with First Full Album
One year since their last release, Man on the Moon is a refreshing re-introduction to N.Flying and where their strengths lie. With its long-awaited arrival, Man on the Moon doesn’t disappoint as a delivery of a little different, relatively subdued sound. Title track "Moonshot" starts out the album on a high note, inspiring fans not to fear change, but to embrace it with the intention of becoming the best version of themselves.
Tracklist:
1. Moonshot*
2. Ask
3. Comma,
4. Undo*
5. You
6. Blue Scene*
7. Fate
8. Zip.
9. To You
10. Flashback*
*Author's favorites
"MOONSHOT" : BE NOT AFRAID
Title track “Moonshot” delivers the hefty reality that nothing changes as long as one fears change. With strong percussive and brassy instrumentation to back up vocalists Seunghyub and Hweseung’s powerful vocal pairing, “Moonshot” pumps up its listeners to shoot for the moon with the lyrical reminder: “If you wanna change, be not afraid.”
The music video revolves around images of a full moon for obvious reasons, but also the respective members in different situations under the same moon. It opens with drummer Jaehyun alone in his room, visibly anxious and aware of the ticking clock on the wall, until the observing eye of bassist Dongsung appears in his ceiling. In the light of the moon, Dongsung’s shadow takes the shape of a nebulous monster.
Hweseung sits inside a van heavily padded with tin foil, where he watches several screens that show images of the moon (a visual reference to 1902 short film A Trip to the Moon), while lead guitarist Hun notices a set of security cameras outside his window where he sits in the front of the van. These cameras follow Seunghyub until Hweseung pulls him away, and it’s here that not only is Dongsung revealed to have been observing the lot of them, but Jaehyun has been watching Hun on his phone as well—implying a full circle of them watching over each other closely.
The video ends with all members jumping toward the moon, and the message seems to be just as simple as the importance of acting on what matters most to you rather than hesitating for fear of how your actions might be misinterpreted by others.
Man on the Moon
The full album consists of ten tracks including "Moonshot," and it's a cool experience overall. While the album opens on an almost celebratory note with the rhythmic matching of the guitars and drums and a brassy chorus in "Moonshot," the rest of the album is comparatively soothing.
As a new fan of N.Flying, their songs I'd heard before are good but they're not quite like this. Man on the Moon has an uplifting energy throughout, and each song draws on each members’ individual skills. With a band where not every member sings or raps, the others can sometimes get lost beyond the spotlight of their vocalists, but since N.Flying has produced each song on this album themselves, that danger is minimized.
Man on the Moon is a great blend of recent and older N.Flying musical styles, and simultaneously offers something new. It’s refreshing to hear something like this, that’s so unlike most of what I personally consume on a day-to-day basis, and the band is so skilled that I only wish I’d gotten into them sooner!