Who’s there? BOYNEXTDOOR! The six-member group of KOZ Entertainment has come back with their second mini-album WHY.. on September 4. WHY.. consists of six tracks, three of which continues the members journey from their first EP WHO! 

Tracklist:

1. "돌아버리겠다 (But I Like You)"

2. "One and Only"

3. "Serenade"

4. "Crying"

5. "뭣같아 (But Sometimes)”*

6. "ABCDLOVE"

WHY.. begins with this new era of BOYNEXTDOOR with the same three tracks from their first EP: "돌아버리겠다 (But I Like You)", "One and Only", and "Serenade". As each song begins, listeners can hear the build up of emotions, while also following along with their slight feelings of conflict. Where "돌아버리겠다 (But I Like You)" begins with an upbeat, crazy in love, chewy beat, "One and Only" continues with its slightly more hip-hop sound. “Serenade” serves as the middle ground with its acoustic guitar, and bop-y feel. The first half of WHY.. feels reminiscent to the feeling of having one's first crush, and BOYNEXTDOOR couldn’t have portrayed that better.

The first new track of WHY.. provides a new feel to the group. The faint trumpet sound at the beginning sets the tone for “Crying”. The slight lofi-jazz feel of the track slows down their past dance heavy tracks, almost like opening the door of sentiments as they repeat that they are “Crying like a baby” in the chorus. The piano beat allows for a steady track and a great introduction to the new side of BOYNEXTDOOR.

"뭣같아 (But Sometimes)” follows this track as listeners are gifted a muted slap-bass, funk track. How they enunciate the words stands out the most as you can hear their distress, their desperation, and their raw emotions. It’s fun hearing them play with the beat and interact with the song so early in their debut. You can hear their enjoyment of music through this track and can envision the six members performing this with a live band.

The music video finds each of the members all brooding over how unlucky in love they all are. After finding out that their lover is lying to them, realizing how much they were helplessly following along with them,  they let out their frustrations through the lyrics. The teddy they got them is sitting in the trash can, yet they can’t help but miss the feeling of being with their partner. Although, their heartbreaks are expressed in fun ways visually, featuring scenes such as all members sulking on an empty staircase, and a fake kiss cam with member Jaehyun holding up a sign saying “I’m Alone”. Fans wouldn’t have expected seeing the boys dancing in a ring of fire in a burning town but it’s definitely a fun part of the WHY.. journey.

If WHO! and WHY.. have anything in common, it’s how they’ll both end their EPs still talking  about love in an innocent way. While WHO!’s “Serenade” expressed love in a giddy, yet nervous, way, “ABCDLOVE” is the members crying out loud for a new presence of love in their lives. Their meaning of love has now changed, but it’s still core to their story as BOYNEXTDOOR.

BOYNEXTDOOR are a group that perfectly lives up to their name, their way of portraying their feelings of love and their story, is one that only could be told by them. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing what’s next to come!

WHY.. is available now on Spotify and all streaming platforms.