[Album & MV Review] UP10TION - 'Top Secret'

AKP STAFF

UP10TION � 'TOP SECRET'

Track List:

1. Tension Up!
2. So, Dangerous
3. Come as you are
4. Never Ending
5. Phoenix
6. Come with me

Top Media, label for both Teen Top and 100%, have formed a new ten-member boy group, UP10TION! Consisting of Bit-to, Gyu Jin, Hwan Hee, Jin Hoo, Kuhn, Ko Gyeol, Sun Youl, Wei, Wooshin, and Xiao, the boys will be active in both Korea and China. 'Top Secret' is their debut album.

"Tension Up!" serves as the intro track, a 47-second non-committal track with rapid-fire beats. It's extremely stripped-down with muted, vague vocals. Not bad, but a bit hard to pass judgement on a track under a minute in length.

The title track is "So, Dangerous," and serves up the dance club swagger nicely. You've got frantically-sung parts, auto-tuned/down-pitched vocals, and rapid-fire beats that practically pull you onto the dance floor. Bit-to and Wooshin lay down the sick raps here. The lyrics are evocative, as well, equating the boys' romantic rivals to "the beasts gathered in swarms."

"Come as you are" is a slower tune than the last, a laid-back R&B number. It's a song that showcases the boys' vocals better, however, and gives off a sensitive vibe. The lyrics talking about how waiting is hell, and that they don't care what she wears or how she looks, they just want her there.

They turn it back up for "Never Ending," a tune that reminds me of nothing so much as disco, only with bigger beats. Not like that's a bad thing. Vocals smooth as midnight velvet, awesome raps, and an entirely danceable groove characterize this track. The song is about their love, how it is "never ending."

Synth wub-wubs start out "Phoenix," an upbeat dance track. Phoenix kind of splits the difference between smooth and hook-filled and provides us both. There are some great sustains that go well with the dance beats and distinguishes this track from the others. The lyrics are interesting, talking about rebirth and different worlds.

"Come With Me," the final track on the album, settles comfortably into power-ballad mode, powered by synths and electric guitars. Those buttery-smooth harmonies and sick raps are with us again, and the tune has enough going on to keep your interest. The singer is asking her to walk with him now that everything is perfect.

An interesting collection of dance tracks, the boys get extra cool-cred for including two rappers like EXO. The songs are fun, though, and are varied enough for an EP-length album. I like the fact that all of them are dance tracks instead of meandering, syrupy ballads. In that way, they are different. A good listen from beginning to end, this album won't end up being a 'Top Secret' for long.

MV REVIEW

Watch the boys of UP10TION show off their impressive dance skills!

As the boys ring around one of their own, an expression of fear playing over his face as he attempts to crab crawl away, they dial the tension in the air to eleven. Of course, that's when they start dancing.

The MV actually mashes the intro track together with "So, Dangerous," so the danger is in the intro, and the rest of the MV is taken up by dancing.

And dance they can, as they pull off impressive moves and dance perfectly in sync. They even have layered dance setups, where one group does one thing in the front row, and the back row does something completely different, the whole time maintaining a continuity with their group.

They go through maybe three or four costume changes too, all of them tied to one of the stage sets. There are black track suits, actual white suits, what look like tennis outfits and more.

There's some interesting visuals, besides the room where they shine lights on them. As they dance in what almost looks like a sand-strewn parking garage (made to look ominous in silhouette), and a landscape made up of a lonely tree, flames, and cages that might be what the Burning Man festival would be like before the crowds hit. :) It's certainly fun to watch the dance moves, but I think I would have preferred a little more plot.

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