1. We Young
2. La La Love
3. Walk you home
4. My Page
5. We Young (Chinese Ver.)
6. (Bonus Track) Trigger the fever



The follow-up to their earlier single "Chewing Gum," NCT Dream beats the heat with a summer comeback. Their first mini-album features six songs from NCT's youngest subunit, including a bonus track and a Chinese version of the title track. Unfortunately, Jaemin will be sitting out for this promotional cycle due to health issues.�

The lead single "We Young" is first up. This bubbly, upbeat tune is downright reggae during the main verses�but quickly turns into a cheerful pop tune during the chorus. It's light, poppy, and fun. There are no amazing technical effects here, but the rap part is absolutely adorable (a strange characterization for a rap, but it is what it is). A fun song overall.

Continuing the island beat, "La La Love" is along the same vein, with an acoustic guitar as accompaniment. It's a little slower than "We Young," but it has an uplifting chorus. And it's hella catchy, to boot. There are some cute nods in here with a barely-audible girl in the background. This tune is almost pure aegyo, but it's a fun bop'.�

They certainly favor guitar-driven pop, as "Walk You Home" proves. It's a very light, bubbly tune, and reminds me of some of those folk songs you might sing around a campfire. The only thing that throws that off is the rap line. The rapping here is more cutesy than swag, but they still give off that summer vibe.

"My Page" is what you might expect from a summery tune. They ditch the guitar�and go for tropical house. The rapping is more attitude-laden here, and they drop the cuteness for a more full-sounding song. It's actually more upbeat and danceable than the title track, and I like some of the boldness that comes through in this song. �



The Chinese version of "We Young" is pretty much the same in meaning and sound. The only difference is that the lyrics in this version are more evocative and creative. Lyrics like "you're like a gentle breeze blowing by a small lake" and "my mood flies like a sparrow" make the simplistic lyrics of the Korean version pale in comparison.� �

"Trigger the Fever" is almost a rock track, where the guitars are electric�and very prominent. There's a pounding insistence to the pre-chorus, and some killer raps just before the chorus. It's almost as if the company took the shackles off, and they were free to be as energetic as they wanted, as this is probably the most enthusiastic and exciting track on this EP. �

I think the better songs are the club-bangers, really, other than the tune they were promoting with. "We Young" is okay, but there's really very little to make it really stand out. It's another light, sweet pop tune. But it's also very forgettable. I would have used "Trigger the Fever" or "My Page" as the title track, but as usual -- say it with me -- they didn't ask me. �

MV REVIEW

This MV screams "I love CG/green screen!"

But it's unfair to tar it with that brush�since the�green screen can be used to create some nice effects -- or it can be campy. This one is delightfully, and likely deliberately, campy. And they've elevated it to an art form.

The dancing was not the most amazing thing I've seen, but it was alright. It was definitely upbeat�and looked like it could be moderately challenging. It seemed like the most important thing was to keep moving, and move they did.



Combining animation with live-action is nothing new, certainly for K-pop. But the way they do it here is absolutely original. The art style is unique, and I like some of the ways they layer the animations and different environments. They got pretty creative with this MV. This was amusing to watch simply to see what they'd do next. Much better than just a bog standard performance vid.

Score

MV Relevance...........8
MV Production..........9
MV Concept..............9

Album Production.....8
Album Concept.........8
Tracklisting...............8