NU’EST – 'THE TABLE'

Track List:

1. Call Me Back

2. LOVE ME *Title

3. ONE TWO THREE

4. Trust Me

5. Stay Up All Night

6. If We

NU'EST has just dropped their 7th mini-album, 'The Table.' The EP itself is about all the many different colors of love. Baekho had a huge hand in this, producing most of the songs, and getting credit as co-songwriter and co-composer on several tracks. Fan response has been explosive, as the album debuted at number 1 on several charts. The title track holds the top spot on various online music charts like Bugs and Soribada.

It starts with "Call Me Back," which is a lighter, more playful tune. It's got some island rhythms, and the spare nature of the song is its strength. It has a bit of percussion and a single strummy guitar. The piano-driven "LOVE ME" is their title track. It has all the excitement a title track should have, with a loud chorus, various techno effects, awesome rapping, and there's a whistle in there to boot (just to add flavor). It may not be groundbreaking, but it ticks all the boxes. They go softer and smoother on "ONE TWO THREE." Starting with counting, they unleash this soft pop tune. The vocals sound absolutely top-notch on this one. I really like this particular tune.

"Trust Me" continues in that soft vein, but it's got a different sound from the last one. Kudos to a band that can do that. They still have those trademark silky vocals, but this time at a higher tempo. I like the raps, too, which are more sung than anything else. Contrary to what you might expect, "Stay Up All Night" is not soft, though it starts out that way. It's a slow burn, gaining momentum to become a pretty solid pop tune. It's a bit danceable, but it's got more to it than just that. Call it a low-key dance track. The final song, "If We," is intriguing. I like the strings that start out this one, and it's definitely a ballad. It straddles the line between soft pop and ballad, and I like the song for that reason. When in doubt, blur the lines. They definitely run the gamut of emotions on this one, from desperate to tender, to lovelorn. The vocals are what make this song pop.

The album runs the gamut of different love songs, all of these fairly cheery. From the desperate anticipation of "Call Me Back," to the emotional "If We," and the tender "Trust Me" -- all of these reflect the many facets of being in love. That's what they were hoping for, and they killed it. And that title track is probably the best one I've heard from this band in a while. If you're fan, pick this one up. You won't be left in the cold.

MV REVIEW

The boys of NU'EST trip through an MV full of fantasy sequences in "Love Me."

The first minute or so did nothing for me, I'll admit. But that's when the MV started to subvert my expectations. I like how they take one scene, and then turn it into something else entirely. Like putting an egg in a blender and ending up right there with the egg, or going to a drive-in movie, and shooting right into the movie scooping up some whipped cream from the clouds -- just the topping he needed for a huge cup of hot chocolate.

One scene like that does not a genius MV make, but a progression of scenes like that really keep my interest. When I turn on a TV or tablet, I want to see things that I don't see every day. This MV did that much right.

We don't get to see a lot of dancing here, but I think that wasn't the point. They had a lot to pack in here so something had to go. That's okay because I was pretty mesmerized by what they had going on.

It's an upbeat, happy tune, and the tone of the video is anything but sad. The expressions on their faces as they shot this are fairly convincing, knowing smirks rather than toothy grins.

So yeah, I think this is a cool one and deserves high marks.

Score

MV Relevance...........8
MV Production..........8
MV Concept..............8
MV SCORE: 8.0

Album Production.....8
Album Concept.........8
Tracklisting...............8
ALBUM SCORE: 8.0

OVERALL................8.0