Copy Edited by Samia Orva
Rating: 8/10
Korean Pop band Tomorrow X Together (TXT) returned on October 13, 2023 with their fifth studio album, The Name Chapter: Freefall. The album consists of nine tracks, including three pre-releases, detailing the process of maturing and leaving your childhood behind. As a huge fan of theirs, I was very excited for this release and greatly anticipated what they had in store for this comeback.
The album starts off strong with “Growing Pain.” Fully embracing the rock genre, it’s a song that’s not like any other that they’ve put out. It’s rough, it’s energetic, and I honestly love this switch. You can tell how their voices have adapted to the style. Staying true to the name of the album, the lyrics discuss how they are (not physically) freefalling and about to “plunge headfirst into reality.” As an opening song, it gets you hyped and ready to “plunge” into the rest of the album.
The title track, “Chasing That Feeling,” takes a softer approach. Compared to the title tracks on their previous albums, it’s more laid back. I would say that it’s not their “typical style” but TXT does not have a concrete sound — rather, they explore multiple genres, as seen in this album. This song seems to be a continuation of “Growing Pain” as the group falls farther away from their childhood and are faced with reality. One part I especially enjoyed was the held out high note on the last “It’s all I know” close to the end of the track. I was taken aback and was reminded of their powerful vocal skills.
Utilizing disco and Latin Pop beats, “Back For More” is originally a collaboration with Anitta, but the album features the version that is solely performed by TXT. I personally prefer the one with Anitta,but the TXT version is just as good. This is the first pre-release as it was first performed on September 12 at the 2023 VMAs, and it officially dropped on September 15. The song is entirely in English and is also super catchy. The dance break is one of my favorite parts as it includes “Michael Jackson-like” adlibs. The song as a whole is extremely well executed. I will definitely be back for more.
Taking a break from the first three fast-paced tracks, “Dreamer” is a chill R&B song. It didn’t particularly stand out to me, but is still a nice listen. They really bring out the falsettos in this one and it reminds me of their 2019 song “20cm.” It’s groovy and dreamy as the name suggests. It’s the perfect slow and elegant mood maker.
“Deep Down” definitely had to grow on me. When I initially listened to the album preview, this track was amongst my least favorites and unfortunately still is. The song was underwhelming and I didn’t particularly enjoy the abrupt EDM-like dance beat of the chorus. However, the more I listened to the song, the more I got used to it. This was a dilemma I faced: it felt wrong of me to dislike a song by a group I personally preached had a “no skip discography.” I had to remind myself that it’s okay to have different opinions and that not everything is an instant hit. Although it’s not my favorite, it’s still a good song.
In contrast to its cheerful title, “Happily Ever After” is actually pretty deep. The lyrics detail how life is unpredictable and won’t always work out in your favor. However, life becomes better once you accept it. In contrast to its heartfelt message, the track itself is very upbeat and matches the title perfectly. The post-chorus is solely “La la la” repeated over and over again. TXT is known for creating happy sounding songs with somewhat depressing lyrics and this was no different. Nevertheless, I like this song and it always brightens my mood.
One thing that is becoming less and less common in K-Pop is full songs exclusively in Korean. With the attempt to appeal to a more Western audience, the genre has grown to add more English lyrics over the years. “Skipping Stones” is the only song on the album fully in Korean and this single factor earns extra points for me. A song does not need to include English lyrics to be successful. As for the track itself, the rhythm and drum beat are ones you can vibe to. It really highlights their high notes and also carries that rock-sound, though not as much as “Growing Pain”.
“Blue Spring” is by far my favorite song off of this album, and possibly in their entire discography. It is the second pre-release and was first dropped in March of this year as a surprise “gift” on their Act: Sweet Mirage tour. It was later officially released on this album. I fortunately had the opportunity to hear this song live and can confirm that it sounds just as good as the studio recording. This song allows all of the members to shine and you can feel all of the emotion they put in. It’s a sentimental and comforting song and that spreads its uplifting lyrics to the listeners.
The last track on this album, “Do It Like That” was initially released on July 7 and is a collaboration with the Jonas Brothers. This collaboration was refreshing to see as it blends TXT’s vocals and the late 2000s boy band sound together. It was also very catchy, but I found the lyrics to be repetitive with the chorus mainly consisting of the same line. In my opinion, it fell a little flat and didn’t reach its full potential.
Although I had my initially negative opinions towards certain songs, it does not undermine the fact that TXT are talented artists whose songs deserve all the recognition they get. It is heartwarming to see them explore different genres and witness their style and concept evolve over time. TXT will remain one of my favorite artists and this comeback has undoubtedly strengthened that feeling.
