nct 127 sticker: album commentary

okay so i've only listened to the entire album twice (the second time being for this post) so i'll probably add onto this later but for now i'm extremely excited to scream about what i think of each song because truly this album is just so good.

1. STICKER

  

i was honestly a little scared after watching the teaser and hearing the out-of-tune flute but let me tell you i liked this so much more than i expected to omg like...first of all the instrumental was so cool? that dirty synth bass track worked so well with the flute and with how minimal the instrumental was you really could hear their vocals so clearly. that little jazzy piano bit has me by the throat because it adds a hint of melody throughout the song and gives some movement to it, maybe even some salsa vibes. i was at first a little thrown off by taeyong's opening because of the autotune but it definitely grew on me and doyoung's raw vocals were so so good. and then when jaehyun comes in with that piano track i just ascend every time. but my obvious biases aside, i think jungwoo really shone throughout the song because they finally did him justice with the lines and god he sounded so delicious. his high tone stood out so much and i'm still wrecked. the harmonies in the chorus were also chef's kiss <3 oh, and i can't forget hyuck and doyoung's growling, it broke me T__T
 

and here i have to mention the choreo because yuta and that INSANE high kick plus the "baby girl" and jungwoo's "you treat me like a boy" destroyed me holy fuck. the two of them bodied the choreo so well and jaehyun too because his style of dancing really suits to moves that they were doing, in my humble opinion. i also have to talk about that yujae part with the "melodrama" because damn. that shit slapped. i was just super impressed with the choreo because although i don't know much about dance, i'd imagine it's really hard to dance to instrumental that's so minimal but the choreo ended up still being super smooth and fast-paced??? overall i think sticker slaps lol it's definitely the type of song that garners people's attention and stays true to how they always release music for the impact.

2. LEMONADE

  

oh boy. i was most excited for this one and i was not disappointed. this description isn't even gonna be a commentary, it's just gonna be me screaming because that was so sexy like. i don't even know where to start like that sexy bass line at the start and then how the instrumental builds up in the pre-chorus but goes BACK to the bass and despite it being muted, it still has such an impact??? not to mention their vocals/rap and the harmonies during the chorus make me want to scream with that lowkey carnival vibe? the rap was so cohesive with the sexy bass i just want to shake my ass to this song if that wasn't obvious already <3 a song with car noises is always just gonna get me <3
 

onto the members haha i'm gonna die. jaehyun throughout the song was so UNHOLY i love that they let his baritone rap loose in this song because it really makes it. also the barking and the HOWL lmao never thought i would love it but i definitely do. the way that each member who sings the chorus says "got me feeling good" actually has me on the floor because it's hot what can i say i am not immune </3 i can't even decide whose is my favourite because they all sound fantastic but yuta saying "good" just has a certain flavour to it okay i'll stop myself there. about the "lemonade should have been the title track" discourse i honestly think sm chose sticker as the title track for a reason lol as long as i get lemonade choreo i am not complaining.
 

3. BREAKFAST
  

 as soon as i heard the synth i was sold on this like come on this is such a club bop? it really reminded me of a 2nd gen song and had a distinct ~shinee vibe that was especially noticeable in the "day and night" part ahhh i think this post will get really unwieldy if i talk about every member but i just wanna say yuta ate in this god like his tone was absolutely perfect for it??? also donghyuck's and jungwoo's super smooth/sweet vocals were an absolute treat to listen to. the highlights of the song for me were actually the instrumental and how the bridge kind of switches up the tempo and that that OUTRO where donghyuck just goes insane with the high notes in the background actually wait no i can't forget JAEHYUN'S ADLIBS holy fuck i am so biased but his deep ass voice between vocal line going all mariah carey is just too fucking perfect i just love the vibes of it </3 my favourite part of the song i am so unapologetically biased. in conclusion this song is lacked with crack and i love it <3
 

4. FOCUS

 

i think noa and i listened to this like four times at least good god. this song straight up makes me feel like i'm floating just no joke...their voices are so beautiful combined with the jazz/rnb instrumentals also taeil sounds absolutely GODLY i know he sounds amazing always but he really did the MOST in this song and jaehyun coming right after him did nothing good for my sanity. this is just the type of song that you listen to at 2 am when you're alone in your room and just fucking going through it what can i say they're SINGERS THEY SING. but of course in true v fashion, the break where taeyong comes in with his insanely fucking heartfelt rap is what kills me holy fuck when he says "i'm tired of this i'm tired of resisting" i die ??? and then johnny who just sort of slurs his voice and sounds tipsy and perfect and sexy i'm just not okay??? and then KILLING me with jaehyun coming in with his honey vocals and "reason why i'm up all night" haha i'll die. rap line's part at the end with mark repeating "i can't wait" just broke me because the rapping + the repetition and the EMOTION that i just can't separate from this song also the implications of "i can't wait to chill" + "what you wanna do"....i'm broken...this is definitely one of my favourite songs in this album god.

 

as for standouts, i definitely think yuta ate once more??? he got more lines this album and it makes me really happy because he DESERVES to stand out. i also think that while the entirety of vocal line (especially taeil) served, my favourite part was rap line sounding like they're in love </3

 

5. THE RAINY NIGHT

for legal reasons i will first say that i am not the biggest fan of ballads. my attention is usually on songs that are catchier or go hard or are emo but still slap yk so i won't talk about this one too much. it's definitely not a bad song just not my style??? but they really do sound great wow the vocals here were really lovely and soothing <3 i also loved that they employed their lower registers more for this song because it definitely made me like it more than other ballads. also hyuck sounds absolutely heavenly during that One Part you know the one so yeah this is for sure growing on me <333 i wish i were more musical so i could properly explain why i like this but i don't know something about the way it's arranged + the violin + again the inherent emotion in their voices tickles my brain <3 the pre-chorus is definitely my favourite part! also i do love jaehyun so oops 
 

6. FAR

 

i'm so excited for this one lmaooo noa agreed with me on this when i said it sounds like a dream song and then she had the realisation that it's actually dream + superm but 127 are the ones actually singing and she's so RIGHT for it like. the parts are an amalgamation of what those two groups would do because you have that classic go/boom era ~rebellious synth lines + the nanananana and then the rap which in the same vein of markyong's style in superm songs [thinking super car???? yeah] and ofc all of them being sm artists there is a similarity in their vocals. not to the mention the jenoisms in the adlibs [get ready get ready get ready] + that final line...it just really reminds me of dream??? such a good song the kind that would be really hype to listen to live. i would actually love to see a choreo for this!!!! as for standouts i think doyoung sounds fucking amazing in this song + donghyuck with that "go bust" line. an mv for this in my head would have a lot of coming of age vibes but they're actually in their twenties lmao i'm thinking underpasses + neon lighting + muscle cars and racing allusions + just overall dark imagery
 

7. BRING THE NOIZE

oh god i am vibrating lmao this is giving lemonade a run for its money as my favourite because come on the noise instrumental + the aggressive rap + car noises is just a v favourite formula god first of all that instrumental is so good it had me headbanging right from the start also taeyong saying "super speed" he's so insane i love him <3 jaehyun's "who dat boi" and then johnny coming on RIGHT after was a personal attack and i'm here for it god someone on twt said they sound like a motorcycle cult and they were so right for that??? i definitely wasn't expecting the smooth vocals after the rap but that made it so much better also i WOULD DIE for jaehyun's rap because he sounds so sexy <3 also holy FUCK on first listen when i heard hyuck growling i literally just. ascended in to the fucking void lmao i couldn't register anything else for a while??? also doyoung at 2:30 is crazy and then JOHNJAE they want me fucking dead that jaehyun verse with the percussion in the background i would die for it jesus christ rap line really went OFF on this song and i need a fucking stage for my mental health i am so sorry this is just me screaming about this song also did mark say booty or is that just me???

8. MAGIC CARPET RIDE

 

kinda have a difficult relationship with this song because they straight up lied about it being a rock song and i'm still not over it haha anyway it's a really nice soothing number? kind of gives me kdrama/movie OST vibes so it's not my usual jam but i did really loved the dotae harmonies they were lovely and everyone sounded lovely [taeyong singing he's a SINGER] also they were completely right when they said this is jaehyun's song bc he sounds fantastic <3
 

9. ROAD TRIP 

AHHH!!!! one of the CUTEST songs in this album it's so soothing <3 hyuck starting it was lovely and then mark's vocals were such a treat to hear [i'm really getting mark disease this is sick] and this was such a nice break from the insanity that far and bring the noize spurred lol i don't really have much to say because it's just a nice cute song yk makes me happy <3 the last taeil line is probably my favourite part because it makes me feel so warm <3 also you're probably tired of hearing this but like yuta. man. 
 

10. DREAMER

i loved this right from the track videos and the full version did not disappoint. this song is so funky and such a mood booster i immediately want to dance in my room whenever it comes on ahhh vocal line sounds so cute and fun and JOHNNY'S ADLIBS and taeyong's cute rap ;-; i think the title was so appropriate because it just feels cute and hopeful like a dream yk also !!!! johnny's show me your smile !!!! i almost cried when that came on he wants me DEAD and taeyong's best friend line was another that broke me but in a good way yk </3 i love the rhyming they did with elevator and later and taeil's adlibs during that part were SUBLIME i love that man. i think 127 just does funky songs like this so well [elevator 127f, love song, city 127 etc] i definitely wanna hear this sound more. my favourite part is mark's "together" rap at the end it's so cute ;-; i'm definitely gonna be looping this
 

11. PROMISE YOU 

another song that i might need another listen??? i was intrigued by the start because it has these old school pop music vibes + those synths are really cool but it had a tempo that was a little too steady for me to be truly interested in it so i doubt that it's gonna be on repeat for me ;-; it definitely had some really good parts though like markyong's rap and like literally all of yuta's lines so i'll probably go back to it at some point!
 

OVERALL THOUGHTS

like i said earlier i think this really is a phenomenal album from 127. i love that they tried experimenting with different genres here which was especially evident with tracks like promise you, focus and breakfast and i really love seeing their musicality evolve with every comeback. the one gripe i have is really minor lmao i kinda wish the order of the tracklist was different because the rainy night is stuck between noise tracks and then the latter half is just softer songs so the balance feels a bit off but again that's just minor ahhh i just really really love this album and i think every song is great and i'm gonna have it on loop for the next few weeks lol