[Review] No Doubt – ENHYPEN

ENHYPEN was one of the groups to make their comeback earlier this week with the new single No Doubt and Romance: Untold -Daydream-, the repackaged version of Romance: Untold from July (which I have yet to review, but will do so soon). The original album was led by the singles XO (Only If You Say Yes) and Brought The Heat Back.

No Doubt takes ENHYPEN into R&B pop territory. In a few ways, No Doubt feels similar to XO (Only If You Say So). This new track also feels mellow and fluid track, brought on by the smooth and airy instrumentation. The big difference is No Doubt features a very slight funky tinge, which gives both the beat and instrumentation a little more bite and body. The same can be said about that whisliting-like effect in the background. It doesn’t explore anything new, but it is enough to make No Doubt feel upbeat. There is a refined and polished vibe exuding from the song, which helps ENHYPEN bring a more mature vibe to life elsewhere in the comeback. But despite smooth being a constant factor of No Doubt, I do find the textural aspect of their vocals to be somewhat ill-matched. I wished the vocals were not subjected to as much autotune and processing to better compliment the rest of No Doubt. In terms of memorability, No Doubt sits on the fence for me. Part of me likes the direction in which the melodies and hooks of No Doubt goes and sounds. But another part of me realizes, once the song ends, they just don’t seem to stick. Maybe more listens will help grow No Doubt on me. For now, No Doubt is a good song, but could have been better.

The song is about the changing feelings in a relationship. And the video depicts this through multiple scenarios. At the beginning of the video, the members are office workers exposed to sweltering temperatures and weather. Nothing feels as long as a hot day with poor climate control in the workplace, and the members liken this to a long day that occurs as a result of missing their lover. The boxing ring scenes are a bit more obscure, but the song does have a line that says “I want you, it’s so painful but, Oh, I’d burn myself to prove it baby, no doubt“, which indicates their willingness to go through something painful (like boxing) to be with their partner. Though the most obscure part of the video is the lobster hand that Niki is seen growing and donning at the end of the video to punch a whole in the wall. No clue as to what that represents.

The most memorable aspect of this comeback has to be the choreography. The key move is, without a doubt, the should movement with ENHYPEN’s hands in their back pocket (as per my featured image for the post – it is also the only group moment with all the members in the shot that I could find without a member being covered up or behind another member). But there is something about Heeseung’s forward body roll during the choruses in the music video that also grabs my attention.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 910
Overall Rating – 8.2/10