Song Review: NCT Dream – The Sun

As if this day wasn’t already stuffed with enough new K-pop releases, NCT Dream have surprise released a teaser for their upcoming album due out next month. The Sun acts as their first new music since Mark left the group and paints a sentimental vibe that that seems to point toward a more mature presentation in the future. Pre-releases can be a nice opportunity to promote material that wouldn’t usually fit the mold of a traditional title track. When it comes to idol groups, it’s a way to get more ballad-adjacent songs into the public sphere. NCT Dream have dabbled in slower, more rock driven material before (Broken Melodies being the best example), but The Sun pulls them in a less predictable direction. It’s a song that takes its time, boasting a 4+ minute runtime that’s almost double the length of many of its peers. This allows plenty of space for extended instrumental breaks, swirls of psychedelic harmonies and a general sense of expansiveness. This approach comes at the expense of slick, taut songwriting, as The Sun often feels more like a series of movements than a perfectly packaged pop song. I think this will pay off in the long run. There’s plenty of moments to explore withi...