TOMORROW X TOGETHER DROPS NEW EP THE NAME CHAPTER: TEMPTATION | COMEBACK CORNER
BY BRENESSA ROACH | JANUARY 27 2023
We are starting our Comeback Corner series with the release of TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s new EP The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION. The South Korean pop group TOMORROW X TOGETHER consisting of; Yeonjun, Soobin, Beomgyu, Taehyun and Heuningkai released their fifth EP as a continuation to their last EP in May 2022 titled minisode 2: Thursday’s Child.
The EP released at midnight EST and so far, netizens and MOA’s (TXT’s fandom name) have been loving the EP. In fact, all five songs on this EP are already charting in the MelOn Top 100. This is a chart by the South Korean music Service Melon that updates every hour and ranks songs based on the number of streams within the past 24 hours. Additionally, the music video for the title track “Sugar Rush Ride” has already reached 13 million views in just 15 hours. Furthermore, TXT has set a new record for 1st week sales by selling over 1.8 million physical copies of this EP in just one day. This makes them the 5th K Pop group ever to have one album selling 1 million copies in the first day. The other four K Pop groups are; BTS, Seventeen, BLACKPINK and Stray Kids.
The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION consists of 5 songs which we will break down and review in the order of songs on the EP. So, let’s get started.
“Devil by the Window” is TXT’s second song ever that includes all English lyrics. It’s produced by Big Hit’s producer Slow Rabbit and written by BLVSH and Chris James, two artists that have previously worked with Big Hit artists. This song is a creepy, mysterious song that gives off cold, tsundere vibes. It also has a children’s fairytale type of vibe, which is the common aesthetic throughout this EP. This song is heavy on the bass and incorporates a lot of percussion instruments, glitch noises, layered vocals and harmonies. It has a very similar vibe to “Good Boy Gone Bad” which was a song on their last EP minisode 2: Thursday’s Child, which also followed a children’s folktale/fairytale aesthetic.
“Sugar Rush Ride” is the second song on the EP and is also the title track. This song is like the title implies, a sugar rush. It’s an upbeat, dance pop song filled with sweet vocals, a funky guitar riff, some drums and the best part, which is the whistle and echoed “gimme more” lyrics that come in during the bridge and chorus. The song is also produced by Slow Rabbit and written by a bunch of songwriters, with the most well known ones being Salem Ilese and Sofia Kay, who actually sang backup vocals during the “gimme more” part.
“Happy Fool” is the third single and the only collaboration on this EP. It’s a collaboration song between TXT and American rapper, Coi Leray. This song was produced by Slow Rabbit, yet again. As well, all five members of TXT and Coi Leray participated in the writing portion of this song. The song intro has a Bossa Nova/Jazz type of rhythm which transitions into an upbeat R&B sound mixed with elements of flute. The song is majority in Korean, except the chorus part where they sing “Happy happy happy fool” and Coi Leray’s rap verse.
“Tinnitus (Wanna be a rock)” is a fan favourite song on this EP. For starters, I love the fact that they used the condition tinnitus (ringing/buzzing noises in the ears) and turned it into meaningful lyrics. This song was produced by Dystinkt Beats and the Grammy-nominated record producer Smash David. It was written by a wonderful team of songwriters including Stella Jang and TXT members Taehyun and Yeonjun. This song uses Afro beats and a beautiful kalimba in the intro. It also has influence from Cuban music with the faint clave rhythm pattern. Overall, this song is a completely different genre than TXT’s normal music, but they still managed to ace it.
“Farewell, Neverland” is the last song on the EP and my personal favourite. It’s produced by LA producer Carson Thatcher and written by a group of songwriters, including “hitman” bang, the founder of Big Hit and Hybe Corporation. This song is definitely inspired by Latin music because of the cajón, acoustic Spanish guitar and the swaying beats of the other percussions layered in. This song is the most magical song on the album that really fits the fairytale aesthetic. Additionally, the song is a reference to Peter Pan, starting with the title of “neverland” and followed by Soobin and Beomyu’s lines in verse two. They sing the lines “무책임한 꿈의 낙원에마지막 인사를 건넬게 / My Peter Pan” which translates to “To the paradise of irresponsible dreams I’ll say my last goodbye / My Peter Pan” (Source: Genius Lyrics).
Hope you enjoy the album as much as I did!
Listen to The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION on Spotify:
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