Just one month after NCT RESONANCE Pt. 1 – The 2nd Album was met with global enthusiasm, the 23-member K-pop supergroup NCT (built of sub-units and side projects NCT 127, NCT U, NCT DREAM, and the China-based WayV) released NCT RESONANCE Pt. 2 – The 2nd Album, an elephantine record with 21 tracks—13 taken from part 1, with the addition of eight new songs—expanding on the group’s fondness for hybridizing nostalgic sounds. Album opener “90s Love” is that in a nutshell quintessence: a song written from the school of Montell Jordan and Boyz ll Men’s “Motownphilly,” filtered through digitized vinyl pops and pristine production. “I.O.U.” is big-room electro-house with robotic vocal manipulation. Hushed piano ballad “My Everything,” creates a welcome break in the hour-plus epic, and album closer “Outro: Dream Routine” suggests deep bass is in their future. Call it edgy, call it maximalism: For NCT, bigger really is better.
