What's the final verdict on NCT's album "Universe"?

I had 12 hour to listen. I started listen only tonight but i listen mostly this album.

No skip.

Also it’s fighting for Empathy’s crown.

I’m obsessed with New Axis. I thought me looping Universe was bad. Nah. I was stuck on Axis for half hour.

My favorite songs:

New Axis

Dreaming

Round&Round

Know Now

Ok!

Beautiful (daaaamn this one is bigger then life sounding anthem thing)

Maybe a weaker one is Good night. It’s still great but I think I was waiting for something like Timeless 2.0. Another tearjerker.

Birthday party also fun. And sweet dreams.

And Vroom. Vroom is a grower, I can tell. It’s not on the top of my list but the more I listen the more I like it?

We all know birthday party is the best b-side on Universe right butterbutterfly

Sweet Dream and Good Night are a bit weaker than the rest but still solid 7/10 tracks. Overall the album is very good and i like it, but just like the others im not sure its better than some other albums nct has released

It's a good album overall. There are both songs that I absolutely love (Birthday Party and Round&Round - those two are among my favorite kpop songs released this year), and songs that I just don't like at all (Know Now and Vroom).

I would rank it lower than Resonance but higher than Empathy atp.

I will give it a listen in due course...

An amazing album so far birthday party , new axis , earthquake are my top 3 also OK! and dreaming are honorable mentions I only skip one song and it is Vroom

This probably makes me a heretic in Neo City but I think this album is better than Empathy. Some of my all-time faves are on Empathy, but that doesn't offset the rest of the album for me (either songs I like but don't love and songs I don't care for).

I'm with Quarkie here that listenability over the long term will be the true measure. So far though, I think it's a great album! Tbf, this album may have been made specifically for me, with a heavy emphasis on R&B, even in the slower jams.

I can't choose a fave yet, but here we go:

LOVE IT AND OFF TO VEGAS TO MARRY IT:

- New Axis. 🔥 I was hopeful we'd get another Misfit and they gave us the next Mad City - awesome rappers over a sweet beat.

- Round&Round. A sultry, sexy R&B groove with silky vocal perfection from Taeil, Ten, Jaehyun, Xiaojun, Haechan. That list of vocalists on an R&B song already made my mouth water and those mfs delivered.

- Dreaming. I'm a new convert to the Gospel of Grown NCT Dream and they just keep snatching my wig EVERY 👏 DAMNED 👏 TIME. This is shimmery dance pop by way of R&B shades by way of vocal supremacy.

- Miracle. Dear SM, please let Ten and Kun and Xiaojun sing R&B like this forever and ever. It's excellent ol skool 90s R&B flava where the vocals and the beats shine.

- OK. What does it mean? I don't know but I'm dropping to this dirty, dark beat with an unexpected little xylophone (?) in there.

LOVE THEM, BUT WOULDN'T MARRY THEM

- Birthday Party. Just a party banger executed really well.

- Sweet Dream. This was another one I was really looking forward for the vocal mix: Taeil, Kun, Jaehyun, Haechan, Chenle. While not the vocal show or velvet goodness I was expecting, this is a lovely R&B slow jam, which is a weakness of mine, especially when the vocals are gorgeous like they are here. That la la la la is so lovely.

- Good Night. This is really beautiful and simple - it reminds me of "My Everything," which is a little underappreciated gem on Resonance. Three of those same singers return: Taeil, Xiaojun and Renjun and they've added Doyoung. It's very spare and simple and focused on pure, emotional, lovely vocals.

FRIENDZONE

I like all of these songs, but I don't love them.

- Beautiful. I really like it better than I thought I would, but for my taste, it's not in that upper echelon. Tbf, this could be a grower? I know some people were surprised but this is not unusual in the NCT disco - this reminds me of songs off the first few NCT 127 EPs or a lot of Dream.

- Earthquake. I like it but in a world with so many phenomenal NCT 127 tracks, this feels like a mid-tier song. I don't know that it would move into my heavy 127 rotation.

- Universe (Let's Play Ball) I warmed up to this one, but I have to say if it had maintained that hard driving direction it has in the opening portion, this would be in my top tracks. I always appreciate the vocal show but I think it slowed some of the momentum here.

SKIPS

- Vroom. Man, I was so excited to have Kun, Jaehyun and Chenle on a song together but.. anticipointment. It's alright - it's similar to some of those "filler" songs on Resonance (You know which they are).

- Know Now. I appreciate the retro R&B vibe but this one just doesn't land for me. Maybe a few more vocalists and a few less rappers?

EDITED TO ADD: If it's not clear, I loved this album and think it's a great album!

However, it landed in a year where to me, the sub-units have some of the best works of their career, my overall kpop year and heading into my all-time list.

Sticker/Favorite are amazing and Hot Sauce/Hello Future exceptional, so while I like this album, the bar has definitely been set here. (I prefer Favorite to Sticker because the additional songs make the already very tight pacing even better, but prefer Hot Sauce to Hello Future because I think the additional songs there throw off the pacing. I like the additional songs but not enough to prefer that repack over HS.)

Check it out....

You will, to your surprise, find 2 reviews... Because Kaikat decided to be extra and invaded my thread

Thread

NCT [Universe] Live Album First Listen/Review

Let's see what NCT 2021 has in store for us....

open.spotify.com/album/3oc1LdV…_j3g&utm_source=copy-link

daniel-cruz

Dec 14th 2021

Quote from daniel-cruz

Check it out....

You will, to your surprised, find 2 reviews... Because Kaikat decided to be extra and invaded my thread

Thread

NCT [Universe] Live Album First Listen/Review

Let's see what NCT 2021 has in store for us....

open.spotify.com/album/3oc1LdV…_j3g&utm_source=copy-link

daniel-cruz

Dec 14th 2021

Dont act like you dont love me Daniel

Quote from the101

Beautiful. I really like it better than I thought I would, but for my taste, it's not in that upper echelon. Tbf, this could be a grower? I know some people were surprised but this is not unusual in the NCT disco - this reminds me of songs off the first few NCT 127 EPs or a lot of Dream.

Beautiful reminded me of Without you with how it made me feel. They don’t sound alike but it somehow makes me feel the same so this comment made me happy.

Quote from the101

LOVE IT AND OFF TO VEGAS TO MARRY IT:

All of this in this list is my top songs at the moment.

I think the fact that I’m quiet new to NCT doesn’t help me deciding which NCT album I like better. For me Empathy and Resonance both still something fresh because I have been listening NCT for maybe two month?

Is Resonance generally more preferred over Empathy? Personally I have more favourites in Empathy then Resonance. Songs that I could listen on a loop for hours.

Need to give this time to decide where is it for me.

For favourites for me it’s between Yestoday vs New Axis, Timeless vs Good Night.

But Empathy has Black on Black, Baby don’t stop, Boss, Dream in a Dream.

Then Universe has Round&Round, Miracle, Earthquake, Sweet Dreams.

Quote from Kaikat

Dont act like you dont love me Daniel

Do I?

Quote from daniel-cruz

Do I?

say smth other than yes and i will crawl under your bed tonight

Quote from Kaikat

say smth other than yes and i will crawl under your bed tonight

Why Under, Why not over?

Quote from crazydoll86

I think the fact that I’m quiet new to NCT doesn’t help me deciding which NCT album I like better. For me Empathy and Resonance both still something fresh because I have been listening NCT for maybe two month?

Is Resonance generally more preferred over Empathy? Personally I have more favourites in Empathy then Resonance. Songs that I could listen on a loop for hours.

Need to give this time to decide where is it for me.

For favourites for me it’s between Yestoday vs New Axis, Timeless vs Good Night.

But Empathy has Black on Black, Baby don’t stop, Boss, Dream in a Dream.

Then Universe has Round&Round, Miracle, Earthquake, Sweet Dreams.

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I think it’s very split. Even here on AKP, it was only a 1 vote difference in my poll. It’s feels like a lot of newer Czennies, particularly those that came in on Resonance, prefer Resonance but Empathy certainly has some of the best of the best tracks in the disco (like Boss and Baby Don’t Stop.) I came in on Empathy but as I said, there is a lot on that album that I’m more 🤷🏽‍♀️ about. I don’t care for Yestoday (which I know is a popular bside with our AKP Czennies) nor Dream in a Dream. Some of the other tracks I like and have a nostalgic affection for, but I don’t wear out a song like Without You the way I do From Home or Nectar for instance.

Quote from daniel-cruz

Check it out....

You will, to your surprise, find 2 reviews... Because Kaikat decided to be extra and invaded my thread

Thread

NCT [Universe] Live Album First Listen/Review

Let's see what NCT 2021 has in store for us....

open.spotify.com/album/3oc1LdV…_j3g&utm_source=copy-link

daniel-cruz

Dec 14th 2021

I liked her reviews tho

Quote from laleria

Why so you all hate Vroom? I kinda like this song

I’m taken through these three awesome songs - Dreaming, Round&Round and Miracle - then this. It’s very All About You - it’s there but it’s not anything memorable.

Quote from laleria

All About You is good

Quote from chounim

Because 2 days are enough time to have a final verdict on an album

I have not listened to the album. I just finished my final exams yesterday

Quote from the101

I think it’s very split. Even here on AKP, it was only a 1 vote difference in my poll. It’s feels like a lot of newer Czennies, particularly those that came in on Resonance, prefer Resonance but Empathy certainly has some of the best of the best tracks in the disco (like Boss and Baby Don’t Stop.) I came in on Empathy but as I said, there is a lot on that album that I’m more 🤷🏽‍♀️ about. I don’t care for Yestoday (which I know is a popular bside with our AKP Czennies) nor Dream in a Dream. Some of the other tracks I like and have a nostalgic affection for, but I don’t wear out a song like Without You the way I do From Home or Nectar for instance.

Make sense. For those who come in during Resonance to like it better. I came in in a strange time Between Sticker and Favorite and Favorite is indeed one of my favourite from NCT127. The other is their mini album. But that might be because during fire truck I was an NCT Life fan and I do remember loving that song.

(Don’t think I’m ever gonna wear out Without you. I was looking for that song (forgot the title) for a long time even when I wasn’t interested in NCT.)

Quote from chounim

I hope everything was OK with your exams

everything was not okay. The exams were hard asf

My final verdict is that my baby says she wants to dance with a ghost she wants to leave me uh

No but it's a great album. It might become my favorite group project album in the long run, who knows.

This album slaps hard. The first 2/3rds gave me the hiphop sound I wanted from NCT all year.

Recency bias may be playing a role here - but for me it's better than resonance and may be my second favourite album from NCT this year (including all units).

My favourites are New axis, Universe, OK!, Know now, closely followed by dreaming & round and round.

I'm not a big fan of the ballads - sweet dream, good night and think they are the weakest tracks on this album but that's just my preference.

And yeah ... Mark killed it with the rapping. It was really great!

Quote from Kairina

we truly have opposite taste

You like vroom?

I found the album pretty weak as most tracks did not stand out to me. I think I would place the weakest track as Good Night and the strongest tracks as Universe(let's play Ball),Birthday Party, and Beautiful.

Quote from daniel-cruz

Why Under, Why not over?

Quote from Kaikat

LMAO

10/10. Its a masterpiece

Universe is a huge meh to me especially if compared to Resonance.