Song Review:: NCT Wish: Steady- Steady

 

• Release date: 2024 September 24

• Album tracklist: Steady, 3 Minutes, Dunk Shot, On & On, Supercute, Skate, Hands Up - Korean Version

• Album runtime: 21 minutes

I've been looking forward to the album because of how much I liked Dunk Shot. I'll have to do a review of 3 Minutes as well, but that will be for when I have a moment and the releases cool down a little. In the meantime, let's see about this one!

Oh, it's so cute! I know I normally do the instrumentals and stuff in this paragraph, but I got so distracted immediately from how cute they sound that I think my cuteness aggression got triggered. They're not the only boy group to recently debut that I've thought were cute, but this is the first one that actually made me start to laugh at my reaction. And, generally speaking, I think TWS are some of the cutest to recently debut, but I never kicked my feet for TWS. And yet, this song made me do just that. I don't know how I'm going to recover from this. I don't know how I'm supposed to focus on the rest of the song. And the best part is they aren't all up in a higher register. One of them, maybe two, and not among the rappers I think, are lower, and it just balances out so well. In the refrain before the last chorus, there's a quick change in the established notes that is just brilliant, and it's such a good addition because just that little bit is enough to recover attention to the song.  I've never written one of these sections in less than four repeats, but this one I managed within two. 

They've taken me out. I need a couple of minutes to recover before I can even attempt the instrumentals.

It took me ten. 

Ten. Minutes.

It's so hard to focus on the instrumentals when my ears are being besieged by their vocals. Okay. I hear one of my absolute favorite things in instrumentals, which is the snapping. I love sections that have snapping. The verses have some science fiction warbling going on, another something I'm a fan. Actually, on a closer listen, I think that might be whistling. Or both? Nope, that's both. Even better. I like the way the refrain has a quieter version of the chorus instrumentals. Then there's the bridge that is so close to being acapella, and it's the part with the snapping that I love, but you get the beat popping in to bolster the vocals. Not that the vocals need it. 

I'm a little scared to watch the music video. I am not going to lie.

This isn't fair. It's starting with slice of life? One of my favorite music video genres? Yes, the drama genre is good. But slice of life is my weakness. Why did my slice of life veer suddenly into the horror? That's my other favorite genre! Okay. I just have to accept that this comeback is designed to hit me right in the weak spot. Okay. We've moved into horror romance. And it's so cute. But then it goes animated for just a brief moment, enough for me to want to throw my shoe. Not at them. Just at the ground. I recognize that's odd, but that's usually the form my cuteness aggression takes. The other members hyping him up for his ghost girlfriend? Be still, my heart. I love that more than I could possibly describe.

This is going to end up in a top listen of the year for me. Not the month, although it'll end up there too. Am I going to send this song to a lot of people? Yes. Yes, I am.