Song Review:: CNBLUE: X- A Sleepless Night

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  • Release date: 2024 October 14
  • Album tracklist: A Sleepless Night, BAD BAD, RACER, To. My Love, Personal Color, Tonight

  • Album runtime: 20 minutes

Give it a couple of months and they'll hit their fifteenth anniversary. That is impressive. Good for them. 

This genuinely sounds like the kind of music I listened to before I started this whole wild journey. Good, old fashioned, classic rock. The dramatic drumbeats that pause for emphasis give me life. And whichever one of the trio whistles, that's awesome. I thought it was possibly a flute, but I don't think any of them are flautists, which, given the idea of this song/album being just what they can make with their instruments as is, seems unlikely. And just listen to the guitar and bass. Those are squeals coming out of those instruments and I love it. Gorgeous. I have zero complaints about the written instrumentals. I'm just here to bask in the sound contentedly.

Personally, I'm a huge fan of when vocalists get to pull out a rock growl to their voices. With this being a rock band, that's what I would hope for, and they deliver. It's not there the entire time, but that just makes it special when it does show up, especially with how soft the vocals are most of the time. And there's harmonizing! I did definitely think the lyrics were "It's dark in my head", but once more, I am mishearing things. The actual line is "It's stuck in my heard."

The way the music video uses isolation to reinforce the idea of the regret and longing is fantastic. The presence of the mirrors and the shattered glass indicates self-reflection. The music video is very tightly woven to the themes of the song itself, and I deeply appreciate that. Also, the cool lighting is, well, cool.



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