NOWZ: Achilles

• Release date: 2026 August 05

• Album tracklist: Achilles

• Album runtime: 2 minutes

 I'm so behind right now. It's fine. More or less. I'm tentatively hopeful over this as the last four or so comebacks they've had I've enjoyed. I'm hoping this will continue, but it's fine if I don't and I get a break. I'd like to like all the songs, but that's unfortunately not realistic. If I haven't said this recently, the reason I stuck with this group from debut, despite not liking their first few title tracks, is because I decided I was going to support them because they were all adults at debut and by the end of the calendar year, all five of them were in their twenties. That's something that's important to me, because it gives the idols a little more life experience and also lets them have those awkward teenage years of self-exploration and mistakes away from the cameras. The other added benefit is that the children also theoretically get a little bit more time before they have to deal with stalkers and predators having more access to them. But that's why I stuck with this group. They were adults from the start. I will always support that. 

This has that 70s sound that's getting pretty popular again, the one that regularly pops up in earlier TOMORROW X TOGETHER songs, and it could be because I just listened to a song clearly inspired by the Beatles and the Monkees about the sound he letter "b" makes. I really like that we've got rests and silence being used to change the flavor of the very pretty, very mild instrumental. The vibes are strong, but they're also laidback and very chill. A summer drive with the windows down on a winding coastal road. You can feel the warm breeze, but there's definitely a mechanical component to the moment because the song is also a bit gently clangy.

I think this song is almost entirely singing. Toward the end there, there's a bit where you get a little chanting as part of the backtrack, which is great to be hearing, because it's present so you can have it as part of the fanchant or during concerts, but the actually performed parts of the song don't use up their valuable real estate on it. The rapping fits the vocals so well in terms of tone and style that I initially  didn't realize there was in fact rapping. There's very little interruption in the sound there. Also, I think with this song the entire group may have now proven they've got all three relevant skills: singing, rapping, and dancing. I'll need to double check with the line distribution though.

What did I say about this song being retro? I'm so glad that it wasn't just the letter sound song that was influencing what I was reading from the song. They've got a Calvin Klein photoshoot concept for part of it, and honestly, I'm not sure if there is actually a storyline, but the vibes are strong with this one. I'm also delighted and amused by how many people down in the comments are like "The thumbnail successfully baited me and the music made me stay". I'm so pleased by this. They need more people to listen to them. And I know this isn't a GH post, but I'm still 100% going to point out that at 2:06, that's their debut date.