With the release of the repack album Regulate and its single “Simon Says,” NCT 127 completes the Regular-Irregular cycle.

“Cycle” seems like the wrong word to use. It calls up Wagner and epics and possibly Vikings. This is just k-pop. And yet, it fits.

Perhaps this is because with the “Simon Says” video, we loop back to the very first teasers for “Regular.” Our group, as office workers, dreaming of something better. Fully fledged, those dreams became the “Regular” video.

In “Simon Says,” office dreams have turned into a nightmare.

Or at least a weird fashion dystopia featuring a giant table fit for a cabal of villains.

“Simon Says” is a fabulously NCT 127-type of song. It’s rhythmic, bass-heavy, a little bit grotty, and weird. This is why we like NCT 127, because they provide something different from a typical refined, pre-packaged k-pop release.

For me, standout bits of this song are, in no particular order:

  • The “fishbowl” mixing effect (similar to “Boss”) with lots of ear candy—there are many layers of distortion and ad libs that blossom when you listen with headphones
  • Haechan and Taeil lead the vocal line to victory with that bridge—one of the best moments of the song
  • I love the nod to the choreo (and dystopian concept) of Baekhyn and Loco’s “Young“
  • The bass. This one bites a little bit harder than “Cherry Bomb” or “Limitless”
  • Vans with shoelaces tied around everybody’s ankles over their pants
  • The octaves—seriously, the vocal line killed on this song
  • Best English line ever: “Bless me, achoo”
  • I can’t stop dancing to it

The music video wasn’t super-exciting, but I can deal with that. I’d like to get a dance practice video to get a good look at the choreography, but I’m not holding out for a masterpiece. Apparently they learned this choreo in an insanely short amount of time while they were promoting “Regular” in the US.

Side note: I love the timbre of Taeyong’s voice. It has this stretchy, almost creaky texture to it.

Turning to Regulate, the repack album, I prefer the original. The concept and song selection on Regular-Irregular is already fantastic, and I don’t feel like the addition of new songs made it any better. The Korean version of “Chain,” while great (…off the chain, you might say), doesn’t match with the vibe of this album at all. It’s jarring to me, and not in a good way. “Welcome to my Playground” doesn’t grab me.

The one exception is “Simon Says.” It enters at just the right time—directly after the dream-turned-nightmare of the interlude—and that war chant at the beginning helps to set off the “irregular” portion of the album.

Conceptually, this comeback was a success. The overall concept of Regular-Irregular/Regulate is pretty cool, albeit a bit complicated. Hey, it’s NCT. Complication comes with the territory.

Some of the details of execution could have been done better, such as the other b-sides in the repack, but I don’t think they detracted enough from the overall concept to be a problem. The biggest issue, for me, is the title track. I still dislike “Regular” and don’t see that changing anytime soon.

I can deal with that. Concept is king.

 

 

NCT 127 will always be “NCT one-twenty-seven” to me, instead of “NCT one-two-seven.” You’re welcome.