Seven years after his debut with NCT U, Ten has finally released his first solo album. Talk about delayed gratification! He’s had plenty of solo singles throughout the years, but I can’t believe it took this long for SM Entertainment to give him something more substantial. He follows a lineage of male idol performers gone solo, following in the footsteps of fellow showmen like Taemin and Kai. Title track Nightwalker draws on his strengths as an expressive dancer, delivering edgy theatricality.
As much as Nightwalker‘s vibe elicits cinematic spookiness, the song itself plays things pretty safe. I feel like I’ve heard this structure time and time again in current pop and dance music. The instrumental is beefed up with an industrial stomp, but when you strip it down to its most basic elements, this is essentially a bass-driven anti-drop style. It’s an expected route for a male idol and suffers from this familiarity. Ten sells the track as much as possible, injecting drama into the strings-assisted pre-chorus and excelling whenever a dance break comes around.
I’m most intrigued by the instrumental’s more abrasive textures. The crunchiness of the production occasionally recalls OnlyOneOf’s excellent libidO, but the melodies and lyrical content aren’t nearly as idiosyncratic. It’s quite telling that Nightwalker‘s strongest moments occur at its finale, when the melody stops and gives way for the beat to bound at full intensity.
Hooks
8
Production
9
Longevity
8
Bias
8
RATING
8.25