*Some or all lyrics have been translated to English

HYBE, one of the largest international music labels based in Korea, has had a lot going on during the past few months; the most notable is undoubtedly the ongoing trial of CEO and chairman Bang Si-hyuk. According to the BBC, he has been accused of “deceiv[ing] existing investors and venture capital firms into thinking that there were no plans for a public listing, inducing them instead to sell their Hybe shares to a private equity fund he is alleged to have ties to.” TOMORROW X TOGETHER (TXT) is a five-member boy group under HYBE and, due to all of the recent drama, I was doubtful that they would be able to produce a quality album that I would enjoy. Despite all the stress, however, their latest release stays true to the group’s character while still showing something new to the fans who have been with them since their debut. In all, the mini-album, “7TH YEAR: A Moment of Stillness in the Thorns” explored new genres for the group, including 80s synth-pop, alternative R&B, and electro-pop. The feel of the album is mythical and existential, especially in “Stick With You” and “21st Century Romance.” They explore the doubts, internal conflicts, and questions of life in six tracks, delving into their emotional side. Truly, while I enjoyed some tracks more than others, none were disappointing and all of them defined who TXT is in a new way. 

The first track on the mini-album, “Bed of Thorns,” takes inspiration from the 1980’s unique style of synth-pop, and as my first introduction to the EP, immediately made me interested in hearing the rest of the project. Threading themes of accepting one’s mistakes through the lyrics, this song is exactly what I expected of TXT. It’s deeply emotional, yet still refreshing and catchy. The echoing hook in the chorus plays on the phrase, “You’ve made your bed, now you must lie in it,” meaning that one must accept the consequences of their actions. The chorus goes, *“I (I) made (Made) / My bed of thorns, I willingly lay my body down.” As always, TXT shows off their vocal prowess in this first track. Unfortunately, though, the lyrical lines are often forced to take a backseat in this song due to the dominant production style. I had to listen to it a few times, of course, with Genius Song Lyrics and Knowledge opened on the next tab, in order to understand the meaning behind the song. 

“Bed of Thorns,” while it was my initial favorite of the mini-album, was overshadowed after hearing the fifth track, “21st Century Romance.”

Track five begins with the sound of a starting engine, slowly bleeding into a soft twinkling synth. While many stereotype the pop genre, especially K-pop, as musically repetitive and basic, TXT contradicts this assumption. “21st Century Romance” has a remarkably complex chord structure; rather than the typical two-to-four-chord loop, this song fluctuates through multiple different tonal centers in the short two minutes and 38 seconds that the song lasts. Containing only one verse, a bridge, and two choruses, my only complaint about this track is how short it is. The haunting, melancholy melody, credited to Hueningkai, takes the listener through a story of profound numbing sadness that the narrator is experiencing as a result of an increasingly electronic world. In the first verse, they make a reference to binary code, saying, *“I surrender to the world of zeros and ones.” They long for something beyond endless swiping on social media and hope that someone out there might feel the same as they do. 

Instrumentally, the song focuses on an electric guitar, which I think was an intentional decision to further drive home the omnipresence of technology in the 21st century, even in music. 

Arguably, the most important aspect of any new release is the title track, which is often a listener’s first impression of the EP or album. It is also, at least in K-pop, the most promoted song from the album, featuring choreography specifically designed in hopes of going viral, and a music video. In other words, there’s a lot of dramatic production and visuals that come along with “Stick With You” besides the music itself. Using the storyline of the music video, one is able to interpret the theme in a different way than can be done from the lyrics alone. It follows each of the members as they pursue a woman, supposedly their romantic interest, but she is always just out of reach. The same scene plays out multiple times, as each of them wakes up on the same couch and walks through the same crowded city streets in an attempt to catch up to this woman. It’s reminiscent of the movie Groundhog Day, yet with another added layer of uncertainty; in multiple scenes, he will try to talk to the woman, yet she seems to see through him. Is he living in a dream?

Lyrically, “Stick With You” tells a slightly different story, one of yearning for someone who has suddenly grown distant, and being completely in the dark as to why they’ve fallen out of love. Rather than moving on, the narrator is endlessly pulled towards the person they’ve lost, despite the deterioration of the relationship. Still, the narrator can’t accept leaving the person they love, as they sing, *“Stay with me, just one more day, then one more…Just one day in your mercy, I might be like a mayfly but / As long as I’m with you, I’m fine.” They sacrifice having a healthy, reciprocative partnership, settling instead for unrequited love. Mayflies perfectly capture the themes of this story; adult mayflies die after mating, which is typically only 24 hours after they hatch. Not only does this emphasize how short-lived the relationship will be, but it also demonstrates the pain the narrator feels, “dying” every time they leave their love.