Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
NCT 127 (or whatever the hell NCT incarnation SM Entertainment has dredged up this time) is back with “Switch”, a song that reminds me of an elementary school talent show.
“Switch”, like many of NCT’s releases, is extremely polarizing. It has been mentioned before in reviews of “Fire Truck” and “The 7th Sense” that NCT are not always the strongest rappers. It was my assumption that their singing had to be better than their rapping. While I won’t say that their singing is worse, it is certainly just as jarring.
My biggest issue with “Switch” is NCT’s attempt at higher octaves/falsetto. The portions of the song sung in these higher ranges comes off as both grating and weak. To someone inexperienced in the clusterfuck that is the various NCTs, “Switch” sounds just as vocally juvenile as something released by NCT Dream individually. One could argue (and probably will in the comments) that the vocals are not the strongest because, apparently, “Switch” was recorded pre-debut and only released now. That only curtails some of the blame that should be placed on whoever made NCT 127 perform a piece that it so audibly beyond their comfortable range. Gripes aside, “Switch” does dabble in the mid-range just long enough to make the rest of the song tolerable.
Besides the vocals, “Switch” has a quality EDM beat. “Switch” is very reminiscent of releases like f(x)’s “Four Walls” and Shinee’s “View”. Both of the latter jams are a restrained take on the EDM trend, and NCT 127’s “Switch” has a similar sense of being ‘chill’ but it could have benefited from a similar build/crescendo as the one in “Four Walls”. The lack of crescendo in “Switch” leaves the listener anticipating, and failing to receive, more.
—–
The video is SME’s usual dancing in a room, dancing outside of the room, and hot guys trifecta. There is nothing of note in regards to the music video aside from a two things:
1. The NCT members featured in this song look eerily like a bunch of Luhan clones.
2. The brightness of the video is slightly dulled … which can be a bit annoying and will have you compulsively turning up the brightness on your screen.
—–
NCT 127’s “Switch” has a solid beat that is unfortunately hampered by weak vocals. I was left waiting for a “whoop-whoop” or something to keep my interest, but it simply never came.
=====
‘NCT #127’ Album
“Switch” Song
