On August 24, NCT 127 released their first album in 2 years, Blingy. After such a long time and a plethora of changes, I wondered if this band, whom I found at the beginning of introduction to KPop, would still feel the same?

I was introduced to NCT 127, one day listening to the KPop station of Sirius XM, while mowing the grass. This was back in the summer of 2022. The station served up Sticker and I was hooked. From that point, I fell down the rabbit hole that is the Neo Zone and became a NCT’zen. I experienced the 2 Baddies, 1 Porsche era, Baggy Jeans, and the beginning of their solo era to prepare for the military hiatus of their leader Taeyong. It was an interesting wave of music, and change ups.

But as life, the positive momentum turned into waves of chaos. NCT 127 gave me the first taste of a band managing  military service and staying active. It was weird, Taeyong and Jaehyun are two of my favorite performers in the band, the band without them felt a bit hollow, until I realized that new members fill in the void. One band, one sound. I began to notice the voices that had been the background all along – Yuta, Jungwoo, Haechan, Doyoung, and Johnny.

Another wave built beyond the breakers, waves of solo albums to pass the time with range beyond my expectation. Haechan’s melodies, Yuta’s J-Rock edge, and Taeyong’s vocal fry were the sounds I began to appreciate as colors of the NCT 127 rainbow. Neo’s got your back, even in the rain.

This band is resilient. Two scandals, two members down, and they seem sharper than ever. Even though they are still dancing the final number of the military hiatus shuffle, they are stronger than ever. For their 10th anniversary they have comeback and reclaimed their identity.

I really like Blingy. The album has range and fighting spirit. We even get a track of all seven members reunited for a moment (recorded before Jungwoo and Doyoung began their service). The five members who carry the rest of Blingy’s sound, have weathered the road blocks, with sophistication and range. Each voice shines, the melodies are cleaner, and the chaotic noise music style of this experiemental band has been fine tuned by these limitations. I don’t miss Mark or Taeil for a second.

This gives me hope as the Stray Kids military era could begin at any time now. BTS had such a messy military era and their return has been, odd and featured a strange display of values. It’s the Chris Brown of it all, and a pinch of personal schedules that feels disjointed from the pre-military service BTS. With all that NCT has gone through, it would be understandable for the band to be unrecognizable, instead they remain familiar, and feel stronger. Instead of the change subtracting from their sound, it has intensified the flavor. My hope is that however SKZ navigates this upcoming change, they will take a page from NCT.