Release Date: 13 March 2023
Song Count: 15
Rating: 6.5/10
Description:
Back into the world of Korean Pop after a while, today's album is NTX's ODD HOUR, the first full-length release from the group and one that has stayed largely in the shadows in the scene since its inception. The formerly 10-, now 8-man band has been planning to take their spot in the limelight of South Korean music since January 2021, but had to fight off setbacks caused by the pandemic and had a later debut than anticipated, since making more music and being active in their own corner.
From the get-go, it is clear to tell that ODD HOUR is a project with a lot of intent and ideas behind it, albeit with not nearly as much experience or polish to smoothen out the rougher edges. This is especially evident in the departments of songwriting, mixing and production - with a lot of tracks, while they tick all of the necessary boxes for the essentials of a K-Pop song, there is a sense of something being missing or not quite right due to the exceptionally minimal and simple production that, at times, hinder the song being able to carry itself under its own weight.
This is not to say that the album is bad or devoid of quality by any stretch of the imagination - when the tracks hit and take risks that pay off, they pay off well and lead to quite an enjoyable listen. For yours truly, the highlights within the album were tracks like "Drop that" and "Movement" that decided to sprinkle in a dash of hip-hop groove into the mix, and it's beyond smooth sailing with those songs; the combination works far better than one may expect, even when the rest of the album's input isn't quite providing the most top-notch K-Pop out there.
An album that, even when often lacking that extra punch it really needs to sell its tracks, certainly attempts and makes the best out of what it has, pursuing its ideas nonetheless. This may be worth something checking out if you wish to support a lesser known group in this absolutely massive genre of music.