On January 27th, TXT released their fifth EP, The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION. The mini album has a total of five songs with the lead title track being titled “Sugar Rush Ride”.
The group’s prior release was “MINISODE2: THURSDAY’S CHILD” released on May 9th, 2022.
Each comeback brings forth a new concept for the group. In THURSDAY’S CHILD, the group displayed teen heartbreak through their track “Good boy gone bad.”
While the overall theme of that album was teen angst, the groups b-side tracks lyrically followed that vibe, but the songs itself didn’t as they had a slower pace. To me, the songs didn’t fully match up with the idea they had going for that album.
Nonetheless, the songs were great on THURSDAY’S CHILD and left me excited for more. Looking back, I now think it was a great choice for the group to do slower songs on that album, as it was easy to continue it onto their newest release.
“TEMPTATION” brings to the table a sugary daydream of musical pieces. Most of the songs carry a happy, summery beat that fits in with the concept the group had for this comeback.
The b-sides on this EP are “Devil by the Window,” “Happy Fools (feat. Coi Leray),” “Tinnitus (Wanna be a rock),” and “Farewell, Neverland.”
“Devil by the window” is the first song off the album and it is sung in complete English. I think the vibe of this song would’ve been very fitting in THURSDAY’S CHILD. It’s a great beginning for the album as it does reminisce on the sound of their previous album, and smoothly moves into their new sound for this album.
The line “I met the devil by the window” connects to the following song, “Sugar Rush Ride”, in which the pre chorus of the song [Sugar Rush Ride] is “the devil said”. It’s no surprise that in Kpop, groups tend to make their albums a storytelling journey for their fans. Because of this, I’ve always liked it when groups not only follow a certain concept and message, but when they also link their songs together. Overall, I think it ties the album cooperatively.
“Devil by the window” is not my favorite from the tracklist, but it’s a song that I don’t skip when it plays. I really enjoy the fact that it does set the listener up for the upcoming song.
“Sugar Rush Ride” is the next song on the list. It’s the title track off the album, which I’m glad it was chosen to be. Compared to the other songs, “Sugar Rush Ride” gives a completely different sound.
The intro reminds me of summer, and going into the song I thought it would be a pop song of some sorts. All of that changed when I got up to the pre chorus.
Yeonjun’s “the devil said” line caught me off guard by the quick switch of tone. I honestly enjoyed the song more because of the back and forth, sweet and villainous tone.
The music video is very tropical and the beginning partially reminds me of the group’s 2020 hit song, “Blue Hour”. In “Blue Hour,” the members fall from the sky, and in their recent music video we see rain falling from the sky in a similar way the members had fallen from the sky.
I definitely think the group has made better title track songs. Off the tracklist, this song is one of my favorites. However, out of all the title tracks the group has made, this song is more in the middle of rankings for me. Despite all that, I still think this song fits in their discography quite well.
Following the title track, “Happy Fools” has a touch of bossa nova in the beat. It’s also the group’s only song on the mini album that has a feature. The feature is with Coi Leray.
I found the song more enjoyable before Coi Leray’s part. And while this song isn’t my favorite from the list, it isn’t terrible. Even with Coi Leray’s feature, I wouldn’t skip the song.
“Happy Fools” reminds me of a previous song TXT has produced. “Way Home” from minisode1: Blue Hour, sounds extremely similar and gives off the same energy.
After listening to the beachy beats from “Happy Fools,” “Tinnitus (Wanna be a rock),” is next on the list. The song has blown up on social media as many fans are participating in the viral dance challenge.
The tune is extremely catchy and is a first of its kind within the group. The song features afro-beats and leaves the listener wanting to dance. Out of all the songs on this album, it’s understandable why this song blew up on social media, the song is practically addicting to listen to.
The fifth and final song is “Farewell, Neverland”. It’s a pop-rock song with an intense guitar and drum as the melody. This song was my personal favorite off the album. It was a song I didn’t appreciate the first time I listened to it. After listening to it for a second and third time, the song only got better.
Temptation was an amazing album to listen to and the group did a great job exploring with new sounds. Kpop fan or not, the album is wonderful enough to reach the ears of all music lovers.