By: Kya Brodgon | 20, March, 2023
After just over a year in the industry, rookie K-Pop group TRENDZ is back with their second album, BLUE SET Chapter. [NEW DAYZ]— the last album in their Blue Set series that they have been exploring since their debut in January of 2022.
TRENDZ is a new group for me. I recognize their name, and I remember hearing talks of their debut. I’ll admit that I hadn’t given them a listen until this comeback, and I’ve been missing out. Even though this album only contains three songs, they left such a strong impression that I immediately went to listen to the rest of their discography and catch up on what I had been missing on.
The album opens with a dark and haunting R&B pop song in the form of “Nightmare.” With a dreamy melody and a strong backbeat, “Nightmare” tells the story of returning to reality, and how scary and confusing it can be. The music’s haunting refrain gives the listeners a peek into the anxiety that the members are speaking of in their lyrics, and the juxtaposition of the deep-voiced rap verse and the high-toned, siren-like chorus is enchanting. The song ends with member Cho Hankook rap-singing “Fall in nightmare, strange nightmare / It's getting closer, can you escape? / All nightmares, leave in nightmare / I'm losing control then what is real?” The abruptness of the ending is similar to the way a nightmare leaves one confused and on edge, feeling like there’s something unfinished that needs to be taken care of. Ending a song that way is a bit of a risk, as it could leave some listeners unsatisfied, but I think this choice paid off. When the song finished, I immediately wanted to start it over so I could hear it again.
The title track from this album is called “New Dayz.” In the music video, the members tell the story of the powerful bond of friendship between them within their universe. This track is pop-punk inspired, with a groovy guitar riff that has you tapping your foot along almost immediately. The pre-chorus is catchy, having a melody makes you want to sing along after the first listen, and this leads into a subtle anti-drop chorus with the same grooviness. The lyrics speak to a similar style of confusion as what they sing about in “Nightmare,” reading “Oh 이건 내가 알던 현실이 아닌걸 / Oh 벗어나야 해 from the danger / Whoa 지독한 어둠 속에 갇힌 채 / Waiting for new dayz / Whoa 끝나지 않은 약속 지킬게 / I'm waiting for new dayz.” (translation: “Oh this is not the reality I knew / Oh I have to escape from the danger / Whoa Trapped in a dreadful darkness / Waiting for new dayz / Whoa I’ll keep my unkept promise / I’m waiting for new dayz.”) Not only is the song a fun listen, but the choreography is also fun to watch. The moves accentuate the beats of the song and also show off how fun being on stage is for the members. With the mix of both intense dance moves and more subtle styling, this is a choreography that I could easily see becoming the next trend on K-Pop TikTok.
The final song on this album is another moody, darker-styled piece titled “Fantasy.” The opening melody of the song is a mix of plucky sounds piano and synth, and it is immediately attention-grabbing. Similar to “Nightmare,” the ending of this song leaves you on the edge of your seat and wanting more, but my favorite part is the ending of the bridge. The lyrics are “네게 달려가 달려가, oh / 달려가 달려가, oh / Never, never, never, never let you go / I'll never let you go / 너에게 숨이 차 죽더라도 / 끝없이 달려가 더 / 너의 손 놓지 않아” (translations: “I’m running to you, running, running, oh / Running, running, oh / Never, never, never, never let you go / I'll never let you go / Even out of breath / I’ll endlessly run more / I won’t let go of your hand.”) The way the song’s tempo picks up during this part accentuates the feeling of running to and with someone you care for, and the passion and exhilaration that comes along with chasing your dream with that person beside you. The entire song is amazing, but this part of the bridge makes me want to put the song on loop just so I could hear these lines over and over again.
Going from this album to the rest of their music, TRENDZ is a group that now has a huge showing on my playlist. After such a strong comeback, I can only hope to see the boys of TRENDZ continue to rise in popularity. I can easily see them on stage at KCON or a similar event - maybe we’ll see them there in the 2023 lineup? I know Friendz (TRENDZ fandom name) would love it, and I would as well!
