After dancing on the periphery of their vampiric alter-egos and rich lore over the years, ENHYPEN fully embraced this concept in their ‘Blood’ series. ‘Dark Blood’ and ‘Orange Blood’ explored the internal strife of throwing caution to the wind and giving in to love, all through the eyes of immortals constantly locked in a losing battle with love. Despite knowing that the pain of losing will be eternal, ‘Orange Blood’ showed the members running out into a storm, choosing “to love you with all my heart in this moment, without any regrets”, as they say on ‘Mortal’.
The septet’s new album ‘Romance: Untold’ puts that commitment to the test. They’re in the eye of the storm now, choosing to walk into danger to save the one they love while holding on to the delicate, sun-kissed memories of better times. Opening track ‘Moonstruck’ finds the boyband in the haze of this eternal promise. Sensual alt-R&B builds on a tantalising game of push and pull: “Won’t you let me in, You can’t resist the pull,” before hurtling us into a chorus that teeters on the edge of a dark dreamscape.
The group reiterates this commitment on ‘Hundred Broken Hearts’, another old-school R&B-inspired banger with Jungwon contributing to the topline. Here, they promise to defy the conventional tropes of romance and wrench their happy ending back from the hands of fate. The track’s relatively subdued arrangement mirrors the “dim anxiety” flickering inside them as “time and space try to separate you and me” but their conviction rings out in clear vocal delivery promising “everything to protect your heart”
Rounding out this trifecta of the best songs on the album is ‘Brought The Heat Back’, a funky dance-pop earworm where ENHYPEN reunite with Cirkut, who produced their 2023 single ‘Bite Me’. Buoyant and vibrant, the song switches things up from the intensity of ‘Moonstruck’ and ‘Hundred Broken Hearts’, while also indulging in the green-eyed monster that haunts relationships. “Who’s that guy you just said hi to? Why were you smiling like that?”, they sing, with a bouncy rhythm that stands in stark contrast to the group’s sulking inquiries.
The upbeat energy of ‘Brought The Heat Back’ is surprisingly aplenty across ‘Romance: Untold’, in contrast to the gloomy vibes of the album’s teasers. Lead single ‘XO (Only If You Say Yes)’, produced by JVKE, encapsulates the feeling of cute, puppy love in all its glory, backed up by looping synths and chopped vocals. Meanwhile, the “sugar talking” of ‘Your Eyes Only’ is an immediate draw. The synth-pop track is an easy listen and almost feels like a coded exchange between the group and their fans, peppered with references to past discography and lyrics.
But the tracks on ‘Romance: Untold’ aren’t all winners. The mid-tempo number ‘Royalty’ is unfortunately stuck with an annoying chorus – the hook “Baby, you’re so preciou-ciou-ciou-cious” is particularly grating – that drags down an otherwise serviceable track. Meanwhile, on an album that’s largely dominated by synthpop and R&B, the drum ’n’ bass of ‘Paranormal’ stands out as an awkward addition to the tracklist – though, the song itself is fairly intriguing on its own.
ENHYPEN close out the album with ‘Highway 1009’, their first-ever fan song, with all members contributing to the lyrics and Heesung on production. After deciding to go all-in on their love throughout the record, ‘Highway 1009’ proves that the tribulations and turmoil they’ve gone through won’t deter their devotion. Ending it on a personal note, thus, feels characteristically ENHYPEN: no matter the darkness that pervades their world, there’s always a sliver of hope.
Details:
- Release date: July 12, 2024
- Record label: Belift Lab