Tomorrow X Together dives into reality in 'The Name Chapter: Freefall'

K-pop

Published: 12 Oct. 2023, 19:25 Updated: 13 Oct. 2023, 02:41

Tomorrow X Together dives into reality in 'The Name Chapter: Freefall'

Tomorrow X Together performs its upcoming lead track ″Chasing That Feeling″ from its third full-length album ″The Name Chapter: Freefall″ during a press showcase held Thursday at Kyung Hee University’s Grand Peace Palace in Dongdaemun District, eastern Seoul, ahead of the album’s release on Friday. [BIGHIT MUSIC]

Tomorrow X Together has left Neverland and is now ready to face the harsh reality in its latest album, “The Name Chapter: Freefall."

“Our latest album continues right where we left off with ‘The Name Chapter: Temptation,’ Hueningkai said during a press showcase for Tomorrow X Together’s third full-length album “The Name Chapter: Temptation” on Thursday at Kyung Hee University’s Grand Peace Palace in Dongdaemun District, eastern Seoul, ahead of the album’s release on Friday.

The band has five members: Soobin, Yeonjun, Beomgyu, Taehyun and Hueningkai.

"Our previous album talked about boys facing ‘Temptation,’ hesitating to grow up, while ‘Freefall’ is about the boys facing and overcoming the temptation and marching forward into their dreams and hope,” Hueningkai added.

Tomorrow X Together during a press showcase held Thursday at the Kyung Hee University’s Grand Peace Palace in Dongdaemun District, eastern Seoul, ahead of the release of its third full-length album ″The Name Chapter: Freefall″ on Friday. [BIGHIT MUSIC]

“The Name Chapter: Freefall,” the second entry in the boy band’s “The Name Chapter” series of albums, comes nine months after the release of its fifth EP “The Name Chapter: Temptation.” The previous album had hinted at the band’s upcoming album through the EP’s final track, “Farewell, Neverland.”

“The boys are leaving Neverland and descending into reality, and that is shown by the album’s title ‘Freefall,’” Beomgyu said.

Since Tomorrow X Together’s debut in 2019, the boy band has been focusing on “storytelling albums,” expressing the tales of the youth and coming up with albums that are relatable to the younger generations.

“We’ve been thinking about how young people face reality,” Soobin said. “Being young is tough and it's tiring, and I’m not an exception to that statement. Despite the hardships, we have to move forward to face our dream and our goals, and ‘Freefall,’ too, embraces the idea of young people running relentlessly for their dreams.”

“Young people in the current generation are living with uncertainties,” Yeonjun added. “While they are anxious by the uncertainties of life, they all have their own inner beauty, and we tried to express the vulnerable yet sturdy sides that young people can have."

Tomorrow X Together performs its upcoming lead track ″Chasing That Feeling″ from its third full-length album ″The Name Chapter: Freefall″ during a press showcase held Thursday at the Kyung Hee University’s Grand Peace Palace in Dongdaemun District, eastern Seoul, ahead of the album’s release on Friday. [BIGHIT MUSIC]

As the boy band’s first full-length album in more than two years, “Freefall” also signifies TXT’s growth in the musical sense. The album is filled with nine tracks in a variety of genres, and all five members were involved in the production of the album.

“We are always trying out new and fresh genres in our music, and our lead track ‘Chasing That Feeling’ was no exception,” Hueningkai said. “It’s a song that truly expresses the musical colors that we pursue.”

Hueningkai added that “Chasing That Feeling,” is just as fresh and addictive as the boy band’s last lead track “Sugar Rush Ride.”

“I listened to ‘Chasing That Feeling’ three times in a row when I first had the chance to listen to it,” Beomgyu said. “And during my second time listening, I was already singing along to the key melodies of the track — it’s that addictive.”

Tomorrow X Together performs its upcoming lead track ″Chasing That Feeling″ from its third full-length album ″The Name Chapter: Freefall″ during a press showcase held Thursday at the Kyung Hee University’s Grand Peace Palace in Dongdaemun District, eastern Seoul, ahead of the album’s release on Friday. [BIGHIT MUSIC]

While the lead track is best described as a song in the new wave genre with some ‘80s vibes,' other tracks of the albums are completely different genres. “Growing Pain,” the opener of the album, is a hard rock score based on metal sounds, while “Dreamer” is a moody R&B soul track and “Do It Like That” has a more summery feeling, featuring funky bass tunes.

“I would be lying if I said we were not tired,” Soobin said as the members talked about the production of the album. The members admitted that constantly evolving and trying out new genres of music was “never an easy job,” especially when the boy band kicked off its second world tour “Act: Sweet Mirage” in March, mere months after the release of “Temptation.”

“But we’ve tried our best to put the signature Tomorrow X Together sounds into new genres, like we have tried in ‘Freefall,’” Soobin added.

“While preparing for this album and after we’d finished producing the album, one thing remained the same: The quality of the album is through the roof, and we are very confident with it,” Taehyun said. “We have been sincere with our music, and I’m sure the general public will notice it.”

“Tomorrow X Together will continue to try new genres of music, so we can finally say that Tomorrow X Together can be a genre in itself,” Beomgyu said.

Tomorrow X Together performs its upcoming lead track ″Chasing That Feeling″ from its third full-length album ″The Name Chapter: Freefall″ during a press showcase held Thursday at the Kyung Hee University’s Grand Peace Palace in Dongdaemun District, eastern Seoul, ahead of the album’s release on Friday. [BIGHIT MUSIC]

“I would love to meet more MOA around the world in big stadiums,” Yeonjun said when the members of the band expressed their future goals. MOA is the name for the boy band's official fandom.

“I’ve been told to dream big, so if we can, we hope our songs land on Billboard’s Hot 100.”

To find out more about Tommor X Together, visit Celeb Confirmed!

BY CHO YONG-JUN [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]