It’s AshTalksJpop again today. Well, more like AshTalksJRock because Yuta, Mr. Nakamoto completely blindsighted me on this album. Or maybe I just wasn’t paying attention. Yeah, probably the latter.
I’ve talked about how when SM was making NCT Life, Osaka was my favorite before on here. Somewhere in one of these NCT related articles, I don’t remember which. But I lowkey live for Yuta content. And NCT Life in Osaka was the perfect opportunity for that.
I’ve fallen off keeping up with NCT shows. I’ve been meaning to watch the newer shows, but I’ve been distracted with other things. But I do love me a good vlog. The last Yuta related stuff I watched was in 2023 (omggg according to my YouTube history) when he was promoting that drama he was in with one of the J01 guys. His GQ Japan vid and his Vogue what’s in my bag is so cozy and cute. Especially the one with Takumi Kawnishi. Banger. And then his vlog in Japan in 2022. Love that. Okay, yeah, ya girl is way behind. But I do follow him on Insta if that means anything.
I’m inspired to watch more on the creation of Depth and the showcase in Japan. Listening to Depth really reminded me how much I miss this man, lmao. So let’s get into it.
So Depth is 7 songs long, and you’re going to be so tired of me saying this, but I just love when an artist knows exactly what they want their album/solo to look like, sounds like, etc. I think that also comes with years of experience in the industry. And the fact that NCT doesn’t have anything that sounds like this. I really enjoy that. I love when members make something completely different from their main group’s music.
Like when I talked about Taeyong’s music being weird, it’s not like NCT 127 (or U) hasn’t made weird music. That’s part of the gig, same with R&B. But Taeyong really leaned into the weirder, experimental side of NCT with his stuff. Just like how Jaehyun really leaned into the R&B side of NCT with his solo. Depth is straight up uncharted territory and as a former Emo, Pop Punk girl, I’m here for it.
“Last Song” kicks off the album. And right off the bat, I love hearing his voice for more than a few seconds on an NCT song. It’s really happening. We got a mix of English and Japanese throughout this song and the rest of the album as well. Totally wasn’t expecting a boring ballad to start the album, either. And he kills it.
Awww yeaaahh, this was such a pleasant surprise. rockstar!Yuta is such a vibe, and the screamo going on about halfway through the song?? 12-16 year old Ash would have devoured this. I would have had this playing alongside Bullet for My Valentine, Paramore, AFI, A Day To Remember, etc.
The visuals are 10/10. I love the long hair and this color pallet. I love his blonde highlights. The ripped jeans. Idk why he’s shirtless but love that for him. The tattoos. The long hair. I keep going back to how good this hair looks on him. A great hairstyle does wonders, don’t it? There’s a bit of polish in the video. It’s not like a dirty, grungy look going on. But that’s fine. Oh, and the chunk sliver jewelry. That’s a major go.
“Save You” is my third favorite song from Depth. Its structure is similar to “Off The Mask” in that you have the chorus first (in English) and Yuta’s voice sounds amazing. It feels like a perfect b-side to have with “Off The Mask”.
Slightly off-topic, I love that his debut song talks about showing his true self. There are always a few major themes with these albums, and kicking things off with that is very Usher “My Way”/ My Way.
“BAD EUPHORIA” continues our rock sound and it’s good. So good. If you’ve liked the album sound up to this point, you’re going to continue to have fun with it. It’s actually the only song on the album Yuta doesn’t have writing credits on, I’m impressed. “PRISONER” is slighter slower in pace, but not much.
Now we’re getting into more of the sad/emotional yet chill side of the album. My favorite song on Depth and the runs Yuta does on this song, my gosh. One of my favorite 127 songs is “Summer 127” and Yuta’s part in the pre-chorus around 38 second mark (Without anyone knowing, I wanna go far away to the hot sea) is the entire reason why I needed more lines for Yuta. His voice is so soothing and beautiful. So it feels so worth it to finally have that payoff after waiting so long for more Yuta music. I can’t help but to get teary-eyed. We did it, Joe.
And on to our last song of the album. My second favorite song on the album. More screamo and don’t be mad, but he’s giving Jared Leto 30 Seconds to Mars and I love it 😅. Fantastic ending for a fantastic album.
I definitely need to pick up physical copies. I really like this one:
And this one:
The internal version is nice too:
Also, I’m just in love with everything going on in this pic since I’m posting tweets on here:
And me and other predebut NCTzens were screaming over this:
Those are my thoughts on Depth. It’s on my favorite albums of 2024 list. I need everyone who loves Rock music to hear it. It’s phenomenal. To quote TXT, “From one to ten, you’re like an eleven.” But what are y’alls thoughts on this album. Did you like it? What’s your favorite song from it? I got some major Yuta content to get caught up on. I’m gonna have this on repeat for sure.
Next up is another NCT Quick Thoughts. We’re gotta discuss DREAMSCAPE, not to be confused with DREAM )( SCAPE (although I can’t wait to talk about it more). I… I think we pronounce them the same, tho? Idk. But look forward to more NCT articles on the way. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter, Instagram, Threads, & BlueSky. I’ll see ya next article!
Ash💫