1/7/2026 The "NCT #127 Neo Zone: The Final Round - The 2nd Album" Review (Part 2)

I'm back :3

"Make Your Day"

Happy birthday, I guess? 

Nothing super interesting about this song, but also nothing super boring! A really lovely performance from all the singers and, while not really conceptually unique, handsomely composed. Well done, but not powerful enough to go on my favorite NCT ballad list.  

I do like the ending. It leads well into the interlude.

How would I feel if someone told me this was their favorite NCT song? Hey, it's a good song

"Interlude: Neo Zone"

I think I could perhaps get with the first half more than the second half, which is kiiiiiiiiind of giving mid-tier action movie trailer. Its cinematic nature does echo the martial arts movie theme of "Kick It" in an exciting way, and I loved the disjointed violin harmony with the crescendo of sirens in the background - I suppose I just expected something more.

Johnny's "no more trauma" is going up there with "after the storm... there'll be no more rain" and "I just can't help myself". He's always saying some bullshit.

 

"MAD DOG"

I love this stupid fucking song so much. Did you know the famous "Jumping on my trauma / Already wear pajamas" is the very first line? 

I love the fierceness with which these slender young men declare themselves to be feral canines. I love that Mark's rap foreshadows the rap at the beginning of "Punch". I love that the second chorus is in an entirely different key. I really really love it. 

Unfortunately the song is swiftly dated by the arrival of Doyoung and the other guy, who bring a bit of unnecessary mystery and a snapping beat to a piece that has heretofore sounded like a scream cutting through silence. I can only really appreciate the hazy harmonies when Mark starts saying some bullshit about aliens. 

The instrumental of "MAD DOG" never forgets that its strength is in its simplicity. It's almost classy. Mark and Taeyong are yelling, but far enough away so as not to hurt us. 

How would I feel if someone told me this was their favorite NCT song? Sexually aroused.

"Sit Down!"

This one is like "MAD DOG" but everyone's invited. I'm not sure I fuck with it.   

The sample that opens the song and rules the verses is painfully royalty-free. I'm really, really sick of prechoruses that have those snapping sounds in the background. The random NCT-brand sophistication that Doyoung and Haechan bring in just before the chorus feels a little tired at this point.  

The chorus is ridiculous, as expected, but Johnny's little "and don't tell make me tell you again!" is even more absurd. I forgive the song for everything else because of that line. I even forgive it for Doyoung's silly little "I smell some jealousy" and for Yuta's random autotune thing.

From the bridge on, I began to reconsider some of my opinions: is it actually so wrong to want to combine these different genres into one song? That's what "Kick It" did! It's not that I can't stand a song that isn't entirely consistent all the way through. I just feel like "Sit Down!" comes off a little more ridiculous than even "MAD DOG", because it cannot reconcile the members' talents to one another. I know it's probably taxing to have to mix up a song that suits both Taeyong and Jungwoo, that doesn't wall off Doyoung and Haechan into their own little R&B realm, that actually gives Yuta something to do. But 127's composers have done it before. I'm not really sure if they managed to do it in "Sit Down!"

How would I feel if someone told me this was their favorite NCT song? Not impressed.

I'm tired again. Might post something else tonight. Might not. Sorry. See u tomorrow