Song Review: Broken Melodies by NCT Dream

NCT DREAM has always been my favourite NCT Unit. Their songs helped me transition into appreciating NCT’s unique ‘noise’ sound trademark especially present in NCT 127’s title tracks which were something that took me some time to understand its appeal. Dream’s more palatable and melodic songs in contrary, especially in their earlier work, instantly appealed to me. They were able to deliver them with consistent flair.

While Dream has been alternating between more melodic and chanty songs as title tracks the last few years, I stand firm with the opinion that Dream is still at their best when they are simply allowed to sing. They pull off both sounds convincingly, but in particular, the vocal timbres of their 3 main vocals Haechan, Renjun and Chenille, are simply my favourite in K-pop. Not to mention, I’m also a fan of the vocal timbres of the rappers when they are singing. This means that my gravitation towards Dream singing is simply incomparable to their rapping.

It’s been a while since Dream has released a melody-heavy title track. Last year’s ‘Beatbox’ somewhat counts, but there is still considerable chanting and rapping in this song. In contrary, ‘Broken Melodies’ really pulls out all stops to showcase all 7 members of Dream singing their heart out, having all the rappers sing. I’m more than pleased with this arrangement, but does the song hold up?

I’ve been listening to ‘Broken Melodies’ for past few days to really make up my mind on how I feel about the song’s effectiveness. I must say, I expected to like it a bit more. I think its melodies could use some work. In particular, the chorus, has me a bit divided. I believe that if it took a different approach and structure, instead of this call-and-response it decided to employ, it would stick with me more. It does not draw me in the way their best choruses in their past discography, for example, ‘Hello Future’. Instead, the strongest melodies are found in the pre-chorus, where it takes it time to develop and bloom. I’m even more fond of the melodies in the verses than the chorus. Every time I listen to the chorus, I keep expecting to be feel more satisfied than I really am, which is a true shame as I know it had potential to totally blow me out of the park.

I also really like the production- for the most part. In particular, I’m a fan of the vocal arrangement and clean mixing, which highlights the member’s voices in all their glory. The way the opening verses were also executed very effectively sets the foundation of the song’s sombre tone, really sounding like a song about a long-distance relationship. However, again, my problem falls within the song’s chorus, which could be more anthemic and convincing. I think I yearn for more percussion variation especially at the chorus opening, which make it feel less plodding. Even at the final chorus, I don’t think it went all out. This is odd, as if anything, pretty much any NCT title track from any unit does not falter at making a satisfying climax. It nearly gets it- but I know it could be more.

It was obvious to me from the beginning that song’s biggest strength would be the delivery from the members themselves. They truly immersed themselves in the song’s concept, making me feel their yearning to be closer with their significant other. DREAM are the least technically proficient vocal unit in the whole NCT band, but more often than not, I like their delivery more than the other units. Why is that? Aside from being able to hide their technical limitations (in most songs), their timbres and their ‘singing skill’ (delivering emotion and manipulating their voice for stylistic effect) makes for a captivating listen. ‘Broken Melodies’ is the perfect example of this. Every single member pulled their weight. The way Renjun comes in his verse really touches my heart every single damn time. Jeno’s opening verse (btw, really high props to him as he does not usually sing and he sounds GREAT in this song) was simply perfect. Haechan’s adlibs and high belts did its thing. Chenle also shined in this song considerably in comparison to most Dream songs, and I was extremely impressed by his ability to execute different dynamics with proficiency. Jaemin also surprised me with how pleasant he sounds, and Mark has one of my favourite singing voices in K-pop (see his solo song Child) so it is really no surprise I’m a fan. In general, all of DREAM sounded very sincere in their delivery, and it absolutely well done. The same can be said about their rap, and despite ‘Broken Melodies’ being a melody-heavy song, it contains one of my favourite rap breakdowns in the entire discography of Dream, and the great delivery is a huge part of why. Dream never really disappoints in terms hitting this particular criteria of my evaluations.

Overall, ‘Broken Melodies’ offers one of K-pop’s strongest vocal performances of 2023, sporting a dynamic and convincing delivery from NCT Dream as they lament over the pain of a long-distance relationship in a nearly larger-than-life anthemic ballad. It is held back from the lack of a stronger chorus hook as well as a production that seems to hold itself back at times, but it is nevertheless another strong entry to Dream’s already solid discography.

Hooks – 8
Production – 9
Vocal Delivery – 10
Rap Delivery – 10
Overall – 9.25