Song Review: Deja Vu – TXT

I have purposely held back from reviewing ‘Deja Vu’ despite having been released more than 2 months ago because I was not sure what to make out of it. On one had, my first impression was that the melodies are some of the strongest that TXT have released. Particularly, the chorus has been stuck in my head ever since the first time I’ve listened to it. Additionally, the song was delivered perfectly. The members felt every word that they sang, which is especially important when delivering a song like ‘Deja Vu’, which leans more towards angst.

However, the production choices left me rather confused. Interestingly, there wasn’t anything wrong with the vocal mixing/vocal effects that songs coming from HYBE are often slathered with. Rather, it was the understated nature of the instrumental that fuelled most of my gripe with the song. I understand its appeal, for there are still varying degrees of energy which an angsty rock song can exist. One of their best among the latter, ‘LOVESONG’, exists on the extreme end, and ‘Deja Vu’ can be said to exist on the more moderate end. It isn’t wrong to do so by no means, but I fully expect that even songs of a lower energy can leave me feeling just as fulfilled as those with higher energy. It is all a manner of execution. After these two months of searching for why I felt something was still mixing, I have finally come to an answer: the lack of the bridge. Honestly, I can’t believe I didn’t realise it earlier. In practically all TXT title tracks, there contains a stellar bridge to really tie the song together. No matter how strong the chorus of ‘Deja Vu’ is, by itself, it cannot tie the song together. The more understated nature of the song’s production makes this flaw just so much more apparent. I can’t fully explain why, because there are indeed songs that I think don’t need a bridge to tie it together (see ENHYPEN’s Future-Perfect), but with ‘Deja Vu’, the transition into the final chorus is extremely abrupt and feels really lazy. In a lower energy track like this, I would appreciated a longer run time so the song can really marinate even more into its atmosphere without solely relying on its chorus. I really appreciate the instrumental that goes right before the final chorus- but it needs that bridge to make the song sound ‘finished’.

Overall, ‘Deja Vu’ could have been a stellar track with a few tweaks, which makes me think of what could have been. I will still play it quite often because of my sheer love of the chorus melody, but its potential will forever haunt me.

Hooks – 10
Production – 7
Vocal Delivery – 10
Overall – 8.5