SONG REVIEW: Blue Hour – TXT

The last time TXT came back in the month of October, we got, what I now consider one of my favourite Kpop songs of all time, the sensational Run Away (9 and Three Quarters). So theoretically, this should put massive expectations on Blue Hour; but given my rather evident dislike for May’s Can’t You See Me (don’t be fooled by the rating, it’s plummeted significantly since) and even more so Puma, I told myself to ease expectations. And to my delight, much like what Twice did with I Can’t Stop Me, TXT have returned with a track much stronger than its predecessor. Although to a lesser extent.

Blue Hour rightfully revisits the bright upbeat sound that has characterised the best of TXT’s work. It’s not the absolute strongest of this style but its still a solid distillation of TXT’s charms into one tight pop package. And one that so far has only gotten stronger with repeated listens. The opening few seconds instantly helps establish the tracks atmosphere, the near whimsical sounding instrumental and female fronted vocals ushering in a magical ambience that has slowly gone onto become part of TXT’s signature sound. However, Blue Hour truely kicks into gear after the introduction of its incredibly groovy percussion. The beat here is immensely satisfying, acting as a great driving force for the track whilst still lending it with a nice sense of groove. The same could be said for the chorus, which strings together a number of smaller hooks to create one supremely catchy centrepiece.

In fact, the entire track plays out like a younger, more youthful version of BTS’ uber successful Dynamite. And while I do enjoy both tracks quite a bit, they also share many of the same issues. The most glaring of which is the lack of variety. I do enjoy me a straightforward pop song, but tracks like Dynamite and Blue Hour feel more groove than song to me and that honestly hinders their longevity. Sure, they’re fun in the moment but It’s hard to really retain much after it ends. Blue Hour is a great representation of TXT’s youthful sound but fails to really find the big pop moments that made songs like Crown and Run Away such essential listens. This coupled with the very divisive Bighit vocal processing (although this one’s abit better) and Blue Hour just feels more like a mush than the bright pop that so much of it is very clearly hinting at.

But in the end, who doesn’t love a good groove and if we were judging tracks by that merit, Blue Hour is an easy success. I just wish for the groups next single to really embrace the big pop sound that they are so great at.

Verses: 9

Chorus: 8

Production: 8

Performance: 8

Final Rating: 8.25 / 10