One of the rookie boy groups who debuted this year, NU'EST made a comeback after their first release of "Face" with an almost similar concept, "Action". This time around, they've changed from high school boys to your-usual-dressed-up-idol-look. Not that its bad, just something of the norm in kpop. Everyone seems about the same with an upgrade to some of the members' hairstyle.
Music wise, the melody is different from "Face" but the beat & flow is quite similar but no complain there. Its still catchy, especially the chorus which first caught my attention. True to its name, the song has a sort of tense, unsettling mood which fits the lyrics (telling people to take action or fight back). Everyone's vocals were similar to "Face", no extra features added. From JR's unique rap voice to Baekho's clear vocals, nothing's changed. But Aron's rap part is more clearer with the slower speed, enabling his words to come out clearer & precise (I had trouble making his last line in FACE). ONE complaint though that I have to mention is the dance-break part. The music was too similar to FACE's & seemed awkward with the whole song. Its like a red line with a blotch of blue 3/4 way. I'm not a fan of the techno-scratch sound anyway (some comments mentioned it of being a dubstep sound) :P Overall, its a good idol song where NU'EST still maintains their 'trademark' sound which I would say is appropriate to further establish their individuality as a group. If the concept is changed too often / too soon, the character just fades away.
Onto the lyrics. The lyrics are life-themed, talking about the bad habit society has on conformity & appearance. The song clearly sings about the need to "take action" and not blend in the crowd. In short, individuality is the whole issue which I can relate to the kpop industry where groups try to either follow the top melody/image in order to gain the already-hyped-up audience. Ironically, the feedbacks I read nowadays actually criticise new upcoming groups of being similar to existing groups, saying how the image presented is a copy of another group. Sometimes it is true but other times, its just crap. Its up to you on how you give the genre/theme your own version of spice.
And now, the MV! I have to say I was a bit disappointed with the MV. The arrangements of the setting was too common or simple for quite an action-packed song. The individual shots were not realistic enough except for JR's which I have to say is the coolest feature of the whole MV. In comparison, the other 4 members seemed almost lame. The song is about being trap by force & each member tries to escape it but other than JR, Aron & Ren, Baekho & Minhyun didn't exactly portray it. Ren was standing on a small, circular platform with his hands in manacles but his legs are free to walk around. Minhyun sitting in a abandoned room, feeling angst but there's nothing holding him back (he actually just gets up & walks away in the end). Baekho's ........ you can see it for youself. Aron's only prob is that the level of trapped-in-a-maze is not enough (I think its the same bars as the one in the group dance shot). JR is seriously by far the best feature. The chorus dance is nice but not OH-MY-GOD-AMAZING. I wish the director would expand the view of the whole MV as I felt like the setting were too small-scale & cramped. Note on Baekho & Minhyun's scenes where only close-shots were done; especially Baekho's. There's not much else to say. I'm just super-into JR's look & scene, with the whole puppet-string concept & complemented by his wide-eye (cool colored contacts) stare. Make the comparison yourselves below on the screencaps I took of each member's scene.
JR's Scene
Aron's Scene
Baekho's Scene
Minhyun's Scene
Ren's Scene
MV:
To conclude, NU'EST made quite a good comeback but they better come up with a more unique concept (other than the not-practical-idol-look) if they wanna stand out from the other rookies. The bench mark of 2012 is definitely above average, both in songs & image. If your a fan of the usual idol-type songs, give this song a try. I'm very picky when it comes to idol-norm songs so I do recommend giving it a try. That's all for NU'EST 'Action'. These are my Thoughts.....
PS: here's a little extra eye-candy for JR fans (^o^)
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