At this point, I’ve given up on NCT’s title tracks delivering anything beyond the same ‘shout over bass-heavy distortion’ schtick. So, I’ll temper my thoughts with this in mind. Comparing a song like Glitch Mode (버퍼링) to My First And Last, Superhuman or Highway To Heaven is useless. They’re not even trying to do the same thing. Still, who would’ve thought the quirky hoverboard boys of Chewing Gum would end up here?
To me, Glitch Mode feels like an arcade-themed version of last year’s Hot Sauce. It’s chanty, repetitive and delivered without restraint or nuance. Though I would have preferred more sung melody, this works well as a hip-hop track. But, the performance feels quite grating. There’s A LOT OF SHOUTING – even more than usual. Dream would have been more successful to focus on flow and clever interplay. Instead, they just make their voices louder and louder. It’s boring.
Thankfully, Glitch Mode’s instrumental injects some diverse textures. The bulk of the track is standard NCT, heavy on the bass and filled with fitful percussion. The arrangement leverages moments of harmony to add warmth to this otherwise cold backdrop. Then, rock guitar emerges during the bridge. This dance break rips the song right open, offering far more dynamic energy than what’s come before. If NCT are going to shout over everything, they need this style of instrumental to match that intensity. Unfortunately, it’s a brief affectation rather than a guide for the entire production. The rest of Glitch Mode is business as usual.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.5 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
i just can’t get over the fact mark was given such a horrible haircut for this comeback, like wtf are those bangs???
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This weekend, Saturday morning, I had no milk. How am I supposed to make the weekend muffins / waffles / pancakes / etc without milk? So I went to closet where I have all the quarantine nuclear dawn supply chain stash of supplies. Its like I have my own dry goods store up there, including enough tinned baked beans for a family reunion. And there were several tins of sweetened condensed milk, like was I planning on making three pumpkin pies or something. Saturday morning is saved. Sweetened condensed milk is delish. A spoonful in coffee, omg, yes.
Like this song. Its like SM reached up to the cupboard for the stuff still on the shelf after a year, and it is still delish. Or at least, it works, it will do just fine. It sounds to me like it fits in nicely alongside Hello Future and Ridin. This one is a yes from me.
On a related note, I just discovered that there is a remix album of “Ridin”. Also, yes, for me.
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Noise is fine but deliberate shouting is not.
The vocals were great but the rap was just not.
NCT Dream is talented but this song is just not.
They really sabotaged Mark this comeback. (Haircut and the raps)
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Lol, pretty sure Mark wrote his own raps. There was out of his control though
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Y’all complaining about hair. pfft, have you ever seen TVXQ and SuJu back in the day? Nothing beats TVXQ hair in Triangle era.
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they really be making changmin look like goku lol
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yo i am so sick of boy groups shouting at me all the time. like i know that it is, at this point, nct’s thing, but i’m kind of done. also, that hair on mark….come on now. come on.
the vocal portions are great, which makes the shouty rap even more jarring. and their many wonderful previous songs, which have informed us all that they can do much better, make it more disappointing. this one gets a big yikes from me.
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I dunno but SM got some serious problem choosing a good song for a title track. Give “Fire Alarm” a listen, now that’s some good title track material right there! I really wish they chose that song as title, because Glitch Mode is just so forgettable and not catchy at all 😦 The rest of the album is pretty good though
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Fire Alarm is one of my favorites off the album so far but I can’t be the only one who thinks the chorus sounds like something you’d find on a sportswear/tech advertisment.
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I love the dance break so glad rock guitar seems to be the next trend on the horizon.
I’ve accepted NCT is one of those groups that Nick and I are never going to agree on (for one I’ll love Sticker to the day I die) but I’m not really into the looking back thing. I don’t expect a Chewing Gum out of these twenty somethings and my problem with Glitch Mode is that they should have gone weirder not reheated early 10s Shinee leftovers like the songs mentioned are. The dance break is the closest to getting there and it depends on how much I love that on whether the song will go up and down in my view in the coming days.
Anyway it’s been a while since I was on here. It happens I guess. Keep on keeping on.
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NCT has lost the plot man. Don’t think I’ve liked one of their releases in over a year.
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It’s just a shame because the rock dance break is so freaking awesome but I have to endure 2 and a half minutes of the rest of the song just to get there
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Oh I love this, and I fear that makes me part of the problem – sorry everyone!
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you’re not alone lol! (hides away)
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We will have our own club.
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It kinda sounds like the inside of my mind.
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It’s like a fusion of MCND Ice Age and GOT the beat Step Back, and sadly, one that doesn’t work for the most part.
I usually like even the most polarizing of NCT tracks, but this is a no. The pre chorus is nice, the verses are not, and the over repetitiveness of the chorus feels flat. The only moments that work are the ends of each chorus whee it actually sounds like a chorus and that freaking bridge, dude, who came up with that….? The chorus felt like a such a big disappointment, especially right after the guitar had ripped the song open. 7.25 for me.
I am really disappointed this time, especially because my expectation were high as the name Glitch Mode seemed to point to something like Superhuna
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Superhuman, I meant.
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Yeah ok ngl it’s grown on me a lot in the past few days. It’s a solid 8.25 now.
Mainly because the chorus isn’t that disappointing anymore as I know what’s coming.
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Really surprising myself here by potentially playlisting this lol. It’s still not really for me, but I like it better than their other iterations of the same thing – it definitely works better than Hot Sauce, which for me was particularly nauseating to the ears. Either way, I am very over the chanting.
Also, I don’t really mind Mark’s hair here 😂 I mean, it looked a bit weird in the teasers, but it’s not really all that bad – it could be worse, as Myma pointed out haha
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I expected the chorus to go a lot harder with all that yelling build up. I mean if you’re gonna commit to the jarring, shout vibe go the whole way. I’m not gonna like it either way but the chorus feels underbaked compared to the overbaked verses.
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B-sides Fire Alarm and Better Than Gold are the standouts of the album for me. Don’t understand why they went with Glitch Mode for the title track; other than the pre-chorus, it’s just a deeply uninteresting song.
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B-sides Fire Alarm and Better Than Fold are the standouts of the album for me. Don’t understand why they went with Glitch Mode for the title track; other than the somewhat pre-chorus, it’s just a deeply uninteresting song.
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it’s sneaking up on me, I can’t help it. I think I’m digging the B sides a little more.
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I love Fire Alarm, and I’d also like a fast dance remix of it please.
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Really not sure how I feel about this one on first listen I neither love it nor hate it. There’s elements I like and some I don’t. So I think I am just going to have to wait and see how it ages to see which side wins out.
On first listen the album seems pretty good. They really played with the whole video game theme in the B-sides. I swear I think the opening three note motif in Better Than Gold is straight out of Mario Kart. In particular I really like Teddy Bear (those vocals!), Drive, and Better Than Gold.
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It was fun! Not sure about whether it’ll have staying power, definitely needs re-listens. I loved the bridge (percussion was fascinating there) and the rock guitar dance break. The chorus and some of the raps were underwhelming though.
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