I know it’s a placeholder, but “NCT New Team” is still weirdly literal for a group name. These six members form the long-teased Japanese unit of NCT — apparently the project’s final fixed unit. They’re scheduled to debut next year, but Hands Up offers a pre-release tease of what to expect. Fans of the NCT sound will be pleased, but those who are longing for something new will need to keep looking.
When it comes down to it, I don’t think I enjoy NCT-style beats anymore. I find Hands Up‘s clanging, needlessly stuffed production quite irritating. Rather than groovy, it feels assaultive. Yet at the same time, there’s not enough force to make this aggression interesting. It’s like being repeatedly hit in the head with a ping pong ball.
The song itself follows this cloying pattern. The vocal stacking in the chorus works well enough, but it’s in service to an annoying refrain that borders on playground chant silliness. There are too many “put your hands up” chants and not enough melody to grab hold of. The members are no doubt talented, but Hands Up is 85% shouting. After awhile, it gets exhausting.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 7 |
| Longevity | 7 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
I already thought NCT itself was a placeholder name since it stands for Neo/New Culture Technology, the name for SM’s internal system of training Kpop idols and marketing them. It always felt like an odd thing to name a boyband after.
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I
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that chorus is irresistible to me so I like it. the b-side is bad though.
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Not a bad song, but sounds like EXO leftovers with a NCT-themed overlay to me. That said, there are only so many “put your hands up” “hands up in the air” song moments the pop cupboard can take, and it is just about full.
Ah, EXO, we knew thee well.
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The name of the new NCT unit hasn’t been decided yet.
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Man this is mid as all hell
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Also, you’re entitled to your opinion, but you all surely will have to keep looking for “something new”, as you put it, because this is NCT’s sound. They’ve, specifically NCT 127, always been known for their experimental music that’s not always public friendly and that will never change no matter how much non-nctzens complain. With their music, you either get it or you don’t. It’s as simple as that. 🤷🏿♀️
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this is a review site. Nick is free to express his opinion here.
Also, take a look at some NCT reviews (specifically, Fact Check and Without You) before you start posting that here pls.
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I’m well aware that this is a review site and I never said that Nick wasnt entitled to his opinion, but I’m entitled to MY opinion as well and just as he’s allowed to express his opinions, I’m allowed to express mine and disagree with his. Also, Fact Check and Without You are only TWO songs out of NCT’s discography, the latter of which came out several years ago and both of which are some of NCT’s most basic songs, so my point still stands lmao
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I think the problem with the NCT sound is not that it’s experimental but that it’s pervasive not only across all NCT groups (with maybe the exception of WayV) but also other SM groups and 4th gen bgs as a whole. At this point it’s like listening to a clone of a clone of a clone. Hopefully this group’s debut will sound as different to this song as RIIZE’s Get a Guitar did to Siren.
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Yuuuup.
How I hope we get more songs similar to siren
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First of all, NCT’s music is experimental and not public friendly no matter how you try to look at it. Secondly, it’s not NCT’s problem that they had such a big impact on the bgs that came after them that they decided to follow in their footsteps and start putting out similar music, but there’s plenty of bgs who don’t put out NCT-esque music and you can easily go check them out rather than complaining about every bg after NCT supposedly sounding like clones of NCT when that’s not true. Thirdly, as far as SM groups, experimental music is nothing new for SM. Every SM group has had at least one or a few experimental songs in their discography since 1st gen. NCT and Aespa as well just happens to be the only SM groups where experimental music is their primary sound. Lastly, you’re still only proving my point right about non-nctzens/casual listeners of NCT forcing y’all’s music tastes onto NCT because I highly doubt NCT New Team will ever put a song similar to Get a Guitar because Get a Guitar is nothing like anything NCT would put out as tts, let alone even as a b-side, tbh because for one, RIIZE is their own group with their own sound, and two, once again, that’s not what NCT does and y’all need to accept that and get over it because their music won’t change just because you don’t like it.
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Amazing how NCT’s music can fall off within the past two years. 7/10 for me
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Amazing how NCT’s music can fall off for me within the past two years. 7/10 for me
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shit ignore that comment there was a glitch with WordPress here.
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If I can get over the “scratchy” and “pots & pans” sounds on the background (I don’t know how else to describe them), I think this can grow on me.
The vocals and everything after the first pre chorus is irresistible to me.
It reminds me more of a noisier NCT Dream song than NCT 127…but that’s me.
For now, I’d rate it a 7.75/10
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“Pots and pans” and “scratchy” is exactly the way to describe the soundscape they used for this. It feels like the producers were challenging themselves to make those sounds into a song. I just find it too aggressive in such a long, unrelenting dosage, and I feel like the boys have to fight the instrumental to be heard in the chorus. I think Aespa’s “Savage” did wonky sounds better because it let those sounds breathe a little more and allowed our ears more pleasing breaks during the song.
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Seems like I am the few who love this song and placed repeat 🤣🤣 I love the beats and chorus
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