TXT’s Yeonjun made his solo debut last year with the quirky (and ultimately addictive) GGUM. Now, it’s time for him to try his hand at an album. No Labels arrives with plenty of hype in both Korean and international markets and promises to offer a fuller picture of his artistry (and body, if judging by the visual teasers). The new music video includes three songs back to back, but Talk To You has been designated as the album’s title track so that’s what I’ll be writing about here.
Talk To You attempts to blend several genres together. In this way, I hear a ton of influence from Seo Taiji & Boys’ mid-90s experiments — particularly when the song adds heavy guitar to its loose funk beat. As part of K-pop’s ever expanding legacy, I wouldn’t be surprised if this was an intentional ode on Yeonjun’s part. But while I admire the vision, I’m not as taken with the song as I hoped I’d be. Like so much of current K-pop, melody is very much an afterthought here, but so is engaging flow. The vast majority of Talk To You is simply Yeonjun vamping over the beat in a halting rhythm.
I get that this is meant to be punk rock attitude and exists in a long lineage of similar songs within the genre, but for Talk To You to work, its production needs to absolutely kill. It has an engaging live band sound but never hits as hard as I’d like. If you’re going to anchor your song with metal distortion, give it to us full force. The drop at Talk To You‘s center is a bit wimpy and the hook is too threadbare to elicit much of a response. It feels very much like an idea in need of a song — an excuse for Yeonjun to jump around and look cool without much else to support it. It’s a shame, because I really think he’s one of the industry’s most promising soloists.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 7 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.25 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
Ngl, the whole 6 minutes was just sonically terrible to listen to.
What happened Yeonjun?
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Saw the performance on music bank, then watched the mv.
I have this growing list of k-pop songs/acts that would be better if they were outside the k-pop industry or at least not under a k-pop label and Yeonjun is a huge example. My biggest problem with this has to do with politics so I’ll just say this: None of the people he’s calling ‘posers’ are posers, but he certainly is.
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when you say politics do u mean the fact that he’s named this project ‘no labels’ and adopted a punk attitude while he’s being backed by one of the biggest conglomerates? lol. I don’t disagree though, as a txt fan im extremely disappointed in this output. i suppose his music is just not for me
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yeah, I didn’t wanna go into it because a. I’m worried other moas will come for me b. my thoughts were too fresh to really explain them and c. he does show some alternative values (his indifference to gender identity being one, which good for him), but I think I’m ready to write my paragraph.
I don’t know how he can re-sign with his company then think ‘I’m different and punk.’ Like, no, you chose to be under hybe, a label that platforms a z*o, that’s on you if no one takes you seriously.
I think convos like this one can get gritty but at the end of the day Yeonjun’s ambition should be leading him out of the k-pop world and into one where, either korean or western, he can develop his sound in alternative areas if that’s where he wishes to be. I’ve heard he’s friends with yungblud and he needs capitalise on that and get to know more people and sounds through these unique friendships.
If Yeonjun wants to be taken seriously as an artist that ‘blurs lines,’ then he needs to greenlight stuff that actually shows he has a perspective of his world in it and not just a shallow, vapid glance tuned to a set of drums.
The album may be good though I don’t know I haven’t heard it yet.
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whole time I thought Let Me Tell You featuring Daniela was the title track lol. that is easily the best song on the album, though the feature feels pointless since she doesn’t really get to do much aside from whispering here and there.
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its by far the best song and performance. They can’t promote it too much though because male and female idols can’t stand next to each other for too long without worrying about their brand value going down. I rolled by eyes so hard when Yeonjun said the “don’t get jealous cutie, it’s just work” I genuinely love them performing together and have low-key been wanting to see them together just from watching them in dance challenges together. They’re so perfectly matched
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kfan reception has been mostly positive though. it’ll be a different story if it were a K-pop idol.
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When that chorus comes in its actually pretty grand but I hate how that is the pinnacle of the song. Why shouldnt it get grander? Growing pain did that pretty well…
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As a MOA, after knowing the producers and concepts, I wasn’t expecting to love this album. All of the songs sound the same, except for the collab one, which is very Blade. He’s my alt bias, and I love his vision, but I think he tried too hard to do something really different, and it ended up feeling incomplete. We all know how well he can sing and dance, but they didn’t make use of any of his talents here. Maybe it was kind of rushed? The last two TXT comebacks felt rushed as well.and mostly I dislike the production, that big hit music needs some new producers.
I guess if he had more time to explore what he wanted to do, we could’ve gotten something better.Anyway, all that being said, I loved, loved “Coma”—both the MV and the song. It was really special and experimental. Even though I didn’t like the album overall, I respect him for doing something different and not generic. Otherwise, I would’ve been so much more pissed. At least for now, I’m going to wait and see what he does in the future.
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Yep. I have the same sentiment. I’m not totally sure I believe that what he wanted to do translated well with the producers. I just dont find mumble-singing/talking as part of what yeonjun wants to do but it could in fact also be what he wants to do as a soloist, which I find…strange? His vocals are genuinely great and it sucks that I dont hear a single great vocal moment throughout the album (maybe some in “Let me tell you”)
It’s a shame Ghost Girl is better than all of the songs in this album combined.
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yes!! Ghost girl being in a txt album shows the difference between txt’s yeonjun and YJ. It’s a song that moas would like and I like it too but I know he can do way better even better than ghost girl!! But obviously he didn’t want to repeat anything,even ghost girl was new. He is eager to try something new every time.I loved his tone in this album but it was not enough with the versatility that he has it’s a shame to only use this much or go for this sounds
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Yeah, I’ve had that same feeling about their comebacks being rushed and not fully fleshed out, ever since the star chapter or even a bit before that. It’s kinda disappointing knowing how skilled he is and seeing that talent being underutilised. True he didn’t do what most idols go for with a solo project but even then it’s still pretty safe ig? or like still very polished and not as groundbreaking as they’re trying to portray it. I really hope in his future works he’s allowed to truly experiment with and craft his own sound
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I’ve gotta say, the last album I really liked was Freefall. Ever since then, every comeback has felt a bit weaker than the previous one. Sure, it’s TXT, so they’ll always have a spot in my heart — but I just want more.
As for Yeonjun, I really wish he’d consider our opinions too. I know he’s really in love with his album, but given the timing, it’s clear he didn’t have enough time to really sit down, explore, and think everything through — all the things it takes to build a true artistic identity for a first solo work. It feels like he just put all his ideas on a surface level. I hope he gets the chance to do all that in the future. I don’t know, but I think with his talent, he just needs some outside direction or maybe I’m just being too critical on him …
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But let’s give him that — he’s a dancer, a popular one. He could’ve easily just chosen a TikTok-y song, gone with it, and recorded some dance challenges, etc. But it’s obvious that’s not what he wants. He just needs to grow beyond the idea of being special and bring something real.
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Add to the list of misheard lyrics in English. Is he really saying “dip shit like coma”?
It’s really two or three songs, isn’t it? Its the dip shit like coma song for 2 minutes, then half of a leftover unused sexy one from Jungkook’s solo for about a minute+half, then standard old school hip hop drum transition to 3 minutes of “gonna talk to you” that feels like someone with multiple piercings in interesting places would have shouted through a bull horn during the grunge era but here it is just simply trying.
A for Ambition. B minus for execution (for me).
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“this hits like coma” and its pretty clear
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It would be a lot more authentic punk if it were “dip shit like coma”.
and I raise you a “kiss and smile” … nopi oh na na
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I would have loved to hear Yeonjun actually sing more in this album. For someone with such a unique singing tone and style there was wayyy too much beat-talking.
Talk to you is probably the best song on the album, and it might be enjoyable with the performance aspect but on its own it’s nothing special imo… arghhh yeonjun has so much potential
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This feels like a highlight medley? They should have called it something pretentious like Performance Film, Kinetic Manifesto, or “Keine Etiketten” (“no labels” in German).
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“Kinetic Manifesto” is still so funny to me
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it is a medley of songs tho. I dont mind it, its pretty different than the rest of kpop and i fear we kinda deserve something fresh
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Yeonjun is superior but this sounds like a knockoff version of Ed Sheeran’s BLOW
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