Serving yet another collection of addictive pop anthems and moving balladry, South Korean crew
NCT Dream
continue their winning streak with
ISTJ
. Named after the Myers-Briggs personality type, this third album is anything but introverted, which is immediately apparent by the title track: "ISTJ" is a pure dance thrill, smashing bubbling production that sounds straight off of a
Missy Elliot
album with
Michael Jackson
-styled R&B-pop. The moving "Broken Melodies" swells with yearning atop a subtle two-step beat, just as "Blue Wave" injects some playful bubblegum sweetness. "Yogurt Shake" and "Like We Just Met" round out the softer, midtempo numbers, leaving space for big-bass boomers such as "Skateboard," "Pretzel," and "SOS" that tear the roof off the place. At a trim ten tracks,
is ideally paced for a K-pop album and offers a bit of everything that makes
NCT
(and all its related units) so compelling. ~ Neil Z. Yeung