By Kya Brogdon | 22 March, 2024
Photo from @IST_THEBOYZ via Twitter
After dropping Christmas in August and Sixth Sense in August and November respectively, THE BOYZ are back with their third installment of the Phantasy series: [Phantasy] Pt.3 Love Letter. Love Letter comes as the closing chapter of the Phantasy series, and brings the combined total of songs across all three releases to 15 - thus creating THE BOYZ’s second full length album. While this isn’t the most common way to create an album, it’s not unheard of in the K-Pop world - and I think it was the perfect approach to this series. The title tracks of “LIP GLOSS” and “WATCH IT” from part one and two respectively are vastly different both from each other and from part three’s title track “Nectar,” and with this split fans were able to get unit songs from different variations of members. Despite consisting of only three tracks, Love Letter is already one of my favorite THE BOYZ albums.
The title track “Nectar” is a nostalgic reflection on the past six years of THE BOYZ’s career. In the music video, each of the members don iconic school uniforms as they step back into their high school selves. Some of the scenes depict different members with representations of what they wanted to be when they were younger - like Q surrounded by stuffed animals to represent his dream of being a zookeeper, or Kevin shown painting and singing to represent his dream of being an artist. This, coupled with the VHS-recording style of the video, creates an atmosphere of contemplation and wistfulness throughout the track. The dreamy vocals of the chorus also add to this nostalgic feeling, “Give it to me, give it to me, like that, that / So sweet like nectar / 'Cause I want it, 커져 버린 환상 속에 / 너를 향해 달려 난 / I just can't deny you / 눈부신 you are my nectar” (translation: Give it to me, give it to me, like that, that / So sweet like nectar / 'Cause I want it, in the growing fantasy / I run toward you / I just can’t deny you / Shining brightly, you are my nectar). While this song isn’t marketed as a fan song, many of THE BOYZ’s fans - aptly named THE B - are receiving it as such. Nostalgia is universal, and when mixed with feelings of love and appreciation, it’s easy to see why “Nectar” is skyrocketing to the top of THE B’s favorite THE BOYZ’s songs.
“Hurt Me Less” is a b-side with a similar style as “Nectar.” The music video for this track is about a minute shorter than the official song, and was released about two weeks before the album to give THE B the first hint as to what the album was going to sound like. Opening with an ear-wormy guitar riff and stylized vocals, “Hurt Me Less” immediately catches your attention with the lyrics “Break my heart, you give me the feeling / This pain that you make me believe it / You're the one who showed me the meaning / The meaning.” Despite the upbeat instrumental, this song is undoubtedly about a very painful experience. The chorus “Pain, 알아 지금 이 고통은 fake / 잃어버린 널 외면한 채 / 앓고 있어 / Hurt me less, don't love me less, no / 베인 덧난 상처 위에 깊게 패인 / 계속 아파도 안고 싶어 / 돌아와 줘 / Hurt me less, don't lovе me less, no” (translation: “Pain, I know this pain right now is fake / Ignoring the you I've lost / I'm suffering / Hurt me less, don't love me less, no / Deeply feeling pain on top of vain scars / Even though it hurts, I want to hold on / Come back to me / Hurt me less, don't love me less, no”) drives home the feeling of wanting something you know you shouldn’t. The whole song has a very big pop band sound, similar to artists like 5 Seconds of Summer or DAY6, which is not something you get all that often on K-Pop tracks. I absolutely adore this styling on a track with THE BOYZ’s rap and vocal tones, I think their musicality and voice colors lend themselves incredibly well to a song with this type of sound, and I would love to see them continue to explore this style of music in the future.
The third and final track on this album is the pre-release “Dear.” While this song was originally released on THE BOYZ’s debut anniversary, December 6th, I think it makes the perfect addition to Love Letter. As the title suggests, this album is a letter to current and past relationships. “Nectar” speaks about a current romantic or platonic relationship, “Hurt Me Less” is a letter to a past love who you can’t let go of, and “Dear.” comes as a letter from THE BOYZ to their fans, THE B. With lyrics like “하고팠던 말 너무 많지만 / 몇 글자 적에 와 / 함께한 추억 in our last time / 고마운 맘을 담아” (translation: “There are so many things I wanted to say / But only in a few words now / My heart is grateful / For the memories we shared together in our last time”) and “이 노래는 네게 전하는 letter / Sincerely, from yours” (translation: “This song is a letter I send to you / Sincerely, from yours”), THE BOYZ use this song to share their love, appreciation, and gratitude for their fans. After hearing them sing “Timeless” when I saw them in concert in Korea - perhaps my all time favorite THE BOYZ song - I can’t even imagine the rush of emotions that will fill a venue when “Dear.” is performed in front of the very people the track was written for.
Love Letter, despite its short length, is an incredible release. Each of the songs make perfect sense with each other, and they all give off an atmosphere of healing and growth, which is perfect as the seasons start to change from winter to spring. While I’m excited to see what THE BOYZ have in store next, the Phantasy series will be very hard to compete with.
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