Wait, What Year is it? 'Go Back to The Future' with NCT DREAM's 5th Studio Album
- Maggz
- Jul 20
- 4 min read
Updated: Jul 22
Seeing a hoverboard serve as the main prop and a major focal point of a 2025 NCT DREAM comeback was not on many fans’ bingo cards (including mine). Few can forget how seven young SM Entertainment rookies held their debut stage in 2016 with their new single “Chewing Gum” moving impressively through their choreography, which featured high energy dance moves and spins on electric hoverboards.
Fast forward to today (or the “absolute present” as leader Mark referred to in promotional content) and NCT DREAM is back with their fifth studio album Go Back to the Future, released on July 14. The album includes nine diverse tracks with a double title track for fans to dive into nostalgic references and callbacks to their debut era. Inspired by the “Back to the Future” film franchise, the two music videos accompanying the “BTTF” and “Chiller” title tracks are filled with futuristic scenes and high tech vibes. The members performed both songs for the first time at their recent ‘THE DREAM SHOW 4: DREAM THE FUTURE’ concert in Seoul, a three-day kick off to their new tour.
“BTTF”, an upbeat pre-release track, blends spacey sounds with a punchy chorus. It shows off cool choreography as the members travel through space and time to different timelines and scenarios. In one part of the music video, the members are even shown in an alternate timeline, as if they had pursued other careers (such as Renjun (런쥔) as an artist and Jeno (제노) as a racecar driver). Another scene shows them in matching pajama sets, blowing bubble gum, another callback to their debut music video.
YouTube SMTOWN
“Cool out, don’t panic!” is NCT DREAM’s message for us in “Chiller”, a fun track with fast rap lines and ethereal vocal adlibs. The music video features animated video game versions of the members, dancing in what looks like a space ship. They even are accompanied on their many adventures by a small, flying robot character named “D-RO”. The character zips around the members, recording footage of the members’ dance moves, such as Jisungs’ (지성) “Michael Jackson moonwalk” that he sings about in the first verse.
An interlude breaks up the album into two parts, four tracks before and four after. The song itself is filled with experimental sounds, birds chirping, and the sound of wind rustling in trees. It’s a transitional track that takes us to another time and place - which begs the question, are we going to the past or the future?
As with other albums from the group, “Go Back to the Future” is a charismatic chameleon also containing slower, ballad songs such as “‘Bout You.” Filled with beautiful harmonies and lyrics about falling in love, this song sets the tone for the second half of the album with simple accompaniment and stripped back, echoey vocals. If you close your eyes, you can picture the group sitting on the edge of the extended stage in an arena packed with fans, arms around each other as confetti floats through the air.
“That Summer” is another fun track, but in a different way than the first half of the album. A strong baseline drives the song forward to the bouncy chorus that feels perfect for the heat of the summer. It feels like a cool drink on a hot afternoon by the pool and will have you smiling and singing along with Haechan’s (해찬) opening line about young summer love after the first listen.
The time travel theme for the album has been a fun concept to witness as it unfolds, with their nostalgic hoverboards serving as their very own time travelling DeLorean. One of the physical versions of the album comes with a hoverboard keychain, which shines the NCT DREAM logo with the press of the button. While in London for their SMTOWN performance, members Mark and Chenle (천러) had a chance to go see the Back to the Future Musical on the West End and filmed social media content with the cast. As the group will move into their ninth year together on the anniversary of their debut on August 25, this has been a fun opportunity for the artists and fans to reminisce together on the many memories made over nearly a decade.
Fans throughout Asia will have the opportunity to see NCT Dream perform live soon on the expansion of ‘THE DREAM SHOW 4: DREAM THE FUTURE’ tour, kicking off in Bangkok, Thailand in August. Western fans hope to see additional dates announced as the Seoul setlist was filled with favorite b-sides from their back catalog, such as “Dunk Shot,” “My Page,” and a Korean version of Japanese single “Moonlight.” Until then, fans attending KCON LA August 1-3 will have the opportunity to see Mark and Haechan perform with NCT 127 and in a special duo stage. Mark will also perform a solo stage for the first time at KCON LA.
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