Climbing to new heights on the Billboard’s Top 200 Albums Chart on October 25, ENHYPEN’s newest album Dimension: Dilemma debuted at number 11 and was the fourth top-selling album that week. Released on October 12, the album features eight tracks which ENHYPEN explained includes a wide variety of musical genres ranging from alternative rock to ‘80s New Wave in their Elle interview.

For their first video, the band  introduced Dimension: Dilemma on September 16. As done in previous albums, Dimension: Dilemma’s introduction featured a narration by ENHYPEN member Jake. The album’s two concept films came out in late September. The first concept film SCYLLA had a more somber tone with foreboding background music where the ENHYPEN members were filmed separately in subdued lighting. CHARYBDIS on the other hand was more playful, with members of ENHYPEN featuring under natural lighting and interacting with various props such as a soccer ball. They allude to the saying, “lesser of two evils.” From the beginning of October, Hybe Labels posted teasers for their new album on Youtube. The music video for title track Tamed-Dashed premiered on October 12, quickly gaining more than seven million views within the first twenty four hours.

Their first full album includes the following tracks: “Intro: Whiteout,” “Tamed-Dashed,” “Upper Side Dreamin’,” “Just a Little Bit/I Didn’t Know,” “Go Big or Go Home,” “Blockbuster (ft. Yeonjun of TXT),” “Attention, please!,” and “Interlude: Question.” 

1. Intro: Whiteout

The introduction to the album was released on September 16, featuring Jake’s distinct narration. The one and a half minute film clips together different scenes of the sea along with the lines of the narration. It describes the narrator being near the sea and in front of an island and alludes to the album concepts of “Scylla” and “Charybdis” through the line, “In order to get the treasure we’ve either got to get through a brooding monster or a swirling tornado.”  According to Greek mythology, Scylla is a six-headed monster and Charybdis is an enormous whirlpool.

2. Tamed-Dashed

The title track for ENHYPEN’s full album features a bass intro with a fast-paced and upbeat tempo. The song then changes from bass to more punk rock during the chorus. “It’s a very…anthemic song and the guitar riff is super pleasant to listen to,” said senior Nadia Santo. “It makes me want to get up and dance,” Freshman Labeeba Aniqa added. “The song can get me into the vibe, anywhere, anytime.” The music video gives the members of ENHYPEN a lighter school-boy-type aesthetic in comparison to their previous title tracks’ darker themes.

3. Upper Side Dreamin’

The next song in Dimension: Dilemma sticks to the upbeat tone of the title song. The musical composition spotlights a different bass line and creates more of a jazz theme in the album. “The song was really summery and breezy,” said junior Han Ma. Nadia described the impact of the song as “driving down an empty road as the sun sets.” Regarding the musicality of the song, she said, “Compared to ‘Tamed-Dashed, ‘Upper Side Dreamin’ is a little more relaxed and groovy.”

4. Just a Little Bit/I Didn’t Know

ENHYPEN explores the musical genre of ballads in “Just a Little Bit,” also known as “I Didn’t Know.” Like the previous songs, this song starts with a guitar line. However, the chords sound softer and have a slower tempo. “I love the almost hidden, background elements [the song has],” said Nadia. She added, “It really accents the soft vibe of the song, and all of their vocals are also super soft and melodic.” Labeeba agreed, saying, “I love the vocals in this and the song in general.”

5. Go Big or Go Home

The next song is distinct from the other songs in the album. Similar to previous songs such as “Let Me In (20 Cube),” “Go Big or Go Home” presents ENHYPEN’s vocals in an electronic dance music (EDM) genre. “The song is very dynamic, with techno aspects,” said Nadia. “I love the build-up in the pre-chorus and then the chorus has such a satisfying transition and drop.” Junior Quindy Pan also expressed her enjoyment of the song: “I think it was so catchy, especially the beginning few verses.” “I’ve literally had [the song] on repeat since it came out,” said Labeeba. “The meaning of the song boosts up my confidence too.”

6. Blockbuster (ft. Yeonjun of TXT)

ENHYPEN’s song “Blockbuster,” a collaboration with Korean boy band TXT’s Yeonjun, dives more deeply into the rock genre. Similar to previous songs in the album, Blockbuster starts with a guitar riff and features a bass line throughout the song. “I really enjoyed the rock elements,” said Nadia. She continued, “The song had a super strong start with the electric guitar.” Labeeba added, “This song is really my vibe song and the fact that Yeonjun from Tomorrow X Together is in it makes it even better.”

7. Attention, please!

Following the rock elements of “Blockbuster,” “Attention, please!” continues with the rock sounds by incorporating a strong 808 bass as well as a distorted guitar. Labeeba commented, “This song actually caught my attention. You could wake me up with this song everyday and all of a sudden I would become a morning person.” Nadia said, “I LOVED the simple guitar riff that started this song, and then continued throughout. It almost felt reminiscent of the early 2000s, and especially with all the members singing certain lines all together – it felt very anthemic.”

8. Interlude: Question

The album is closed by a narration by Jake, Jay, and Heeseung and leaves the ending as an open-end. Fans have speculated that this open-ending aligns with the potential for another upcoming album (recently, Ni-ki stated that they would be back in two months without specifying anything, leaving many fans to speculate). 

Overall, ENHYPEN’s latest album, Dimension: Dilemma, proved itself to be both massive Townsend and global hit,. According to Hanteo Chart, this album achieved a total of 818,716 copies in their first week sales (October 12- October 18), which is more than a 300,000 increase in copies sold compared to their previous album, Border: Carnival. The album also topped iTunes top album charts in 26 different countries and the title track, “Tamed-Dashed,” charted in the top ranks of iTunes in six different countries. As the group receives more recognition for their music, many fans and Harrisites are already awaiting their next release.

Artwork by Elaine Hung