DESIRE : UNLEASH

ENHYPEN continues their vampiric agenda with <i>DESIRE : UNLEASH</i>, the K-pop boy group’s sixth EP. The septet’s “concept” (used in K-pop to define a fixed aesthetic and/or narrative theme) had been supernatural since their debut in 2020, but they made their vampirism explicit with 2023’s “Bite Me,” a Y2K-inspired pop track that beckons listeners closer (“Just come kiss me and bite me, yeah”)—at their own risk.

Two years later, by <i>DESIRE : UNLEASH</i>, members Heeseung, Jay, Jake, Sunghoon, Sunoo, Jungwon, and Ni-ki have become masters at evoking a sense of dangerous desire with a vocal flourish or turn of phrase. “Out in the world, you’re just an angel/But here in the dark, my sacrifice,” they sing in dance-pop lead single “Bad Desire (With or Without You),” which sees “Bite Me” producer Cirkut returning to work with the group.

While the album’s theme may stick tight to the titular unleashed desire, the mode of expression shifts: future bass (“Flashover”), hip-hop trap (“Outside”), pop-rock (“Helium”), and piano-led pop (“Too Close”). <i>DESIRE : UNLEASH</i> also includes the album release of “Loose,” the funky, mid-tempo pop track ENHYPEN originally released in preparation for their first Coachella performance in spring 2025. The track trades supernatural lore for something softer, but keeps the seductive focus: “I don’t wanna waste another second tonight/So in five, four, three, two, one, let’s let it.”

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