It’s hard to believe NCT Dream hadn’t released an original Japanese single until now. Nearly seven years into their career, the unit has become one of NCT’s flagship brands. The brighter side of their music seems especially well-suited to a J-pop career. Best Friend Ever hearkens back to their earlier work and pairs them with frequent SMent collaborators LDN Noise.

Though this surging synth sound has lost some of its bite over the past few years, Best Friend Ever’s frothy pop energy is very welcome in the current K-pop landscape of shouty boy group bravado. It’s a simple, breezy track and I don’t mean that in a bad way. It’s nice to hear the group’s vocals on a song that consistently embraces melody. Its light touch reminds me of CIX’s Cinema two years ago. It’s gently anthemic but never ostentatious in its delivery.

As uplifting as this sound is, Best Friend Ever lacks that extra spark that would vault it into the “excellent” category. It’s a fun sing-along with buoyant energy and a very pleasant vocal arrangement. But, its ambitions are relatively static. There’s nothing wrong with that, and if you set your expectations accordingly there’s little chance of being disappointed. If nothing else, Best Friend Ever is insipidly catchy – so much so that I’m not sure how its omnipresent hooks will age. The melodies and lyrics tow the line between cheesy and refreshing and could’ve used a bit more punch. But, that lively chorus goes down easy and the guys bring a polish that makes for a very amiable listen.

Grade: B