NCT 127 have returned with their fifth album ‘Fact Check’ and a futuristic video for the record’s title track.

The new release follows the nine-member boyband’s 2022 album ‘질주 (2 Baddies)’ and its 2023 repackage, ‘Ay-Yo’.

On the single ‘Fact Check’, NCT 127 deliver an energetic, Afrobeats-based track that finds them in supremely confident mode, even in the face of being fact-checked against timeless art pieces. “Hang me in the Louvre / Next to the Lisa, touché,” Johnny raps at one point, before the group declare in the chorus: “Check the facts, go check that / Check the stats, go check that.”

In the accompanying video, the boyband hop around landmarks across Seoul, from Gyeongbok Palace to Incheon Bridge, as well as more futuristic landscapes.

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The rest of the album features lyrical contributions from Taeil, Taeyong and Mark on ‘Love Is A Beauty’. Mark and Taeyong also participated in writing rock track ‘Angel Eyes’ and the ballad ‘Misty’.

‘Fact Check’ follows NCT 127 reflecting on their success and story so far in the recent Disney+ and Hulu documentary, NCT 127: The Lost Boys. In the four-part series, the SM Entertainment boyband opened up about their childhoods and feelings about their international growth via never-before-seen interviews and exclusive footage.

In a four-star review of the documentary, NME wrote: “The Lost Boys’ refusal to walk the path commonly taken by documentary-makers should be commended, but sometimes – particularly in the first episode – it feels jarring […] Ultimately, once all four parts have been pieced together, it feels like a gentle triumph.

“As docuseries go, it succeeds at making you feel like you’ve been given a deeper insight into its subject, giving a human touch to a group that often feels larger-than-life.”