Fresh off an epic history-making Coachella stage, ENHYPEN returns with their 6th mini album, ‘DESIRE : UNLEASH’. Released on June 5, the group’s second double-million seller takes a dangerous dive into the darker side of love. It plunges us into a collision between immortal yearning and mortal connection. Through 8 genre-spanning tracks, the septet wrestles with dichotomies—human vs. monster, restraint vs. impulse, heaven vs. hell. Long embedded in their lore, their vampire narrative reaches a fever pitch here.
This comeback explores themes of obsession, vulnerability, and the struggle for emotional control. It expands their musical spectrum while embracing their most mature and daring concept yet as they’re unafraid to mix anguish with obsession, dominance with desire, and vulnerability with visceral lust.
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“Flashover”
The album erupts with “Flashover”, a title that captures how quickly desire can spiral out of control. The term refers to the sudden ignition of all flammable materials in a confined space. The track sonically represents that very combustion—desire bursting into flames. Futuristic basslines pulse beneath a dreamy, charged soundscape, setting the mood somewhere between seductive and dangerous.
The vocals flicker between restraint and release, mirroring the emotional combustion at the heart of the album. “Burning brighter, I go crazy / You should take this fire with me”, they sing just as the beat drops—not in full release, but with a nervous edge. It’s a sleek, atmospheric opener, lush in production but heavy with underlying urgency. ENHYPEN isn’t trying to tame their desire. They’re ready to let it loose.
“Bad Desire (With or Without You)”
The title track is the beating heart of this album—or perhaps, the one slowly turning undead. “Bad Desire (With or Without You)” sinks into a love so consuming, it defies morality. The lyrics swing between obsession and surrender: “Heaven without you is hell… hell where I embrace you must be like heaven” and “I want to make you a vampire” lay bare a hunger to drag someone into darkness in the name of love. The track also captures ENHYPEN at war with themselves. Do they shield the person they love from their fate, or share the curse to stay together longer? That split is voiced directly in lines like “Even if I cast the same eternal curse / You’ll still smile for me in joy”, where protection and possession blur into one.
Sonically, the song is a smooth dance-pop track that evolves like a slow burn. The vocals stay tightly controlled, cracking under the weight of temptation. They echo the haunted sensuality of Justin Timberlake’s “Mirrors” and Bieber’s “As Long As You Love Me”. Instead of vocal runs or climactic belts, the chorus quietly descends, landing with eerie calm: “Set ablaze by this beautiful fire / It’s all my bad desire”. ENHYPEN conveys each line with restraint, their clipped delivery “Don’t touch, don’t do it” echoing a voice trying—and failing—to hold back.
Producer Cirkut returns to elevate their urban, sexy aesthetic with refined layering and an addictive hook. The choreography features fiery hand gestures and intense stares that embody the inner turmoil of restrained desire. Add to that a visually stunning MV filled with symbolic chaos, hellish temptations, and high-concept set pieces.
“Outside”
“Outside” swerves hard into hip-hop, presenting ENHYPEN’s most aggressive delivery yet. Sampling Three 6 Mafia’s “Stay Fly”, the song layers heavy basslines and powerful beats with a restless energy that refuses to sit still. Their voices shift between harsh gang vocals, clipped flows, and breathless urgency, amplifying the track’s unpredictable tone. This is their first collective effort into hip-hop that they’ve only brushed against in past songs like “Future Perfect (Pass the MIC)”, “Blockbuster” or “Daydream”.
The lyrics cut straight to the point, “I’ll make you the same as me” and “The will to protect you / Doesn’t matter anymore”. ENHYPEN no longer masks their instincts because they’re done restraining themselves. Each verse rides a different cadence, switching up delivery to reflect that loss of control. The polished menace of the chorus with the “Stay Fly” sample adds a nostalgic Y2K feel and a warped elegance to their fall as “Outside” dares their lover to join “my world”.
“Loose (Korean Ver.)”
Pre-released in April, “Loose” returns in Korean to reframe its meaning. Departing from the darker, tension-filled mood of the album’s opening tracks, this version offers a noticeably more relaxed, more restrained tone. It’s a mid-tempo, easy-listening pop track that trades intensity for intimacy, drawing us in with its smooth falsetto vocals and soft, trendy sound.
Delicate lyrics like “Two steps next to you, almost touching” and “Now you’re also loose, nothing but our breath is mute” paint a picture of longing and closeness, as if something deeper stirs beneath the stillness. “Loose” continues ENHYPEN’s paradoxical vision of love with the line, “Only you can tame the chaos inside”. Despite vampires being known as untamable, there’s still one person they’re willing to surrender to.
“Helium”
ENHYPEN’s Jay makes his songwriter and producer debut in “Helium”, a guitar-driven pop-rock anthem that expresses the feeling of floating upward the deeper you fall in love, comparing the lift of love to the buoyancy of helium. Rather than treating helium as weightless, the song reimagines it as the unseen force of ENGENE’s overflowing love that sends the balloon, ENHYPEN, soaring. As Jay explained in a Weverse livestream, the members are like a balloon held aloft by the support of their fans, who keep them going and push them higher.
Jay not only participated in producing and writing the lyrics, but also performed the guitar parts himself, giving the track an added personal touch. Teaming up with producer FRANTS who previously produced “Teeth”, Jay brings a tense resolution, channeling one of his biggest musical influences: rock!
“Too Close”
Romance simmers into something more vulnerable in “Too Close”, where ENHYPEN trades dominance for hesitation. The lyrics unravel the fear of vulnerability—not from rejection, but from the terrifying possibility of losing control. Despite being inches away from their beloved, they hold back, whispering “I gotta move back”. It’s a confession rooted in restraint, a push-pull dynamic that mirrors the album’s core theme of desire battling reason.
A jazz-tinged piano riff loops steadily beneath trembling vocals and audible breaths, creating the sensation that the group is singing right beside you. The song captures the intensity of wanting more while knowing the risk it carries. Even as their nerves melt under the weight of closeness, the members stay composed, never tipping into full surrender.
“Bad Desire (With or Without You) (English Ver.)”
The English version of “Bad Desire (With or Without You)” reinterprets the title track with more direct and sensual language. While the Korean version conveys the line “I want to turn you into a vampire” with a cool, dominant edge, the English lyrics strip away ambiguity, making the desire feel more raw and exposed. The emotional intensity remains, but this version sharpens the impact for global listeners, drawing them deeper into ENHYPEN’s world of dark, seductive longing.
“Loose”
The original version of “Loose” closes the album with familiar warmth. Compared to its Korean counterpart, the English version sounds slightly more playful and direct. While both share the same soft, trendy pop sound and falsetto-driven melody, this take adds a cheekier twist. The lyrics, told from the perspective of a boyfriend trying to ease lingering tension and express himself openly, highlight the emotional honesty behind the intimacy. It ties up the album’s themes with a soft kiss rather than a sharp bite.
As ENHYPEN bares their darkest desires in ‘DESIRE : UNLEASH’, the journey continues onstage with their WALK THE LINE world tour, starting Aug. 6 with two nights at UBS Arena in Belmont Park, New York. The group will then hit major U.S. cities including Chicago, Houston (two nights), and Los Angeles before heading to Europe.
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