Enhypen releases 'Desire: Unleash' upon return from successful Coachella performance

Fresh off a breakout performance at Coachella, Enhypen is back — and darker than ever. The seven-member K-pop boy band Enhypen released its sixth EP, "Desire: Unleash," on Thursday, diving headfirst into a concept of raw, untamed passion.

Boy band Enhypen collectively reach for a levitating kitchen knife in this promotional image. [BELIFT LAB]

Fresh off a breakout performance at Coachella, Enhypen is back — and darker than ever.

The seven-member K-pop boy band Enhypen released its sixth EP, "Desire: Unleash," on Thursday, diving headfirst into a concept of raw, untamed passion.

“The key word of the album is ‘desire,’” said member Heeseung. “Each song shows a different flavor of it.”

The release marks Enhypen’s first new music in seven months, and anticipation has been sky-high: over 2.18 million copies were pre-ordered before the drop. The band’s agency, Belift Lab, described the project as one where the group would “unleash their potent desires without hindrance due to a deepened and dangerous dark romance.”

“This new album will serve as an important momentum for us,” said Jay. “We wanted to carry on the vibes of our Coachella performance, and we mulled over a lot on the quality of the music.”

Boy band Enhypen [BELIFT LAB]

The lead track “Bad Desire {With or Without You}” is a good example, with the choreography being “subtle and yet powerfully expressed with a strong gaze,” according to Sunghoon.

“The refrain is a real earworm and addictive,” said Sunghoon. “Heesung and Jay really killed it on their parts.”

Not only did Jay do justice on the lead track, but he also is credited for the song “Helium,” which he wrote, produced and played guitar on.

“’Helium’ is a favorite of mine,” said Heesung, “Not just because Jay wrote it, but because when I envision singing it on stage, it gives out such a good energy.”

A poster for boy band Enhypen's concept cinema short film “Desire: Unleash″ [BELIFT LAB]

“I want people to say, ‘This is an album only Enhypen could have made,’” said Jake. “Since we’re back with a dark concept after some time, I believe our unique identity shines through in the concept, performance, and visuals.”

“This album strongly reflects Enhypen’s identity, so I hope you’ll notice the charm embedded throughout,” said Heeseung. “There’s a lot to enjoy here, so please listen to all the tracks.”

Enhypen members pose for a photo with basketball jerseys of NBA teams [NBA]

Enhypen was formed in 2020 as the finalists of Mnet’s music survival television program “I-Land” (2020). It officially debuted with the EP “Border: Day One” (2020) and has released songs such as “Given-Taken” (2020), “Drunk-Dazed” (2021) and “Tamed-Dashed” (2021).

“When I debuted, fifth-year seniors seemed like legends. But now that I’m at that point, it doesn’t feel that different,” said Jungwon. “Honestly, I think mindset comes from the experience you’ve accumulated rather than the number of years, so I try to keep working hard, just as always.”

BY KIM MIN-YOUNG [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]