To be young is to be in the blossoming season of your life, where you can fall down until you’re black and blue and not be deterred in the least. Maybe that’s why the Korean word for “youth” literally means “blue spring.” On the track “HOT BLUE SHOES” off TWS’s latest album, “play hard,” the group describes their passion as a “little blue flame”—one burning in their unrestrained vocals in lines like, “Run till you’re breathless / Feel the runner’s high,” and, “Even if my feet slip out from under me, it won’t extinguish my flame.” In the choreography for “Head Shoulders Knees Toes,” they strike a new pose on almost every single beat while keeping it as playful as its namesake children’s song. With lyrics like “Smash into the limit, break ’em down” and “I can’t get tired of it,” they embody the excesses of youth—a stage of life where you can be a little rough around the edges and still give it your all. Taken altogether, “play hard” is a look at the vitality and vigor that fill you when you’re young.

“hard mode,” the concept film for “play hard,” seems to depict six words that define youth: “immersion / passion / adrift / joy / spark / loneliness.” KYUNGMIN, scribbling away in a room plastered with notes, immerses himself so deeply in whatever he’s working on that he seems totally unaware of the passage of time, while DOHOON, earphones in and his face still flushed with a passion that hasn’t worn off, stares at his reflection. JIHOON, conspicuously cut up, bruised, and bandaged, hints at a feeling of being adrift. HANJIN, lollipop in hand, leaps into the air, practically bursting with joy, and YOUNGJAE, on the floor, sends a paper airplane flying, clutches onto a book, and finds a spark of inspiration in water droplets that defy gravity. Last in the video is SHINYU, embodying loneliness as he sinks into a bathtub with tears still clinging to his eyes. Youth is a passionate, joyful, immersive time filled with sparks of inspiration, but lurking in the shadows are feelings of loneliness and being adrift. Just like how the wings the TWS members wear in their “play mode” official photo feel so unreal, what makes being young so astounding is that it’s overflowing with the kind of boundless energy that can take you soaring anywhere while also running the risk of a fall like Icarus.

“play hard,” then, sings about all different sides of being young—the energy, the expressiveness, the nervous thrill, the gloom. The lead single, “OVERDRIVE,” captures the thrilling, fast-paced rush of emotions through its high-tempo guitar riff and beats, with lyrics like “Can’t resist no more” and “This is killing me / Oh my / Is this how it’s supposed to feel?” The choreography is equally overflowing with energy, the group swiftly moving through dynamic formations as they jump all around and spin on the floor. Still, the melody line spends most of its time descending, resisting much emotional build-up, and in contrast to the lively lyrics, the group’s straightforward, airy vocals stick to TWS’s signature laid-back vibe. The track “overthinking” is built around a house beat, but their soft, emotionally subdued vocals and the plucky synths are tinged with the sorrow of unrestrained emotion, as in the line, “No matter how I try, I just fall in deeper.” The electric guitar and 808 bass in “HOT BLUE SHOES” push the song along with a pressing urgency, echoing heart-racing lyrics like “Crave a higher heat / Ignite my heart, whoosh.” The boys heat things up even further with the sing-along-ready hook “hot blue shoes, hot, hot blue shoes.” But then there’s “Caffeine Rush,” representing the album’s acoustic side and the youthful uncertainty of not being able to control yourself (“Feel like I’m losing it, no, that’s not it / Like an addiction, falling in deeper”).

In the music video for “OVERDRIVE,” the TWS members get themselves into situations where they’re in way over their heads thanks to acting before they think. YOUNGJAE, tired of listening to his brother nag him while they’re in the car together, gets a call and suddenly jumps out of the vehicle, earning himself a broken arm—the cast for which then catches fire. KYUNGMIN crams an elevator full of gifts he’s bought for others, but things backfire when they start flying out everywhere. HANJIN’s so engrossed in his phone—whether brushing his teeth, hanging out in the pool, or walking through a construction site—that he ends up toppling over backwards. On the line “OVER OVER OVERDRIVE,” the word “OVER” flashes onscreen like getting a game over in a video game, and then shows HANJIN with his crush, getting electrocuted and watching a heart-shaped balloon pop, leaving him heartbroken. But the TWS members keep smiling and dancing through it all, even in the face of winds strong enough to knock over the neon signs at a rock festival. Through all the chaotic twists and turns, they each find their own ways to tell their crushes how they feel. It mirrors the promise made in “Here For You,” the final track off “play hard,” a song dedicated to their fandom, 42: “In my one and only galaxy / I can still find you, no matter how far.” Even when they end up black and blue with bruises “from time to time, secretly / When I feel like a speck of space dust,” they keep their promise: “Forever and always / I’ll be your radiant tomorrow.” Youth doesn’t last forever, but there’s also a certain way of being young that makes the moment burn so bright—the TWS way.