The eight-track mini album moves between hip-hop, rock, progressive house, and band-driven sounds, pairing a laid-back title track with a surreal visual world.
By Alegria Haro
Stray Kids’ new mini album THIS & THAT, released August 7, arrives after “RUN IT,” which was released in June as the project’s first release. The eight-track collection places the laid-back title track “This & That” at its center, surrounded by seven songs that take the group in several different directions.
Inside the World of THIS & THAT
The group build the release around contrast, pairing a relaxed hip-hop title track with a visual world that becomes increasingly surreal as the rollout unfolds. What begins with familiar settings and everyday details quickly takes on a stranger character, setting the tone for the eight-track project.
The rollout began with a mysterious trailer in which a stranger enters a truck carrying an LP from Seungmin and finds himself in a world populated entirely by Stray Kids. The members appear in unexpected roles, including baristas, chefs, photographers, auctioneers, dancers, and bakery workers, turning an ordinary setting into something increasingly strange.
The trailer’s dialogue is limited to “THIS” and “THAT,” while an earlier pre-trailer called “TEST” introduced an abandoned house and a more unsettling perspective.
The teasers continued to build on that atmosphere, using everyday objects and familiar settings in increasingly unexpected ways. The result is a visual rollout that gives THIS & THAT its own world before the music takes center stage.
Watch “This & That”
At the center of the release is “This & That,” a hip-hop track built around a cooler, more relaxed mood. Its lyrics focus on confidently choosing what you want rather than hesitating between different possibilities, while the production gives the members space to move between rap and vocals.
The music video takes that concept further. Stray Kids move through contrasting environments filled with unusual characters, digital effects, and unexpected visual details, transforming ordinary settings into a world that feels increasingly detached from reality.
The video also carries a distinctly Korean atmosphere within its strange visual language, while the choreography follows the song’s smoother rhythm. Rather than pushing toward constant intensity, the performance gives the members room to play with a looser energy that fits the track.
Eight Tracks, Several Directions
THIS & THAT doesn’t stay in one sonic lane. The eight-track mini album moves between different production styles while retaining the group’s distinctive approach to performance and songwriting.
“RUN IT” opens the collection with pop and alternative hip-hop elements, brass, marching drums, and world-beat rhythms. Written and produced by 3RACHA — Bang Chan, Changbin, and HAN — the song traces a journey from humble beginnings toward a wider ambition, expanding from “Seoul to the world.”
“After You” moves toward progressive house, while “FARMING” returns to hip-hop. “I Do” brings rock into the tracklist, and “Way Out” combines acoustic textures with hip-hop.
“그날 (Back Then)” shifts toward a band-driven sound with a more reflective character, while “This & That (Festival Version)” closes the album with an alternate take on its title track.
The result is a collection that doesn’t rely on one sound to hold it together. “This & That” provides the release with its relaxed center, while the surrounding songs give Stray Kids room to move between harder-edged production, melodic passages, and more atmospheric arrangements.
From “RUN IT” to THIS & THAT
The mini album follows a busy period for Stray Kids. “RUN IT” arrived on June 24 ahead of the full release, while the group continued building the THIS & THAT concept through trailers, track unveils, teaser images, and an album mashup before the August 7 release.
The new songs also arrive as Stray Kids continue their live schedule, giving the group another set of material to bring into their performances alongside their existing catalog.
With THIS & THAT, Stray Kids have built a release around contrast: familiar elements alongside stranger ones, a relaxed title track alongside more aggressive production, and an elaborate fictional world grounded in everyday settings.
Stream THIS & THAT below.