The Singles Jukebox

A whole group dedicated to Katherine’s eye! Wait, no…

[Video]
[6.44]

Dave Moore: The bio claims they’re the “first-ever global girl group formed using KPOP artist development methodologies” — and the song follows suit, maximized for a conservative return on investment. 
[4]

Kayla Beardslee: This is just NewJeans in English. It’s fine, if a bit too slight for my tastes, but I’m pleasantly surprised that a K-pop label’s “Western” group has actually gained some traction. I’m sure we can expect many more aggressively decent, radio-ready pop singles from them in the future. 
[5]

Nortey Dowuona: A little surprising that neither Kota Banks, Caroline Ailin nor Taka Perry could think to include any Korean whatsoever. (The song is still very good.)
[7]

Leah Isobel: A dense collection of hooks that moves almost immediately into the realm of the symbolic; the chorus’ stuttering recasts Sky Ferreira’s “One” from an articulation of the fembot’s loneliness to an aspirational demonstration of feminine invulnerability. Despite the delicately sparkling girlypop soundscape, KATSEYE are cool and clinical, efficient, militant. A girl group for our times.
[8]

Jel Bugle: Enjoyable, and I like the repeating words in the chorus, but it doesn’t go quite hard enough for my liking. They’ve all got nice voices — hope they don’t go solo, though.
[7]

Joshua Lu: This perky distillation of R&B stylings into dancepop is perfectly assembled and well-suited for dancing in a 16:9 resolution, but would feel a lot more interesting if HYBE hadn’t already flooded the market with multiple iterations of this same song.
[5]

Ian Mathers: Lots of lovelorn pop has a faintly deranged and/or threatening vibe, and the way Katseye lean into that element in the video here is honestly delightful. The song steadily ticks along (especially that chorus) and goes by so quickly it only enhances the impression of ruthless, possibly sinister efficiency. Even the asides (“oh baby, I was gettin’ bored,” “if I ever call again, don’t press ignore”) make it seem like somebody might be about to get got. I’m here for it.
[9]

Taylor Alatorre: Songs like this give me a better understanding of why girls in high school and college often take notes in that meticulously arranged and color-coordinated style, with the neatly set text boxes and sticky note flags and other stylistic elements that comprise the “studyblr” aesthetic. It’s nice to establish a feeling of order and control within a regimented environment, to follow the rules in a presentably personalized way, asserting more agency than is needed but less than is feared. Katseye perform cuteness because the format demands it, and they have to work twice as hard to achieve that effect as the groups they emulate. “Touch” is suffused with that sense of earnest, slightly frazzled studiousness, and it’s enough to earn my sympathies, even if their end goal is as prosaic as that of the notebook-filling GPA-grubber.
[7]

Katherine St. Asaph: SecondhandJeans.
[6]