Can KATSEYE Make "Gnarly" Happen with Their New Single?
Fans are having mixed reactions to their latest single, but it's more than just a song—it's a harsh rebrand for the girl group. For JoySauce.
I was starting to compile the list of items for my upcoming “April ‘25 in Music” post when I realized I was going to be spending half the piece’s wordcount talking about the new KATSEYE single. The divisive “Gnarly” dropped on the last day of the month and, though being able to include last-minute releases is a privilege my own ridiculous delaying of writing these pieces affords me, I figured the elaborate review I was cooking deserved its own space.
JoySauce was kind enough to provide it, even going along with a much more bloated version than my initially estimated length. The final product? 1.4K on “Gnarly”’s context, influences, possible underlying meanings, and the questions it raises for the group’s trajectory moving forward.
In case the review’s critical lens prevents my excitement for this release from shining through, I’d like to use this outlet to assure you it’s very much there. To me, “Gnarly” doubles down on KATSEYE’s seminal bond with K-pop, while simultaneously setting the global act apart from the industry in quite a dramatic way. I find the conflict between expectations entirely fascinating—instances like this remind me of why I love thinking and writing about music.
You can check out my article on JoySauce’s website here. They also created a lovely Instagram post for it which you can find below (feel free to share!):
The aforementioned April music post is on its way, alongside the fourth installment of my monthly Athens series in Greek.
I’d love to hear your ideas about what you’d like to see on the blog moving forward or topics you might want my two cents on. I’ve been watching a lot of TV (and film) this year which I’ve only talked about in the Athens series thus far so let me know if you’d be interested in some type of compilation/round-up post. (ICYMI, I wrote about Severance and Twin Peaks a little while ago, with a focus on the palpably different ways in which the two shows handle mystery.) For now, I’ll be going back to my The Pitt-induced first viewing of ER.
Thank you always for tuning in. See ya.
The response to this song was so layered to me!!!! First of all it undermined some of the conversations I’ve had in private about how conservative gen z can be and their unwillingness to be truly open to things that feel outside of their expectations. I feel like a lot of this is a product of the time and the rigidity and discomfort with “cringe” more than ever before which is hilarious because kpop has a lot of cringe but the expression of the song is outside of the realm of even the girl crush aesthetics and the acceptable cringe of desirability. It’s also hilarious because — and I say this with all the love in my heart — a lot of K-pop lyrics are totally gibberish? Especially the English parts. In the era of NCT and even Stray Kids this reaction is even more odd but then again kpop has always had a problem with women and expression and experimentation. I’m happy to see that everyone is coming around to it because to me it was an instant bop but also because I found it kind of scary how intense and void of critical thinking and examination the reaction was. Again it felt like a sign of the times but I’m so glad katseye’s performance really helped turn things around. Another group couldn’t have done that! I have found a lot boring these days so I am so happy with what they did and hope they keep pushing it. Touch was cute but this song seems to represent them and align with their personalities and aesthetics so much more which I love in the world of kpop which can sometimes just be about trying on different personas and cultures (oop)!