Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
Cosmic Girls have debuted with double title tracks, and “Catch Me” is thankfully the fierce flip side of the aegyo mess that was “Mo Mo Mo“. That’s not to say it was perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but it does more effectively showcase their potential.
“Catch Me” starts aggressively and is topped off by a rap from EXY to make an instantly positive impression on listeners. However, the pre-chorus that followed had an entirely different tone that was vastly inferior, opting for high-pitched vocals and a rhythm that resembled a nursery rhyme. The disjointed style carries over to the hook, which I swear is in the same rhythm as “I Got A Boy” and everything, as if drive home the disjointed theme for the listeners in the most shameless way possible.
Fortunately, despite those complaints about the arrangement of the song, the Cosmic Girls do an admirable job of executing the rap sections and singing verses, and the underlying instrumental was decent enough that I could tolerate the pre-chorus and soundalike hook to still see out the track. Also, as something of a bonus, the post-chorus is them hilariously chanting, “Ah~, I’m coming, ah~ ah~, I’m coming out.”
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As far as the music video goes, it was shot in the same room as “Mo Mo Mo” and was basically a glorified dance version, which honestly makes it worse that they blew their budget on the initial release.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apUTecjWnZQ
Then again, perhaps the most impressive part about “Catch Me” is the choreography, as they intelligently break it down by sections initially so that the constant movement of 12 members that comes later doesn’t overwhelm with sameness but instead jumps at you. Their routine also includes impressive timing intricacies that use all of the members effectively, and when paired with moments of individual brilliance (like from Cheng Xiao), it’s an impressive and entertaining spectacle.
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So after registering “Catch Me”, the debut of the Cosmic Girls has resulted in one decent enough track and one cringe track, but the choreography showcased and the general potential they put on display provide a lot of hope. And with all the investment put into this group, I’m sure they’ll get plenty of chances to fine tune their exact place in the K-pop world, and I think they’ve proven they’re worth anticipating in the future.
