Leading up to the release of their second EP, Katseye have delivered contrasting charms. Gnarly and Gabriela led us from the bold to the boring, which makes me wonder if there’s a happy medium somewhere in the middle. New track Gameboy doesn’t aim to answer that wonder, choosing instead to echo popular trends for a safe and pleasant mid-tempo dance track.
Throw a stone in any direction of the pop music landscape and you’ll find half a dozen songs that sound almost like this. It’s the style of music that sits right in the middle, unwilling to push far in any direction. There’s a bit of Afrobeats percussion driving Gameboy, mixed with retro video game sound effects and atmospheric production that’s nebulous enough to work in any market. And as expected with this style, the track largely repeats itself for three minutes. This is not the kind of take-you-on-a-journey, storytelling song structure. This is a vibe you sit in, absorbing the sound with the comfort that nothing jarring or dynamic will come around to interrupt the flow. There seems to be an insatiable appetite for this approach, especially given the way the era pf music streaming works. But taken on its own, Gameboy simply coasts by without much effect.
To their credit, Katseye deliver this style as well as anyone. They are a convincing girl group, but so far they’re missing the level of songwriting needed to etch them into the pantheon of modern acts. Taking K-pop out of the equation, Katseye fall into a lineage that includes groups like Little Mix, Fifth Harmony, The Saturdays, Pussycat Dolls and Girls Aloud. In year two of their career, they’re still without a song that comes even close to those acts’ highlights. That’s a problem, and Gameboy does nothing to fix it.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 7 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.25 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
I like the thumping Afrobeats beat, but yeah, it’s still lowkey subdued. These girls have potential, but they need material that could utilize said potential. Tonight I Might really shows their potential.
7.75 (8, 8, 8, 7) for me.
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maybe research more. They’re not even a year old and you are saying that they are 2 years old?? Katseye has made that impact, and I don’t think any pop group is as versatile as them. You’re just a dumb hater imo, ur rating sucks. You said u didn’t like gnarly, then started to praise it. What’s up with you lol
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This site isn’t for you.
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you’ll live
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he said they’re in the second year of their career, which is true now that they’ve passed a year since debut’s release 🙂 and this site is literally called thebiaslist. it’s his opinions lmfao you’re both entitled to your own
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the new EP is so boring. we finally got 3-minute songs but they sound like this. Gabriela is fine, and I like M.I.A but it’s too short 😒 Tonight I Might remains their best song for me
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…Anyway, has everyone seen the Kpop Demon Hunters film? Nephew enjoyed it very much. Some of the songs are amazing, others- not so much.
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Most of the discussion on this site for that is on last weeks recap post. Nick noted not really being a fan of that type of movie, so I don’t think they’ve looked into the movie or the songs.
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Thanks.
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I was hoping so hard that M. I. A was going to be the title… Oh well. I can still listen to it on my own. This song is nice, and is in a similar vein to Touch to me. But I enjoy M. I. A way more. I’m kind of hoping out hope that it’ll be a buried treasure, but that’s my bias talking.
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This is the song that shows they are more regular girl group pop then kpop. The costume styling for one. The sound, this could be a B side on any of the ones Nick named and more from any girl group in the past 20 years or so. Its fine, but it have a point of view or move the needle.
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this is K-pop’s answer to Tyla. I have a soft spot for her so I actually like this song. Maybe it’s just a little too western for its own good.
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also I think Mean Girls is a nice track. Subdued voices but great melody.
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I wish they had just covered Play the Game Boy by A*M*E instead. That song was banger!
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Nick, please drop your top 10 Saturdays songs, we need it.
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Btw, they debuted June 28th of last year. Not 2 years ago, barely even one year ago. This song’s decent, I’ll let the whole mini album grow on me before I rate it.
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Sigh. This song is simply too boring for me to include on any of my playlist. It’s just all chorus. Hearing “game boy” started to hurt my head. Probably the worse song from them for me.
6
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