Returning to the stage is DREAMCATCHER with their latest release, BONVOYAGE. It is the title of their 8th mini-album, Apocalypse: From Us, and serves as the final major song from their Apocalypse trilogy. This particular trilogy started off in 2022 with the release of Apocalypse: Save Us and MAISON, followed by Apocalypse: Follow Us and VISION. It is also the group’s first release since the news all members renewed their contract with Dreamcatcher Entertainment a year in advance to end of the usual 7 year contract that most KPOP idols sign to debut and the release of the special single Reason to commemorate their 6th year as a group under the name Dreamcatcher.

For a number of DREAMCATCHER’s reviews, I have mentioned the “this is their most intense comeback to date” comment quite a bit. We have definitely seen an upward trajectory, in terms of intensity and power, from the group over the years. And while BONVOYAGE is probably one of their most blastful and boastful efforts yet when it comes to the choruses (which undoubtedly are the highlight of BONVOYAGE for me), I do feel like BONVOYAGE could have been more balanced between the verses and choruses. It didn’t occur to me until I started writing this review that the brief pauses at the start of the choruses did some important work in drawing my attention back to the song. The verses exuded a much calmer sensation with its softer approach, all of which I would describe as ‘nice’. But there isn’t much going on within them. Nothing is memorable from the verses, which I guess is why the song didn’t pull me in until we got to the choruses. Even Dami’s rapping in the second verse was on the softer side, and admittedly, well woven into BONVOYAGE. However, there was a missed opportunity to explore something more dynamic with Dami, especially since we all know what she can do from previous DREAMCATCHER songs. Anyhow, back to the choruses. It makes complete sense that the vocals were super powerful in order to be heard over the instrumentation of the choruses. I liked the way they ended the choruses with a slight melodic touch to ease us out of the intensity and helped give the song a memorable ring. And if you enjoyed the choruses of BONVOYAGE, you probably also enjoyed the continuous momentum of the bridge and final sequence of the song, which focuses on the latter halves of the aforementioned choruses. This continuous momentum propel Siyeon’s high note and helps end BONVOYAGE on a super climatic note. Overall, another great DREAMCATCHER release.

As mentioned above, the music video for BONVOYAGE rounds out the Apocalypse trilogy. In the song, the members sings of a farewell to a special someone. In the video, this may be due to the Apocalypse events that occurred in the MAISON and VISION music videos. There appears to be a bit of symbolism and imagery going in this video, and I don’t really have time to make sense of it all. So, maybe if the connections between the video are strong enough, I might consider the Apocalypse series as part of a future Music Video Theory segment, which DREAMCATCHER’s Horror series previously featured a part of. Aside from plot line, I really liked the crispness of the music video in all aspects, including the post-production. I also liked the action scenes in the video, and the members looked amazing in the video.

The choreography for this comeback looks pretty good, as a whole. While no moves stood out, I quite liked their energy on stage whilst performing BONVOYAGE. It made the entire performance worthwhile to watch, even though there was nothing mind-blowing in the choreography. The performance was also all smiles, which looked quite genuine and tells me that they really enjoy being on stage/with each other. It also helps put an even more positive spin on the song.

Song – 8/10
Music Video – 8/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 8/10