Dreamcatcher – KPOPREVIEWED

Dreamcatcher’s 7th mini-album, Apocalypse: Follow Us, is the next mini-album up for a review. Apocalypse: Follow Us was released back in October and features the title track VISION, one intro, an outro and an additional three songs. It follows on from the group’s Apocalypse: Save Us album and MAISON release from April 2022. Dreamcatcher continues their niche and style with this mini-album, keeping things fairly consistent (but also freshening up their releases one way or another) over the last six years since they rebranded themselves as Dreamcatcher. In celebration of their 6 year anniversary, Dreamcatcher recently released a digital single titled Reason. So after checking out Apocalypse: Follow Us through this album review, check out their new release as well!

1. Intro: Chaotical X – Kicking off the mini-album is Chaotical X, a very intense and dramatic electronic instrumental piece that really grabs your attention. The alarms at the end signal the end of the introductory track, blaring in a way that feels suspenseful and epic, making you want what is to come next.

2. VISION (Title Track) – Click here to read the full review for VISION. (9/10)

3. Fairytale – Next up on the album is Fairytale. The pop rock nature of this song caught my attention. The pop vibe through Dreamcatcher’s vocals, while the instrumentation brings up the rock element to the song. Dami’s softer rapping approach was wonderful and works really neatly with the pop rock vibe. Altogether, Fairytale feels refreshing and blissful, making it an amazing track to listen to. A highly recommended song from me. (10/10)

4. Some Love – I really liked the boldness and boastfulness of the pop instrumentation of Some Love. As this is a Dreamcatcher song, electric guitars make an appearance in the instrumentation. And together with the synths, they create a funky atmosphere. Even though the instrumentation for Some Love is loud, the members still manage to stay on top of it. (8/10)

5. Rainy Day – Toning and slowing down the entire mini-album is Rainy Day. Rainy Day is a ballad, which features a nice piano R&B arrangement, accompanied by sounds of a rainy day. Melody wise, we have that swaying effect and the members sound quite nice. I did wish there was a bit more to the ballad, such as some sort of buildup, just so it doesn’t stay overly consistent as it did. Maybe throw in some violins or orchestra into the mix to give it some body, even as cliché as it sounds. But it is still a decent ballad to sit back and reflect upon. (7.5/10)

6. Outro: Mother Nature – Mother Nature begins off with an instrumental piece that felt like it embraces nature and balance. It felt fitting as a backing piece to a montage of nature clips of beautiful sceneries and wildlife. Towards the end, we do get some sinister drum beats and a horn being blown, suggesting that we should still be aware of our surroundings for what is to come.

Overall Album Review – 8.6/10

As I have focused on the male rookies earlier on the week, I have decided to focus on the comebacks by the female artists first. Next up is Dreamcatcher, who made their return earlier on in the week with their new single VISION and their 7th mini-album, Apocalypse: Follow Us. This follows the group’s MAISON comeback earlier this year and the release of their second studio album, Apocalypse: Save Us.

I described MAISON as their most electrifying release yet, but I think VISION overtakes that. The choruses is the reason why, as it had a very lurching electronic techno backing that almost elicits a head-banging motion. The same type you think of when it comes to rock – I like it how whatever Dreamcatcher does in their title tracks, it is always some sort of rock fix, even if it is pseudo. The energy that comes off the choruses was quite full on, and I really liked that. VISION‘s chorus had a similar set up to MAISON, but the structure definitely feels more well-rounded here. I think, if anything, the vocals could have gone a step further, but it was still a decent effort. I did like the softer fade they had with the ‘Vision~‘ at the end of the choruses. And when you join everything together, it is still a banger. As for VISION‘s verses, they really serve powerful vocals when it matters most and this really bolsters up the verses. I kind of wished that was the case for the chorus. The raps we get were awesome and definitely hit it right. The bridge’s instrumental featured a marching band like effect, which I felt was suspenseful and a nice way to make the final chorus feel more loaded and explosive. Definitely a powerful song that fits right into Dreamcatcher’s repertoire.

The music video for VISION features a future that is devastated by the rule of an unknown force. Dreamcatcher uses their powers (lightning) to overthrow the unknown force, which the members at the end succeed in doing. This definitely complements the vision of the future that the members are singing/rapping about in the lyrics of the song. I liked how they did it all in style and how some of their outfits felt fitting for their vision (i.e. the dresses and crowns – elegance and a symbol which represents power). I just wished the members had donned those exact outfits for the end when they appear in that breaking new segment. What they wore there felt too contemporary and didn’t fully feel like they won or gained power. Other than that, I really liked their militaristic concept the choreography scenes had undertaken. In these scenes, Siyeon reminded me of Hyolyn (former member of Sistar) throughout the video with the bob cut and the aura she gives off in this video. And that is quite a compliment!

I love the energy that Dreamcatcher pulled off throughout the performance, both in their moves and live vocals. The whole performance from start to end was awesome to watch and just had so much powerful energy. But the highlight of the performance was the bridge and final chorus. Everything just felt perfect on stage during these two moments. An A+ performance, in my opinion.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 9/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 9/10