“Abominable lyrics”, “unlistenable”, and “random” are all critical words used to describe KATSEYE’s newest song, but in their eyes, they describe everything with one single word: gnarly.
HYBE Labels-formed girl group KATSEYE, from the Netflix competition show “The Debut: Dream Academy,” recently released their newest song “Gnarly” after the hit successes that their previous singles “Touch” and “Debut” were.
It is safe to say that the reviews are completely mixed as of now, but “Gnarly” has surprisingly skyrocketed in listeners from the hate train preceding it.
After seeing bits and pieces of “Gnarly” on my TikTok “For You” page, I decided to give the two minute and 18 second song a chance, without a clue of what I was getting myself into.
With the collective aspects of hyperpop, hip-hop, and K-Pop’s favorite, noise music, “Gnarly” truly lives up to its title. The song opens with a talk-rap segment elaborating on all things that they call gnarly, like boba tea, Tesla, and even fried chicken.
Such lyrics make “Gnarly” foolish and laughable, rendering it impossible to take seriously. Every other lyric sounded like a “Kidz Bop” rebellion, with cuss words tossed around like candy in an attempt to impress their audience with maturity, but also coinciding with silly lyrics like “hottie hottie, like a bag of Takis.”
To sum it up, “Gnarly” sounds like a mess of ten different beats and peculiar lyrics, channeling the factors of a noise music-esque composition. After a couple listens, however, the beat builds up to be increasingly cohesive, with hard-hitting choreography and alluring facial expressions from the members as seen in the music video and performances.
While the lyricism remains low quality throughout the song, “Gnarly” leaves a long-lasting impression. When the chorus hits each time, I feel hyped up and engaged in KATSEYE’s strong presence. The choreography is spectacular, and every member can execute it well.
Such an impact from KATSEYE poses the question: if “Gnarly” received such hateful feedback, then why does the song keep drawing people in? It is simple- the people want something experimental.
KATSEYE’s previous single, “Touch,” is nothing short of light and angelic. It is innovative and alluring as “Gnarly” is, but it has the sound of a generic catchy pop song that strives to be perfect. “Gnarly” goes outside of this standard.
Gnarly, by definition, is contradictory between unpleasant and cool. The song could not possibly replicate “Touch”, but rather, creates a symbolic effect. The way “Gnarly” is received is determined by the perception of the listener: you can like it or hate it.
“Gnarly” adds to the plethora of experimental K-Pop songs, such as Itzy’s hit single “Sneakers”, when its hateful reviews turned into love. This effect was a smart move by KATSEYE, as it only increases their popularity and stardom on their name.
Although the song still receives lots of hate, it receives just as much appreciation, which goes to show that music is perceived differently by everyone, but one thing is for certain: it can be pretty gnarly.
