Track Evaluation: Yena – Catch Catch

The Okay-pop trade is in dire want of some eccentricity. Certain, there’s a subdued quirkiness to a lot of its latest visuals, however this strategy has develop into so cut-and-paste and rubber stamped by firms that it feels extra mainstream than it seeks to be. There isn’t any act reliably delivering the colourful insanity of earlier teams like Orange Caramel and Crayon Pop.

On this world, soloist Yena has stepped as much as the plate. She’s no stranger to brash idiosyncrasy. Simply hearken to her 2024 single NEMONEMO. New observe Catch Catch (캐치 캐치) picks up that tune’s baton in a manner that nods again to Okay-pop’s previous. Its throbbing electro beat has touchstones everywhere in the trade, from Brown Eyed Women’ Abracadabra to PSY’s Gentleman. Its instantly recognizable level transfer is so second-gen coded it hurts. Yena performs your complete factor in a chirpy model, her voice stretched and clipped into a personality all its personal.

I’m undecided Catch Catch is a pastiche that comfortably sits amongst its many inspirations, however it’s so rattling refreshing to listen to in 2026. It’s refreshing to listen to one thing this enjoyable, upbeat, foolish and sung. It’s good to listen to a tune that feels so particular to Okay-pop with a collection of hooks that instantly lodge themselves in your mind. After all, I’d fairly hear one thing legitimately new and forward-looking than a robust reinterpretation of previous glories, however given the sorry state of the trade’s output this yr, I’ll gladly take a nostalgia play proper now.

Grade: B+