[Review] Girls' Generation - Catch Me If You Can

I've decided to put any long pieces on hold and just go with reviews for now, since we've got a fresh batch of songs to talk about. One of these is gonna be from reigning(?) queen groups Girls' Generation, who have fallen a bit off their throne with Jessica's departure and other shenanigans. While this isn't a Korean comeback, this is their first song since then. Some would say this is important.

Wait are you sure this is Girls' Generation? This group has balanced line distribution! I have never seen such a beautiful spread in any song with this many members ever. Why is this only happening now? Questionable! Anyway it's difficult for me to really appreciate any of the non-bridge vocals, since the instrumental is so set on being loud and in-your-face and the autotune is strong but close to grating. Still, throw in bits of English here and there and you have the standard S.M. dance track. Taeyeon is still marvelous as usual and Tiffany and Seohyun are not that far behind. The rest of the girls also make good work with their support lines, Yuri in particular standing out with her low range. Nothing too spectacular outside of the bridge, so I wasn't exactly blown away.

"Catch Me If You Can" is all about the dancing / choreography, and I must say...that's all? Hyoyeon is a bomb dancer but I felt this wasn't really in tune with her style and some of the moves just look kinda silly. The choreography here is nowhere near as impressive as in "I Got A Boy" which showcased strong dance moves. There's a lot of variety in this one, having a nice even number to split into subgroup sections (not as unique right after seeing this in EXO's MV) mixed the visuals up a bit, and I guess we can thank Jessica for that. As mentioned earlier though, some of the moves look too fluid and / or just don't match the pace of the song or instrumental. And that ending pose is just so awkward.

The video is curiously located in a construction zone. Why they are dancing there is beyond me, but I guess with their outfits they're workers? And clearly not doing their job unless that is what construction workers do nowadays and that would clear up why there's so much construction on my campus that never gets finished. Everyone is always dancing!

I won't say I'm disappointed per se, but I'm certainly not blown out of the park either. "Catch Me If You Can" does a decent job of capitalizing on the choreography, while extremely impressive line distribution for the girls is worth an ovation. Still, with the dance being the main focus, nothing else i the song sets itself apart, and it lacks the addicting chorus that past dance track "I Got A Boy" brought to the table. All in all, if this is just a teaser of the Girls' Generation to come post-Jessica, I am still invested in seeing how they do.

[ Overall: 77 / 100 ]