[Review] Dreamcatcher - Boca

I completely butchered the last Girl Group Power Rankings by leaving out Dreamcatcher. Whoops...Gonna have to go back and do some revising. Given that I have really enjoyed their music, I'm quite ashamed of their complete exclusion from the list. There's no way it should have happened but I screwed up during the process. Also I had this draft nearly done for a Thursday release but then I lost Internet for the entire fucking day. Classic! Dreamcatcher are without Handong for this comeback, so let's see how "Boca" holds up with the six active members.

Many girl groups lack an identity. Dreamcatcher is not one of them. They know their sound perfectly, and have yet to deviate from that style since the rebranding. "Boca" follows in the footsteps of other tracks in their library, which is a good thing. I believe I'm at the point where I appreciate when a group sticks with what they know. Having a little variety is nice but the consistency in groups like Dreamcatcher, Apink, etc. makes for a more compelling discography in my opinion.

The amount of English in "Boca" is not as egregious as it was in SuperM's "100," but it does crop up an uncomfortable amount. Some of this is offset by the numerous breaks in the song, letting the instrumental take over, to our delight. That being said, I'm kinda disappointed that the chorus is yet another silent variant, pushing the choreography and instrumental up front. Normally I wouldn't mind too much but the aforementioned English and what I'm about to talk up next meant I was looking more forward to something special in the chorus.

Previously I lamented how SuA has strayed away from the rapping in Dreamcatcher's music but I don't even think her return would've saved the rap in "Boca." Gahyeon and Dami's voices are solid (and Dami continues to remind me of Yubin comeback after comeback) but the rap itself is so...bad. What the fuck is this line: "Hold up I'm a geek, the big paradox." That's straight up cringe material right there. The tempo and pacing of each rap verse is just uninspiring, so when mixed with English and questionable lyrics it results in something forgettable.

Where the chorus and rapping falter, the bridge tries super hard to redeem the track. The vocals are as pristine as ever, and I dig Siyeon's high note being the only voice heard during the dance break. But it's too short compared to the rest of the track, so despite their best efforts to salvage, it won't be enough. Do I give Dreamcatcher a slight pass because Handong isn't around? Ehhh, I think not. At the end of the day it's still a comeback and it's alright. Falls right in line with many of the other songs over the last three years, while making minor changes to the formula. Unfortunately some of those changes (the rap) or lack of (silent chorus) leave much to be desired out of them.