Given their status as a Japanese idol group, NCT Wish have been more active in Korea so far. This seems to be the trend for J-pop groups formed by K-pop agencies. However, they have new Japanese material on the horizon and they’re teasing that now with surprise pre-release Dreamcatcher.
NCT Wish’s material has been extremely hit or miss for me. I’ve loved some tracks and hated others without much middle ground in between. Sadly, Dreamcatcher lands firmly in the “hate” category. In fact, there are parts that feel almost unlistenable to me. When the track isn’t doling out irritating sing-song hooks, it’s spotlighting a vocal performance that frequently borders on shrill and painful. This is not a quality I’ve ever associated with SM acts so I don’t know what’s going on here except for the fact that the song seems to be pitched too high overall.
Rather than a ballad, Dreamcatcher adopts the kind of plonky beat that always gets my hackles up. The tempo plods and the melodic phrasing is equally repetitive, resulting in a track that feels constrained by its own design. Top it off with an annoying “oh wee oh” refrain and you’ve got the recipe for music that goes straight into my recycling bin.
| Hooks | 7 |
| Production | 6 |
| Longevity | 7 |
| Bias | 6 |
| RATING | 6.5 |
