REVIEW Album Review: Dreamcatcher - "Dystopia: Lose Myself"

Polaris_Tae

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ALBUM REVIEW: DREAMCATCHER– “DYSTOPIA: LOSE MYSELF”
Written by: Polaris_Tae
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During mid-August, Dreamcatcher returned with their 5th mini-album "Dystopia: Lose Myself", and its accompanying title-track "BOCA"— a follow up to their 2020 release, "Dystopia: The Tree of Language". Most notably absent from this album is member Handong, who recently participated in the cpop survival program "Youth With You 2", however did not make it into the resulting group. Following this, the artist has been stuck in China due to her passport— she was raised in Wuhan and as such holds a Wuhan issued passport, which is the presumed location that the Covid-19 pandemic began. It is due to this technicality that she has been unable to travel back to South Korea, as there is a restriction on those holding passports from Wuhan currently in effect. Additionally, her Korean visa expired, making her stuck in China for the foreseeable future. Handong was most recently seen in ONER's latest micro-film "Struck" released as a part of their most recent album, "ONER-Struck". Dreamcatcher is an artist that I have barely ever listened to, despite being fully invested in the Kpop fandom for over eight years now. I did, however, take it upon myself to lose myself in their latest release, and can say with great certainty that I don't know what I was doing with my life by avoiding them all this time. Let's just say that my tastes are significantly improved now that I have some Dreamcatcher in my life!

'Intro'


The "Intro" to the album begins with rain— a thematic consistency throughout the album and one of the major themes within the music video for "BOCA". It then transitions into a banging of sorts, somewhat reminiscent of the old 90's horror movies where one would hear banging increase in volume the closer the antagonist gets to the character. It then develops into a more complex blend of instrumentals, diverting into something of a mix between traditional rock and EDM while helping to establish the darker tone of the album and essentially becoming the clay for them to mould all of the subsequent tracks on the album upon.
9.5/10

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'Boca'


"BOCA" is the lead single of "Dystopia: Lose Myself", and is one of my favourite Korean female releases of 2020! The song acts as an allegory of bullying and harassment, however this time they are painted as the protectors of the bullied, much like Nu'est's "Face". It paints a picture of bullying — both at school or in general — in a negative light, and in today's society where bullying is a common occurrence in any industry, it remains a heated topic that will always be relevant. This release keeps with Dreamcatcher's signature sound, while at the same time exploring a haunting but more muted sound. The instrumental and overall vibe that is displayed throughout "BOCA" is a dark and depressing tone, setting the stage for the themes that are presented in the lyrics "All targets are directed at you // Injury without a blade // I know you don't have to tell me... Without any expression // Like you're already used to it". The members who most impressed me during this release were Gahyeon and Siyeon, as they just brought their all and vocally suited the song. The true standout, however, was Dami's rap, which sets the tone for the song and establishes the overall lyrical message in only a few bars. At the same time, the instrumental displays a cinematic essence throughout the release, as displayed through the layering of heavy electric guitars and drums alongside the addition of the members' vocals, particularly during the opening verse, which almost acts like haunting notes on a keyboard instead of vocals. "BOCA" is one of those songs that has a stunning masterpiece of an instrumental, that just like BTS' "Fake Love", will have you returning to it again and again only to hear the haunting instrumental an infinite number of times.
9.5/10



'Break The Wall'


"Break The Wall" opens on a stunning solo guitar riff that helps to set the scene for a song that is about overcoming your personal struggles, while also keeping with the theme of bullying through its lyrics. However, this theme is portrayed on a broader scale by widening the subject of bullying to oppression in general by stating "Matter born from problems, piling high // Haters who keep trying to step on me... Fight it with all your strength // Defeat those hardships // Come on save your world". This is the song one would expect to hear when listening to Dreamcatcher for the first time. It has all the elements that make this sound synonymous with the group: a hard-hitting rock-based instrumental and absolutely stunning vocals, paired with compelling and memorable lyrics that aim to spread a message of self worth and confidence. "Break The Wall" is essentially that song that you want to be playing when you feel like you're down on your luck and need a helping hand in the form of a song, and is the best form of sensory therapy one could ask for.
8/10

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'Can't Get You Out Of My Mind'


"Can't Get you Out Of My Mind" is the sole non-Korean release on "Dystopia: Lose Myself". The song is completely written and sung in English, and is probably one of my favourite English releases by a Korean artist (WayV isn't Korean, no matter what the twt police say). It's likely the last thing I would expect when entering into a Dreamcatcher track. The song is an upbeat track that blends elements of Europop and EDM, making it slightly misplaced on an album whose previous tracks have all been deep both lyrically and musically. But placed during the mid-section of the album, it acts as an interesting reprieve to the stronger themes and concepts of the previous two tracks, giving us something unexpected but enjoyable nonetheless. In "Can't Get You Out Of My Mind", there wasn't a single aspect that I hated. I found that everything from the quirky instrumental to the stunning vocals — both by the rappers and the vocalists — presented the song as an absolutely stunning masterpiece that will likely be on the top of my list for songs of 2020 once the year concludes.
10/10


'Dear'


"Dear" is the obligatory ballad that almost every Kpop album is practically required to have. I'm not often a fan of ballads, and as such am not overtly drawn to songs like this. Its lyrics speak of a typical love story and an attempt to confess to your crush. "Dear" is a song that I would listen to on the train during long train rides to the city while trying to pass the time, and I can see myself coming to like this song upon further listening to the release. The song is largely piano oriented, with other instruments such as the percussion consistently fading in and out of the song when required. This aspect perfectly serves to highlight the voices of the members by providing a muted instrumental that serves to establish the vocals as the highlight of the song, and having the instrumentals act as they are supposed to: as a support for the stunning vocals that are only further highlighted by this implementation.
7/10

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In conclusion, I think that "Dystopia: Lose Myself" was a great first step into the world of Dreamcatcher, and I'll be sure to check out more of their releases in the future. The stand out tracks for me were "BOCA", "Break The Wall" and "Can't Get You Out Of My Mind". I think that the only major drawback from this release was that the album was not totally consistent. The first three releases (incl. the intro) tackled the themes of injustice throughout society, only for the latter half of the album to switch it up completely and delve on the overused topic of love. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this for what it was: an experience to deepen my music tastes and question what the hell I was doing with my life by avoiding them for so long. Hopefully, we'll get to see a return of Handong in the next release, and I'll be able to see what I've been missing out on. In the meantime, I'll hopefully be backtracking on their discography and blessing my ears with even more great music. AD no longer stands for Anno Domini but for "After Dreamcatcher".

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Artistic Creativity: 8.5/10
Vocal Quality: 10/10
Music: 8.8/10


9.1/10
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PROOFREAD BY: @lex.
GRAPHICS BY: @mocha
 
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Polaris_Tae

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wooww you gave perfect score for CGYOMM but only 8 for BTW?!
well i guess you're a fan of that kind of music, you know you can always expect great music if it's came from DC.
thank you for this great review anyway~

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Let's just say I'm trying to vary my scoring a bit

If I loved it and thought the song was better than sliced bread - 10
I loved the song, but found it had a few flaws - 8 or 9
It was decent 5 - 7
I don't like it at all - <4

It was a great album and now I want more skdjjskdsjk
Made me reconsider my avoidance to standing kpop ggs
I'm legit one song away from stanning them rn

:poggers:
 
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