K-Pop supergroup KATSEYE has recently found themselves at the center of a storm following a particularly harsh review of their new album, sparking widespread discussion among fans and industry observers. The critique has been so severe that many are calling it potentially the lowest rating ever seen for a girl group.
KATSEYE recently released the EP Wild.
**Pitchfork Delivers a Crushing Verdict on ‘Wild’**
The influential music outlet Pitchfork did a review of the album which has been deemed brutal.
KATSEYE offer another perfectly hollow pop record that brings us no closer to their individual personalities or their vision as a girl grouphttps://t.co/BvIZpYpWPs
— Pitchfork (@pitchfork) August 18, 2026
The rating was 4.5 out of 10.
Alongside the extremely low rating, the review was filled with a very brutal analysis of not only the songs and album, but the vocals and identity of KATSEYE as singers. The reviewer pulled no punches, dissecting the EP’s perceived shortcomings in detail.
The review states: “Wild tries to crank up the moxie and chaos, but it can only paper over an inner emptiness. The rest of the EP flounders between failed zeitgeist references and hello-kids embarrassment. KATSEYE’s version smothers the track in constipated bass, and instead of Charli’s yearning voice, the five women just sound like they’re reading lines from a script. Daniela hurls a line in Portuguese, but the whole thing feels about as real as when Kanye donned funk on the feeble “Paperwork.” These songs have a beautiful hollowness that comes from making music about things that could’ve been performed by anyone else and mean nothing to you. Co-written by Ed Sheeran, the track is a puddle of lyrical and instrumental clichés that conjures up a lovably demented crush less than the image of sitting at the mall food court, and which loses track of its own whisker of a narrative by the song’s end. The voices on the EP start to blend together as they harmonize and cross between shrill runs and moodier verses. Maybe it’s the way the voices are treated—always stacked, trailing with reverb—but they often sound similarly bold yet airy. There’s a sweet pre-chorus from Lara and Yoonchae, where Lara sings like she’s being sucked into a vacuum and Yoonchae’s voice is multitracked to have an almost uncanny alien texture. The song has a jerky, fighting-for-attention (dis)harmony that suits KATSEYE’s giddy spirit better than the many songs where they all seem to dissolve into one ultra-voice. Still, there’s something fascinating about the bulk of their music’s distinct indistinctness. It’s the sound of the times, or what the industry thinks is “the times”: placeless, breathy, and willfully cringe in a way that’s meant to symbolize “zany zoomers” but hits more like RNG TikTok fodder.”
**Netizen Reactions and the Quest for the ‘Lowest Rating’**
Unsurprisingly, Netizens reacted to the brutality of the review.
A manufactured pop group that hasn’t written any of their songs or production has no personality or soul??? Who would have thought https://t.co/ERduyVRGW1
they way nobody’s gonna criticize pitchfork this time bc music legit garbage https://t.co/6nxTXQ8w86
— Pikachu (@quarrelpinks) August 18, 2026
— mikey (@enbyslayer) August 18, 2026
should be even lower https://t.co/bRdIEannl6
— v’s velvet summer 🏄♂️ (@bwv1029_adagio) August 18, 2026
One user shared that KATSEYE’s rating was the worst ever for a girl group.
Pitchfork gives ‘WILD’ by KATSEYE a score of 4.5/10.
It’s the worst rated album by girl group in history. pic.twitter.com/768A18SJxm
— Hate Crave (@HateCrave) August 18, 2026
they way nobody’s gonna criticize pitchfork this time bc music legit garbage https://t.co/6nxTXQ8w86
— Pikachu (@quarrelpinks) August 18, 2026
The discussion continues online, as fans debate the fairness of the review and search through music archives to verify if KATSEYE’s 4.5/10 truly marks a new low for girl group album ratings. It remains to be seen how this critical reception will impact KATSEYE’s future trajectory and public perception.
