Dreamcatcher’s October 2022 Comeback Nears As Dark And Ethereal Imagery Accompanies First Teasers
K-Pop — Dreamcatcher Recall
The date is set for Dreamcatcher’s next K-Pop release on October 11th. This past week, they kicked off their comeback schedule with intriguing teasers and a continuance of ongoing content releases.
Comeback time and the lead-up getting to it always make it easy for me to write articles, because there’s so much news and anticipation about what’s in store for fans. There's no shortage of things to write about, with something new almost every day until album release.
Dreamcatcher’s upcoming comeback, their second in 2022, is no exception in this regard. This past week we saw the Comeback Scheduler drop after a short delay, along with the beginnings of the teasers that would spark a ton of discussion among fans about where the “Apocalypse” storyline would go next, along with an idea of the concept as a whole. As if that wasn’t enough, Dreamcatcher continued a steady stream of content that showed no signs of abating any time soon, and we even had a member’s birthday to celebrate. Let’s take a look at all the news and updates from the group this past week!
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Dreamcatcher kicked off their week with a performance at the 16th annual Green Ribbon Marathon Festival, an event that is held on behalf of missing children. With a three-song set that included 2021’s “Odd Eye” and “BEcause” and finished up with 2022’s “MAISON”, as well as the chance to talk briefly with fans, the event gave generous time to the group and put on a nice show in support of its intended purpose. I’ve always been a fan of new opportunities for Dreamcatcher big or small, and it seems that in the last two years more of these have been given to them — it’s nice to see.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYGt7_ui6s4[/embed][embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPDSQF73uWI[/embed]
On the YouTube front, we got more of the content drip (is it a content stream at this point, given how often it’s been?) that Dreamcatcher and Dreamcatcher Company have been handing off to fans for the past month or so. A double helping of vlog continuations from this summer’s North America tour were two such videos, with both SuA and Yoohyeon putting up more of their personal experiences during the month. I’ve really enjoyed these member vlogs, because each person seems to put their own spin on the same events that they’re filming, and we get plenty of insights from different perspectives. Besides that, it’s pretty clear that Dreamcatcher is, by this point, tour veterans, and understands that a healthy balance of work, practice, good and hearty food, regular exercise, and decent sleep keep your energy level high and your physical (and likely mental) well-being intact for a long travel engagement. I’m pleased to see that in between all the fun, laughing, performances, and the like is a conscious and experienced effort by Dreamcatcher to take care of themselves well, and that reflected itself in a mostly incident-free tour.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBMlmhzSKvk[/embed]
We also got another Behind video as well — for Dreamcatcher’s other Concept Book from the summer, Love Stealer version. JiU has mentioned at least once that she wouldn’t have minded doing a “thieves” concept, and the Dreamcatcher leader and her compatriots got their wish when shooting for this photo book. There were some nice casual moments, such as SuA being delighted at random passers-by getting curious and even sending some love their way as they were taking photos, and Yoohyeon having to struggle to maintain a pose with Dami and Gahyeon during one particular photo, but plenty of hard work and preparation that went into the concept. Given the unlikelihood of seeing these concepts in their normal discography’s promotions, these concept books have been nice bits of extra merchandise that allow both Dreamcatcher and their fans to see different sides of them. I’d make a lame joke here about Dreamcatcher stealing not just their own cash but fans’ hearts, but I think that’s pretty much implied watching this video and I recommend checking it out just to see what went into Love Stealer.
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The week also had a birthday go by for Dreamcatcher — Main Vocal Siyeon, who completed another trip around the sun on October 1st. Siyeon spent an eventful day visiting the fancafes/meeting fans that had set up birthday decorations for her, then dropping in via Weverse livestream to have a bit of a chat with fans both domestic and global. As I’ve always felt, Siyeon has been one of those talented vocalists who is truly thankful for how far she’s come in her career, and especially to the fans who have supported her in doing so. Answering questions about the tour, how they take pictures, and even dropping in the second note of the upcoming title track “VISION” to combine with SuA’s earlier first note spoiler, Siyeon did it all during this birthday livestream. Unlike the fun novelty birthday streams of the past, we did not see Siyeon murder any potatoes for cooking tteokbokki this time around, but these more chill Q&A chatting livestreams seem to be just as good (and easier on the staff) to watch.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVvkLaXLFwI[/embed][embed]https://twitter.com/idolchamp1/status/1575734690421428224[/embed]
We likely won’t have to wait terribly long to see more video content for Dreamcatcher, as well. An episode preview for the latest broadcast of Kim Gura’s “Latte 9”, a crime/news reaction show playing on the Media S YouTube channel, showed Dreamcatcher’s two eldest members join up to react to and comment on some pretty wild and true-to-life content. SuA, in particular, has prior experience with the MC, having appeared on New Pang with fellow member Siyeon during an early morning news show in 2020. And in what seems to be a familiar pattern, Dreamcatcher may be appearing on Weekly Idol, given the social media pattern that has pre-dated other groups’ appearances.
The Weekly Idol appearance in particular is pretty nice, given that there are so many other groups coming back and spots for the show are at a premium. That Dreamcatcher was invited back even with how stacked October is, comeback-wise (Kep1er, (G)-IDLE, LE SSERAFIM, and MAMAMOO, just to name a few) speaks to their reputation as well as their continuing good relationship with MBC. If they appear on the 19th, as is currently speculated, it will likely not help them too much for music show win prospects as the last comeback given the tracking and scoring timing, but regardless, we should get yet another fun and chaotic episode from the group.
[embed]https://twitter.com/hf_dreamcatcher/status/1574322895395774464[/embed]
But of course, the main event of the past week was solidifying and starting Dreamcatcher’s October pre-comeback build-up, beginning with the schedule. A dark motif with a curiously lo-tech computer text style and a symbol that looks interestingly like one of those old-school mics used in the middle 20th century 40s and 50s to broadcast news or radio sparked a bunch of speculation from the fandom. Increasing the exposure of the photo also revealed a curious flag with a Dreamcatcher logo and some electronic equipment. The posting also confirmed the album title from the text in the mystery code — “Apocalypse: Follow Us”. Could a means of widely-broadcasted communication be how the group’s characters get others to “follow” them to save the planet from ruin? It wasn’t quite clear, but was teased quite a bit.
[embed]https://twitter.com/hf_dreamcatcher/status/1574685313532035072[/embed]
The Track List would soon follow, confirming that the title track would indeed be “VISION”, at least partially explaining why we’ve been seeing so many “V” signs from the members as subtle spoilers over the past month or so. Other interesting tidbits included both the presence of an Outro (not seen since 2020’s “Dystopia: The Tree of Language”, and the continuance of naming such instrumental tracks (“Chaotical X” and “Mother Nature” sure seem like intriguing name choices). Other title tracks only offered names but not really ideas of what genre we’d be hearing, so it seems we’ll have to wait for this week’s Highlight Medley to know more.
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Of course no release is complete without Album details, and on the 28th of September, fans got plenty of details about what was being offered and where. Black, red, yellow, blue, and purple comprised another set of really nicely designed albums continuing a curious theme of low-tech broadcast imagery/machinery spelling the word “THE” to accompany last comeback’s “SAVE”. The square “normal” version album trend continued but with only two versions, as the last, a purple “platform” version, was an all-new offering. Bearing no letter of its own, the “platform” version appears to be intended as an all-digital offering, providing physical inclusions such as cards and photos but assigning a QR code and unique serial to use with what seems to be an exclusive app (1Takes) to access content.
After the last comeback’s slightly criticized timing of an NFT partnership, having a lower cost, somewhat more planet-conscious digital version of the album seems to be much better aligned with the group’s song messages of being aware of the planet and climate, and taking care of both. If 1Takes is the exclusive home, of the tracks for the “platform” version, we’ll see how reliable it is, but the innovation and effort is well in-line with Dreamcatcher Company’s sometimes-penchant for trying new things. Regardless, for all versions, pre-orders are now open at the usual suspects (The Dreamcatcher Official Store, Music Plaza, Kpopmart, and Yes24 to name a few) along with some places (Soundwave, Blue Dream Media, Ktown4u, and 1Takes) holding the first video or offline fansign events for this comeback, so be sure to pick up the albums if you’re able.
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This week’s main attraction, comeback-wise, however, was obviously the two sets of individual teaser photos we got. The 01 set gave us Dreamcatcher donning a set of colors they’ve always done well with in reds and blacks, but there was also a curious “military” vibe to the outfits. Armbands bearing the Dreamcatcher symbol, what looked to be a naval officer’s style of ranking accessories on leader JiU’s collar, and the underground environment setting seemed to espouse, to me, an organized rebellion’s air to them. Do Dreamcatcher’s somewhat divinely-powered characters, descended from their paradise in the sky, encounter opposition convincing the planet’s survivors to reverse the damage already done? Are they forced to create an underground resistance to overwhelming forces arrayed against them, necessitating a recruitment via unauthorized, pirated broadcast means? Nobody truly knows, but the dark and gritty vibe is well in-line with the kinds of concepts Dreamcatcher has embraced before, and it’s pulled off well.
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The second set of photos, like the last comeback, was a big contrast to the first’s. Here, as in “Apocalypse: Save Us”, there seems to be a return to that divine/goddess concept and is ethereal as the 01 set was dark, though I would say that this is slightly more down-to-earth in terms of dressing for the environment, which seems to be intended to be in a bit of a Utopian setting. Once again, from a concept and story setting, there was plenty of speculation to be had in the fandom. With the planet seemingly shown in ruins during the events of “MAISON”, how is there a place where this is not the case? Could there be a sanctuary where those that sheltered from the planet’s suffering ended up, and do Dreamcatcher make a (potentially futile) attempt to convince them to follow them to help save the whole world? What about that curiously purposeful speaker in the above picture with Dami? It’s yet another set of broadcast imagery that seems to play a part in the iconography and props we’ve seen so far. Either way, we know Dreamcatcher can pull off elegant and cultured pretty well, and seeing them clad in clothes you might see in a sci-fi future society’s fashion highlights that pretty extensively.
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As you can see, there was plenty to talk about last week and with the majority of the comeback schedule set to be followed this coming week, we’re going to see much more about Dreamcatcher’s upcoming and exciting new comeback in October. As always, I’ll be here reporting what’s going on, but until then, be sure to clap, subscribe, and signal boost this content if you like what you see. We’ll see you here next week on the edge of comeback time for all the cool details!
