The face that comes out once the door is shut — KATSEYE's 'Animal'

In three lines

• KATSEYE released 'Animal' on July 24. It's a pre-release from their third EP 'WILD'.
• Ed Sheeran took part as a co-writer.
• Actress Demi Moore appears in the music video as a cameo.

The polished face and the other one

'Animal' is the song pulled forward from KATSEYE's third EP 'WILD'. It's the second pre-release after 'Pinky Up' in April, and the EP itself arrives August 14 with five tracks.

What the song is about is the tension between two faces. The version you've groomed to show the world, and the uninhibited energy that only comes out once the door is closed. It's bold, flirtatious pop, and underneath the playfulness there's a fairly clear question.

Item	Detail
Release	July 24 (pre-release)
From	Third EP 'WILD' (August 14)
Co-writer	Ed Sheeran
Production	Omer Fedi, Blake Slatkin

Where Ed Sheeran fits

Ed Sheeran is credited as a co-writer, with production from Omer Fedi and Blake Slatkin.

Not because of the names — listen to the song and you can hear why that combination came together. Rather than a hook that detonates, it repeats stubbornly until it lodges in your body. That's the kind of habit people who have been writing pop for a long time carry in their hands.

KATSEYE is a group put together from members of several countries. So there's little friction when they're paired with an international team like this. English doesn't land as a translation on them, and that is both the group's condition and its weapon.

Mirrors and observation rooms

The video was directed by Cody Critcheloe. The frame moves between observation rooms and a world made of mirrors, and the members shift between archetypes that had been sorted into feminine and masculine. It keeps flipping who is watching and who is being watched.

Actress Demi Moore appears in a cameo. A face that has been observed for a very long time entering this frame adds another layer, one that lines up with what the song is about.

It's easy to believe the roles of watcher and watched are fixed. This video keeps swapping them. That's probably why there are so many mirrors in it — in front of a mirror everyone is the one looking and the one being looked at, at the same time.

Discovery note

Try it once with no screen, sound only. Then watch the video, and the same hook will land differently. On its own it's just an exciting pop song; with the picture attached, a question follows it — which face am I wearing right now?

Play it alone at night with the door shut. That's the state this song was built for.

Just give it a listen, trust me.