Dreamcatcher recently released “Full Moon” for the fans to celebrate the group’s one-year anniversary. They’ve released ballads before, so I figured this would be a perfunctory one as well since it was for the fans, and those types of songs are usually sentimental. Oops.
Out of all the songs they’ve released that sound like opening or closing theme songs to anime, this has to be the most in line with that comparison. That’s not to say I’m complaining, as those can be outstanding if done well, and “Full Moon” falls into that territory.
The verses are rather calm initially, with an underlying piano carrying the instrumental. However, midway through the guitars come in with light help from drums and successfully create this swelling sense of build that has a peak of its own. The release that follows in the chorus is jubilant, with the pace picking up along with the volume of both the instruments and the vocals, and the flurry of drums towards the end especially checking in as a memorable moment. It’s less of an earworm chorus as much as it is one that’s fleshed out to make the whole of it notable and it makes the downbeat pacing of the verses worth the payoff at the end. The fact that it’s heavy on Siyeon‘s vocals is just a personal bonus, really.
The sound itself isn’t anything unfamiliar, but the execution was about as ideal as could be expected. While the lyrics indeed show that this is an anniversary song for the fans, it was anything but the typical drab affair, and this was a welcome treat. “Full Moon” isn’t better than Dreamcatcher’s title tracks, but it’s definitely better than the title tracks of many others.