“Gnarly,” the lead single from KATSEYE’s BEAUTIFUL CHAOS EP, is both a comeback and a cannonball into the girl group’s new era. It’s a revved-up, hyperpop fever dream that’s braggadocious and tongue-in-cheek in equal measure (“Hottie, hottie/Like a bag of Takis/I’m the shit,” they chant), with generous cursing that cuts as sharply as its knife-slashing sound effects. It’s almost hard to believe this is the same group that debuted just a year earlier with 2024’s SIS (Soft Is Strong), whose breakthrough single “Touch” was a sweet kiss-off wrapped in candy hearts. But that’s the point: KATSEYE are no longer the rookies pieced together by label giants HYBE and Geffen. “Gnarly” marks their charge into bolder, more daring territory that reflects who they really are: chronically online, fierce yet funny, mature yet refreshingly unfiltered. BEAUTIFUL CHAOS continues down that path, exploring the complexities of modern womanhood—dating, digital personas, and, in KATSEYE’s case, six distinct personalities living under one roof—across an eclectic range of tracks. On “Gabriela,” they warn off a romantic rival atop a breeze of Spanish guitars, with member Daniela delivering the group’s first Spanish-language verse. SIS fans will find an older sister to “Touch” in “Gameboy,” a pastel rebuff layered in 8-bit bleeps and hopscotch percussion, while the balladic “Mean Girls” lets the group’s vocal runs and harmonies shine as they rise above online haters. But closer “M.I.A” steers KATSEYE back to the club, reasserting their self-worth (“Don’t be like this/No, you won't put a leash on a bitch”) over a gritty, throbbing beat and ready to dash into the night.