Wild (Katseye EP)

On April 9, Katseye released "Pinky Up", as a single for a then-unannounced upcoming EP, ahead of their performance at Coachella 2026 the next day.^[5] At the conclusion of their second Coachella set, they announced Wild, slated for release on August 14, 2026.^[1] They considered the project to be a "big departure", both sonically and aesthetically, from their first EP, SIS (Soft Is Strong), stating: "We were not us at all [...] With every release that we put out, the more authentic and raw it gets to us."^[6] On July 24, Katseye released "Animal" as the second single of the EP.^[3] Leading up to the EP, the film Katseye: Wild Hearts, which follows the group's journey, received a limited theatrical release on August 12.^[7] The full EP was released on August 14 along the music video for a third single, "Hootie Frutti".^[8][9]

On May 13, 2026, Katseye announced a world tour for the EP, called "The Wildworld Tour" which started on September 1 in Dublin, Ireland and will end on November 27 in Mexico City.^[10][11]

"Pinky Up" contains elements of hyperpop, techno, and dance-pop.^[12][13] It contains a sample of "Meet Her at the Love Parade" by Da Hool.^[14] "Animal" was written by Ed Sheeran and Johnny McDaid and produced by Omer Fedi and Blake Slatkin.^[14] It is a pop song with a flirtatious theme about the contrast between a person's public image and their private persona.^[15][16] It features plucky acoustic guitars in its production.^[17] "Hootie Frutti" is a Brazilian funk and hyperpop song with singing in a "vaguely Brazilian accent" and occasional Portuguese lyrics.^[13][18] The lyrics feature numerous double entendres using food imagery.^[13] "Bel Air" is a ballad about conflicting emotions of a previous relationship.^[13][16] The song was originally written in December 2013 by Charli XCX and Noonie Bao for Charli XCX's 2014 album Sucker, but was cut from the album's official release.^[19] "That Way" is a song about self-worth and setting boundaries.^[13][16] "Unloveu" was originally released exclusively on the Target-exclusive version of the album's physical edition, but will be released to streaming services on October 13, 2026.^[20][21] The song is about the process of emotionally detaching from a toxic relationship.^[16]

More information Aggregate scores, Source ...

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	48/100[22]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[23]
NME	[13]
Paste	D+[18]
Pitchfork	4.5/10[24]

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According to the review aggregator Metacritic, Wild received "mixed or average reviews" based on a weighted average score of 48 out of 100 from 4 critic scores.^[22] Rhian Daly of NME wrote that Katseye's sound and direction on the EP felt "remarkably uncertain".^[13] Kieran Press-Reynolds of Pitchfork criticized the EP for not bringing them closer to their individual personalities or their vision as a group, stating that it "tries to crank up the moxie and chaos, but it can only paper over an inner emptiness".^[24] Paste's Casey Epstein-Gross wrote that the album's songs were "as far from 'authentic' and 'raw' representations of the members' identities as humanly possible".^[18] Craig Jenkins of Vulture considered the album to be incohesive and unfocused, describing it as "a war between bittersweet pop" and "deliberately juvenile singles" and that it "struggles to make sure that its recklessness is attached to art that is consistently accomplished".^[25] Similarly, Erica Russell of The Guardian felt that the album's "sonic incohesiveness and genre-hopping make for an uneven listening experience", and noted criticism of the sexual content and product placement in the music video for "Hootie Frutti".^[26]

Wild earned 170,000 album-equivalent units in the United States in its first week, comprising 145,000 pure copies, 24,500 streaming-equivalent units (from 26.95 million streams), and 500 track-equivalent units, making it the biggest US debut for a girl group since Danity Kane's Welcome to the Dollhouse (2008).^[27] It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and on the Top Album Sales chart, while reaching number 19 on the Top Streaming Albums chart.^[27] It marked the biggest week for a girl group on the Billboard 200 since the chart switched to measuring album-equivalent units in 2015.^[28] Billboard noted that sales were largely driven by the availability of over thirty CD and vinyl variants which contained collectible items.^[27] In France, it debuted at number two on the SNEP Albums Chart with 10,200 album-equivalent units.^[29]

Credits adapted from Tidal.^[30][31]