“bugAboo,” the eponymous debut single from A TEAM Entertainment’s first girl group, opens with the sound effect of a snapping whip. Then enters a raspy horn and eerie, owl-like cooing which give way to a twangy bass line. It’s music for a haunted, midnight rodeo: half Western, half horror, and above all, a fun time. 

bugAboo consists of six members: rapper Eunchae and vocalists Yoona, Rainie, Cyan, Choyeon (leader), and Zin (maknae). Fans may recognize Choyeon and Eunchae from the 2018 survival show Produce 48. According to their official press release, bugAboo’s guiding ethos is “overcoming a fear of surprises,” and the group aims to “stimulate their viewers' imagination and curiosity with their contrast of beauty and creepy elements.”

The single is pure pop stuffed with Western cliches: banjo-like guitar riffs, hand claps, and a prominent fiddle. The uptempo song slows down for a memorable bridge, where Choyeon and Zin sing over marching-band percussion and horns. For a moment, the song sounds like a military parade before the acceleration into the final chorus injects the end of the song with energy. Lyrically, the song guides the listener to a nocturnal fantasy world: “It’s like you came to another world / This is not a dream / This world, call it bugAboo,” goes the chorus. 

Like the track itself, the music video careens from concept to concept: there are school buses, floating jellyfish, race cars, chainsaws, empty subway cars, and allusions to the movies IT and Ghostbusters. The campy, tongue-in-cheek horror is reminiscent of PURPLE K!SS’s “Zombie,” another Halloween-themed comeback this year. 

The single album also features the B-side “All Night Play,” a percussive track that sounds a bit like Red Velvet’s spooky K-Pop classic “RBB (Really Bad Boy).” The most memorable part of the song is the bridge, where Zin and Rainie trade off a lilting melody, creating a beautiful oasis amid the energetic track. 

As bugAboo releases more music, hopefully their refreshing concept will help them carve out a niche in the K-Pop industry—a nook between the familiar and the surprising, an uncanny valley between creepy and beautiful. 

Listen to bugAboo on Spotify and Apple Music.