"Catch" is the debut single by Canadian singer-songwriter Allie X, from her major label debut EP CollXtion I, released initially on February 3, 2014, with a GIF designed by Logan White and Krissie Torgerson. It was re-released on November 20, 2015 as an EP with additional tracks. It is the first single under the name of Allie X.
Recording and composition
Production took nearly two years to complete, going through several massive changes in tempo, key, and genre. Approximately 20 versions of the song exist, the first of which is a R&B track. The song has been described as detailing a macabre doctor-patient relationship. She has also stated the song deals with her not wanting to submit to all of the addictions associated with fame.
Critical response
Upon the release of Catch, Jamie Milton of DIY magazine says, of Allie X and her single, "Allie X stepped on the scene like a bottle of wine at a wedding - everyone wanted a piece of her."
TIME's Jasmine Cox complemented the track, saying it "shines with a level of polish and craft that’s remarkable," and complemented X's "attention to detail."
Joshua Bote of The Daily Californian said of her September 2015live performance at Rickshaw Stop of the songs from CollXtion I, "Her nearly flawless performance left a gaping hole where Allie X’s identity should have been." Bote also stated, "she launched into tune after tune from CollXtion and consistently maintained the awkward rigidity of her semi-dancing, semi-flailing routine. Each number was flawlessly performed, but her set lacked an identifiable persona that set her apart from any of the Top 40 divas."
Logan White of Billboard magazine called Catch "an expertly crafted, remarkably vulnerable synth-pop showcase."
Carl Williot from Idolator said that Catch was "everything that’s wonderful about under-the-radar pop music right now: immaculate hooks, pristine synth work, vocal versatility, bold atmospherics and a beating, bursting heart," and named it "the best song of 2014."
Music video
Development
The music video was released on January 21, 2015 and was directed by Jérémie Saindon, with Shayne Laverdière serving as director of photography, and Louisa Schabas as the art director. It was edited by Sébastien Delporte, styled by Melissa Matos, and make up was done by Leslie-Ann Thomson. Production was done by Antler and VFX by SHED.
Concept
The music video for "Catch" continues the GIF theme in its cinematography by inclusion of jittering frames. Despite some of the violent imagery, there is no gore present. It begins with Hughes seen standing on a spinning platform with a piano, and she is wearing glasses with pink flowers in place of lenses. It eventually moves on to jittering between her lying on a sofa, with an eyeball filling her open mouth, and her lying nude on the floor, covered by a pile of mannequin parts. Next is a room filled with mirrors, a legless mannequin that appears to be undergoing emesis, and standing upon a chair a cloaked figure. The following few scenes depict her as: nude with open anatomy made of plastic organs; having a missing torso that has been replaced with a rotating circle with an X through it; levitating and being skewered by some kind of needles; and as being divided into body segments like arms, torsos, and legs, and strewn about an empty pool. The video ends with a monarch chrysalis hatching from inside her mouth.
