Katseye release EP "Wild," covering a Charli XCX outtake called "Bel Air"

Katseye have released Wild, an EP that arrives with plenty of conversation already swirling around the group. Two members, Manon Bannerman and Sophia Laforteza, remain on hiatus, following Laforteza's own announcement that she was stepping back from Katseye for her mental health. Despite the shift in the group's dynamics, Katseye is pushing forward with new material.

Wild features a co-write from Ed Sheeran and a reworked Charli XCX song called "Bel Air," originally written for her 2014 album Sucker but never released, Stereogum reported. Pairing a pop songwriter of Sheeran's stature with a shelved Charli XCX cut gives the EP two very different reference points inside the same release.

NME's own review of the EP separately singled out "Bel Air" as a lightweight but pleasant closing ballad, propelled by a buzzing bassline, without identifying its Charli XCX origins. The two reviews together give a fuller picture of a song that reads as a simple, moody album closer on its own, but carries a small piece of pop history underneath it.

The project marks the group's third EP, following the earlier August 1 announcement of the release. Industry trackers are already projecting a No. 1 debut for the release, a strong early sign for a group navigating a lineup change in public.

Katseye has not announced touring plans tied specifically to Wild. For now the EP itself, tracked on the release calendar as part of this week's new pop releases, and the question of when Bannerman and Laforteza might return, are what fans are watching.