Song Review:: RIIZE: RIIZING: Epilogue- Combo

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  • Release date: 2024 September 03
  • Album tracklist: Combo, Boom Boom Bass, Siren, Impossible, 9 Days, Honestly, One Kiss, Talk Saxy, Love 119

  • Album runtime: 27 minutes

 Ah, RIIZE. The first group to debut after I started listening to K-Pop I was aware of, who immediately caught my attention because Get a Guitar is an amazing song. And now the one catching my attention again because taking an entire year to release an album? That's a sales pitch, and I am so intrigued. Also, look at the runtime for both this and the entire album. Almost half an hour. That's a proper length. 

As expected of them, Combo features a guitar front and center in the instrumentals. I appreciate this about RIIZE. Ooh, I recently learned some fascinating S. Korean music history regarding rock and the 1970s which explains why the guitar isn't a standard instrument for pop, but also why it's starting to be. This is why I get into things! Because history is so cool! And RIIZE might be helping to change the musical landscape! And we get to witness it! That's a lot of exclamation marks to say that my love for the guitar is not disappointed by RIIZE, nor are the other pieces of it a disappointment for me. There's a very wistful energy to it that shifts into a rocking pulse through the chorus. It also feels very Western, which makes perfect sense when we take a look at the credits, and probably helps contribute to the guitar usage. 

I have no idea why the line "I'm such a loser, she such a weirdo" is so familiar to me. The same notes have got to be somewhere in another song I love. Unfortunately, it's also super catchy. I'm going to be humming this at the most inopportune moments. Hopefully, I don't actually sing it. I'm both surprised and impressed that a group barely a year after debut has such a nice, powerful growl to their voice? I am incredibly impressed by them. If they can manage this now, as long as they're using good technique and since this is SM, I have no reason not to believe they aren't, that tone is only going to get stronger as they mature in age and experience. I cannot wait to watch them grow. This is what they're showing off a year after debut? Color me impressed.

Tone of the song is completely different, but the vibes of the group remind me of TWS. I think one of my favorite genres of music videos for these groups is "hanging out and getting along, being friends." They also tap into my love of the "found family" trope in fiction. I recognize that there is a lot of acting involved, especially with the newer groups. They don't all get along all the time, and even I've heard of what's going on with n.SSign's Eddie. But at the same time, I hope that the majority of them can find a way to become friends. But I like this genre because I get to pretend they all get along. It's also a soft genre, and I like those. The music is not a soft genre, but the video is. I wish SM had given them a proper music video, one that actually matched the song, but I will take what we can get. But SM needs to do better in the future.



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