RIIZE was formed in September 2023, and (at original time of writing), has just had their 1st Anniversary. They debuted with seven members: Shotaro, Sungchan, Anton, Wonbin, Eunseok, Sohee, and Seunghan, the last of which was on hiatus since soon after their debut (for a supposed “dating scandal”. I hope you can feel my eyes roll through the screen) and then left officially in October 2024.

Here are my credentials: Very few. I’ve heard a couple songs by RIIZE, but I don’t know any b-sides, and I don’t know much about them as people (besides the aforementioned “scandal” which wasn’t really a scandal). So, let’s get into this!

Single #1: Memories

Memories is an interesting choice for a first single, dreamy and nostalgic, but tempered with hip-hop. Its chorus is the best part, beautifully sweeping and synthy…and then the verses are harsh-on-the-ears in a way that feels like a completely different song. I’m not sure if this dissonance is intentional for some reason, but either way I’m  not a fan. Which is a shame, because the chorus would be such a highlight in a better song. Just not this one.

Single #2: Get A Guitar

Get A Guitar, as it was for many people, was my introduction to RIIZE. From that understated bassy beat that eventually spirals into an expansive chorus, it skips along smoothly with just enough changes to keep it interesting. It has a kind of confidence I don’t often see in boy group songs, and especially not in such new acts, the kind that isn’t proclaimed from the rooftops but down-to-earth and relaxed. The best way to describe it is that it’s giving “friend’s older brother who’s in a band that you have a crush on as a teenager”, and I mean this as a compliment. It blends together pop, R&B, and hints of funk and rock in such a satisfying way, too, and I’m willing to ignore Memories and consider this their official debut. Also, I really liked Wonbin and Seunghan’s voices in this one.

Single #3: Talk Saxy

Talk Saxy has some big shoes to fill, and it’s not doing itself any favors with that name. Unfortunately, instead of building off of the effortless cool of Get A Guitar, it goes for this irritatingly in-your-face anti-drop full of nonsense words and a brassy instrumental that makes me long for the squeezy flute of NCT 127’s Sticker. There’s good parts in it, like the pre-chorus or the honestly great bridge, and I don’t want to imply that there aren’t, but they don’t save the song, instead making its shortcomings all the more irritating because of the potential it had.

Single #4: Love 119

With such a mixed bag so far, I wasn’t sure what we’d get with Love 119, and I’m still not sure how to feel about it. The verses are understated, like your typical kdrama OST, and then the chorus kicks in with this harsh hip-hop that doesn’t seem to fit the song at all, like the reverse of Memories. I think that this is another song that could’ve worked; it’s just the delivery that messes it up. Is this supposed to be a melancholy track or a cathartic, heartbroken one? Think of it this one: both IU’s Palette and Stray Kids’ District 9 are good songs for different tastes, and separately either would be fine, but if you tried to combine a song from each you’d be left with pieces that just could not gel no matter how hard you tried.

Single #5: Siren

I’m a little confused about Siren, to be honest, because all I could find of it was a one-and-a-half minute music video, not a full performance, but I digress. While songs like Love 119 or Memories have good parts to them, there’s just…nothing salvageable here. Even though the whole thing was barely over 75 seconds, it felt like eternity, because that hook is like a needle through the brain. I get it, I get it, the name is Siren, but you can make a song called that without making your listener wince every time you open your mouth—just ask P1Harmony or Sunmi. As for this one, I hope I never hear it again.

EP #1: RIIZING

It seems to happen a lot in my reviews that whenever I’m just about to throw up my hands and declare a band unsalvageable, a song comes along to change my mind, and for RIIZE, Impossible is that song. It’s light on its feet, synthy and funky in all the right places, and finally, finally makes use of the effortless sense of confidence that Get A Guitar had. It gives the feeling of driving home late at night in a bustling city, dreamy but still fast-paced, and is what I think Memories could have been had it had stronger verses. Let’s hope this is a turning point.

From the EP, I enjoyed the sunny, pulsing beat of 9 Days, which, though I still had my qualms with it, I think would’ve made a better single than Siren.

Album #1: RIIZING (Epilogue)

Boom Boom Bass is the first song of RIIZE’s that feels like it was made by the same group as Get A Guitar. In a perfect world, this would have been their second single, but we don’t live in a perfect world, clearly, since Siren exists. This song takes the synthy, lighthearted sound of Impossible and ties it to Get A Guitar’s confidence and mellow yet infinitely danceable beat. I also appreciate how it manages to find the time for an instrumental break in such a short song, but I do wish it had a fuller bridge, which could have elevated it from pretty good to great.

Single #6: Combo

Combo is a special single for RIIZE’s 1st anniversary, and, as anniversary songs tend to be, it’s both tailor-made for a kdrama OST and incredibly sappy, a little bit like Memories was remade to give its listener less whiplash. This isn’t to say that the song is perfect—it still has its out-of-left-field moments, like the harsh beginning of the chorus—but on the whole, it’s pretty solid, while not being predictable. Also, it was nice to see the members just hanging around with each other, not projecting a false sense of cool but just existing.

Album #2: Odyssey

I’d heard snippets of Bad Bag Back before I actually listened to it for this review and…ugh. Most of the time I can summon some kind of eloquent explanation of why I dislike a song, but I have the same reasons that I had for all the past singles I dislike. It’s insufferably braggy with nothing to back it up, its lyrics don’t make any sense (the hell is “jet ski on my toes // I been in my bag, counting up the steps” supposed to mean?), its chorus has the mother-of-all-anti-drops, and worst of all, it has just enough good to keep you coming back (pun intended) for more. Because while the choruses are irritating, the verses aren’t half bad, and I’d even go so far to say that the second pre-chorus is great. It’s the kind of song that just gets under my skin, and if I keep talking about it, I might explode. So, next!

Fly Up is as different from Bag Bad Back as it’s possible to be. The backing choir’s refrain during the hook is gorgeous, and the melding of pop with a touch of gospel and R & B is unique. Overall it’s an unapologetically joyful track that feels more similar to BoyNextDoor’s heart-on-your-sleeve sound than something I would have exepected from RIIZE, who usually err on the more “mature” side. I’m also surprised–yet glad—it has an actual bridge unlike the instrumentals in Get A Guitar and Boom Boom Bass. As for the MV, I really loved the minute-long long take of dancing, as well as how utterly fun the whole thing feels. It definitely brought a smile to my face, and I was genuinely shocked by how much I enjoyed it.

From the album, I enjoyed the surprisingly gentle, floaty sound of Odyssey, the great vocals in The End Of The Day, and the full-throated chorus of Inside My Love. My hidden gem was between the trap-pop Ember to Solar and the road-trip anthem Show Me Love, which each feel like the pinnacle of “boy group” music, just in different ways. My thoughts on this album are a bit scattered, because while (almost) every song is strong on its own, it doesn’t feel like they quite work together. Maybe it’ll click into place with time.

Single #7: Fame

Songs that start like Fame does—angsty, guitar-riff heavy, etc—tend to go one of two ways, from what I’ve seen. Sometimes they’re powerful, rock-driven, and don’t leave your mind. And then other times they opt for an anti-drop and rap verses from hell. This one, thankfully, goes more towards the first one, reminding me a lot of some of ATEEZ’s more bombastic performance tracks. The chorus is really the best part, overly dramatic (and deeply serious) as it is. Of course we can’t have nice things and they just had to shove a rap in there for no reason, alongside some English lyrics that just don’t quite make sense, but otherwise the song’s pretty good.

From the single, I enjoyed the somewhat creepy, ethereal sound of Something’s In The Water.

Verdict: TL;DR

I’m glad I did this. I had no idea what to expect when I went into this, like I said, and while I wasn’t a fan of a lot of RIIZE’s music, I did still get to appreciate their talents, find a few new songs to enjoy, and get to know the members as people a bit more through their B-T-S content. Though, of course, I wish Seunghan could have been a bigger part of that than he is now.

My Top 5 songs were Get A Guitar, Fly Up, Show Me Love, Boom Boom Bass, and Combo, with Fame as an honorable mention. RIIZE gets a 7.75 out of 10 from me [Original 9/6/24: 7.5]. This review was a little disappointing, truth be told, because RIIZE have so much potential and so much talent that isn’t being used by their music. The occasions when they actually get the chance to show off their skills, they’ve made some great songs. But on the whole, I don’t think that I can call their discography great. And I hope that that changes eventually, but for now, I don’t see that happening.

Next time, we’re onto a bit of a dark one, and it’ll be a double parter. Tschüss!