VERIVERY’s Face It trilogy has been pitched as a maturation of the group’s sound and image, but all it’s done is chip away at everything I used to enjoy about the guys’ music. Lay Back was a highlight, even if it pointed toward darker directions. This summer’s Thunder ended up growing on me despite sounding nothing like what I’d expect from VERIVERY. And now, we have G.B.T.B, which stands for “Go Beyond the Barrier.” I’m not sure what barrier these guys are going beyond, but I’m certain it was erected with good purpose.
I don’t understand the appeal of this track. VERIVERY already proved they could tackle edgier concepts during their stint on Road to Kingdom, and there are ways to approach this style that are exciting and fresh. But, G.B.T.B is less a song than it is a shout. Beyond the choreography and energy, it’s not a good showcase for VERIVERY’s charms as performers. Its chorus is absolutely awful, comprised of an obnoxious chant and equally irritating melodic hook. To make matters worse, it’s underlined by a clattering instrumental that’s needlessly noisy. Where’s the sense of funk that characterized VERIVERY’s debut year? Just because you’re going “edgy” doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice things like groove and melody.
I wish I could say that G.B.T.B’s verses salvaged the song, but they amount to very little. They consist of melodies we’ve heard before in songs like this, coupled with posturing taunts that just come across as silly. The one highlight is Hoyoung and Dongheon’s second-verse rap, which allows them the opportunity to deliver a rapid-fire flow that finally injects some excitement into this blustering, bumbling mess. Okay, VERIVERY… now that you’ve faced it (whatever “it” is), can we finally get back to the good stuff?
| Hooks | 6 |
| Production | 7 |
| Longevity | 7 |
| Bias | 6 |
| RATING | 6.5 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
(Is there a place in Seoul that specializes in dark theme set design and costuming? What’s up with the lipstick finger stripes?)
Oh great gun culture, “who’s gonna pull the trigger” “cause we can shoot it out”.
It’s an automatic pass for me.
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(I doubt the stylist knows Adam Ant, but Nick does, and my first thought was Adam Ant white stripe punk highwayman. Or football black cheek stripes. Someone somewhere is going to start shouting cultural appropriation or war paint, if they haven’t already. but my mind first went to Adam Ant.
‘https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4B2a6l6wM2k Stand and Deliver! )
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Love me some Adam Ant!!
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I’m hoping they’re gonna switch up their style next year. This is supposed to be more mature but to me it’s more like teenage angst. Who said funky bright music can’t be mature? it has been done in kpop before. Why couldn’t verivery keep what made them stand out among the countless dark/edgy/(try hard) boy group concepts??
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My favorite rookies of 2019 continue to let me down. Bring back the new jack swing, someone please!
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When everyone is releasing retro, funky tracks, they release this. Verivery.
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I don’t like it, but I don’t hate it as well. What I hate about the track is how the arrangement is disjointed and lacking in focus. Oh and the melody is very forgettable, even at first listen. The only memorable part of the song is the rap, yet that couldn’t save the song at all. In conclusion, this song is a whole mess; there’s no clarity in the instrumental and it shows.
Verivery can pull this concept, as they showed great potential in it. What they really need is a good producer, and that’s what jellyfish is missing right now. Can’t they hire hyuk shin and crew, melodesign, or even devine channel to produce for verivery? Like, come on jellyfish do something!
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I like it, it’s pretty good. But yeah, not as good as their 2019 work. Especially since Tag Tag Tag was in my top 5 most replayed songs of 2019
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The special irony of songs like this and Cravity’s debut emphasizing breaking barriers or rules yet they sound just like what everyone else is doing and follow a very specific, non-risky formula…..
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Bingo.
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I never thought of this. It all makes sense now.
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Never has the first frame of an MV so accurately summed up my feelings. I think I have a perforated eardrum and the volume wasn’t even that high.
So it has come to this. My beloved purveyors of cutesy turned into some discount SuperM with a song that seems a sort of 100 remake. Oh well, at least the last mini was saved by the b-sides, so here I am hoping it’s the same this time (haven’t had the time to listen yet.) But they seem to have learned all the wrong lessons from RtK.They’re getting ever more RtK Pentagon and losing what made them special.
Seen in its own terms though (like it happened with Puma) the “clattering instrumental” battering my ears has a strange appeal. Or maybe my brain’s just Stockholmed into liking it already after watching the teasers.
Is it just me thinking that smaller groups these days are all hoping they can have a BTS-like break but they’re all doing the exact reverse trip, in a sense? Like, from Ring Ring Ring and Tag Tag Tag to Thunder and this one is a sort of “from Dynamite and DNA to No More Dream.”
Aaaaanyways, good news is that TXT are indeed going back to bright concepts. Phew. If they can switch between both darker and brighter stuff like their sunbaes, they’re fine, we’ll be fine, the world’s fine. (They do need better producers for their dark stuff, however. Like… ON, Can’t You See Me, Puma… and don’t even get me started on whatever the I-Land songs were.) I stand by my opinion that “dark” isn’t Big Hit’s forte. Even Fake Love got tiresome after a while, and ever since I’ve been left thinking that my first impression was colored more by how impressive the MV looked than what the song actually was.
Oh, I’ve digressed again. In short, I’m on the fence about this song. I don’t dislike it on instinct but I don’t think it’s staying on my playlists for any length of time either.
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I have read your comment several times, and it reminded me of the times when one just doesn’t know what emoji to pick. It doesn’t happen too often, but every now and then there is some post that one could click the crying, or the laughing, or perhaps angry, or perhaps just click the thumbs up by default. For example, it could something about someone’s kid under the category of “why we can’t have nice things”, like kid did something to the couch or the car or microwave oven, or something. Or these days perhaps, someone famous one cares about dying too young of covid19.
So my response to you is: Yes, all of the above, every emoji! Click them all!
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thought the title was a reference to senior group vixx’s song G.R.8.U., which is a fun classic. but verivery’s version is… well, very something, very shout-y. disappointing.
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I was confused the whole time… The rap part seemed like it didn’t fit in the song… Idk maybe I’ll listen to it again.
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Bullshit
I have no problem with this song
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