Review

Song Review: VERIVERY – Get Away

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Once buoyed by the bright energy of rookiedom, VERIVERY have since taken a darker musical path, abandoning their funky new jack swing roots for edgier concepts. I blame it on that creepy game of hide-and-seek they played during the Tag Tag Tag summer of 2019. Something weird happened in that dusty old house. Tsk tsk tsk. Boys, you should have just stayed on those brightly-colored soundstages!

Actually, I blame this transition on what I’ve been calling the “Road to Kingdom” effect. It feels like boy groups don’t believe they can be taken seriously unless they embrace more “grown-up,” performance-based songs. That’s all well and good, but my interest in the group has quickly chipped away with each comeback. And given how new single Get Away paints their music with similar tones, it’s hard to muster up much excitement.

As a song, Get Away is fine in the way a lot of boy group songs are “fine.” But, it’s so similar to many of VERIVERY’s contemporaries that it loses its sense of individuality. The instrumental is built upon a reggae beat, yet it’s trussed up with a variety of percussive elements that have become instantly familiar over the past few years. There’s a heaviness to this production, as if the song is constantly dragged down by its lurching pace. And unfortunately, the melody and rap follow a similar structure. This lends Get Away a sense of monotony. Even when the group’s vocals are layered in impressive fashion, everything feels so lockstep that there’s never a chance for the song to breathe. I would have loved to hear a performance that was lighter on its feet, rather than the predictable shout-a-thon that Get Away eventually becomes.

 Hooks 7
 Production 7
 Longevity 8
 Bias 7
 RATING 7.25

36 thoughts on “Song Review: VERIVERY – Get Away”

  1. The whomping beat reminded me of AJR’s Bang (a song I enjoy) when I listened to the MV teaser, but I was immensely bored by the end of the song today. For me, the vocals are too high and the song too loud. I’d even take another Lay Back-esque song at this point – it was a comparative highlight despite its atrocious second verse rap break.

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  2. For one, I appreciate that they are not yelling and that the instrumental is not jarring cause dear God, I’ve had enough. I like the verses quite a bit, though.

    If they are gonna explore the mature sound can they follow the path of their seniors… cause I could appreciate someone filling the gaping hole VIXX have left for the past 3 years. ONEUS almost had me fooled they were gonna do it but then No Diggity happened.

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          • The chorus is an awkward interval to sing, arguably set a key or three too high for these guys, so its sounds like shouting but really is basic straining.

            Compare the falsetto at about 0:40 which is a high C#, and is ok. Then the second half of the chorus get get away at about 1:10 goes a full octave from C# just above middle C to the same high C#. To make that octave the boys stay in their mixed voice and just muscle their way to hit that high note, so it sounds really strained. In other songs with other melodies, this might have been falsetto or a head voice. Backing up to the first part of the chorus, to make that match the second half of the chorus the boys have to sing it the same way which is all reaching and strained.

            What they should have done is to lower the whole song so that the octave leap is about, say, A to A. As is in this key, there aren’t that many boy kpop singers who could do it “well”, perhaps Ryeowook of SuJu since his head voice is readily accessible, also Kim Jong Kook (he of the high baby voice does not match body type), also perhaps Max Changmin. Maybe … maybe Jungkook? I hesitate there because the trick Jungkook would do would be to keep the whole line in breathy falsetto including the low note, so for him one might _raise_ the key by a few notes.

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            • As an example, Ryeowook hitting high C’s repeatedly in “Little Prince”. (Not C#, but almost.) You can readily hear that transition I mention from mixed to head and back a few dozen times in the chorus.
              ‘https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMTxAUnrnmc

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        • Yeah… it’s more nuanced than just saying that they’re “shouting.” To me, these kind of melodies just have a “melodic shout” type of feel, whether they’re performed that way or not. They’re kind of repetitive and end too often on the same note, which makes it feel monotonous (to me). It’s like the melodic version of the triplet flow. Maybe “shouting” isn’t the right word for it, but I’m not a fan either way.

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  3. Okay, but compared to their last comeback this is MUCH more melody oriented. Less shouty more vocal driven. I don’t mind a darker approach that they take as long as they keep it away from the sharp shouty nature of G.B.T.B. This is more back in the step of thunder tone wise, and I’ll take it.

    Also, even if the song is sort of predictable, the lore of the music video really enhances it. I know that a song should be good without the mv, but the mv does so good in storytelling…but of course that is just my opinion 😆

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  4. Since their very debut, I’ve been asking myself what kind of goal is set in the first chart of VeriVery’s business strategy Power Point: to establish a solid fanbase? To become social media stars? To sell tons of records? To build a small but loyal niche? To be perceived as somehow different or innovators? To take the place of VIXX?
    I still have no answer, and I can’t either figure it out. To me they keep on being completely out of focus (in marketing terms – of course I know they’re working hard, they have big dreams, they stay hungry and stay foolish and whatever like that). I saw that this single album is selling much more than any other VeriVery production, but well: although I would be very happy to know that the main achievement of an idol agency (whose previous project was VIXX) is to sell 12K copies in the 1st day, I still think that if we removed them from the industry absolutely nothing would change.
    Including the memories of this title track.

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    • This applies to plenty other groups so I don’t know why you keep harping on this like its a unique issue to them, but go off, smh. Ya’ll are just harsh for no reason

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    • Yep – I can’t see Verivery having any sort of lasting longevity with this trajectory. The thing is, they’re Jellyfish’s only group now. The agency will try out every trend, every successful sound, to try to find the sweet spot (see Gugudan, who rotated through essentially five concepts for each of the five releases they had before disbanding.) Unfortunately, it’s hard to build a fanbase when the group is pinballing between concepts and styles. Jellyfish may be in for a rough spot the next few years – Verivery, along with Sejeong and Mina, are the only acts keeping the agency going at this point.

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  5. There are a lot of great moments and aspects in this song that just got ignored… as usual. Oh well. At least people outside this site really like it. So i guess that counts for something…

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    • We disagree on what makes a “great moment,” which is fine.

      Depending on your viewpoint, that’s always going to be either a strength or drawback to a blog like this. I’m the sole contributor, so everything’s going to be filtered through my perspective. Like you said, I’m sure there are other pockets of the internet that love the song and will reframe moments that I disliked as strengths. It’s all subjective, anyway.

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    • Yeah I personally love this song, especially the chorus and the production. I watch a lot of ReacttotheK and as musicians, they liked this song. I sent it to my sister and she was like “Why is this so good???” We just all have different tastes in music. I like reading Nick’s reviews to get a different perspective on certain songs and to discover new songs and bands (like Infinite!) as someone who got into Kpop in late 2020.

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  6. Basic boy band kpop. Fast triplets. Light reggae beat. Fake drama with some elaborate story. stomp stomp stomp dance with vigorous push pull arm movements. High “power” note done, well …?

    Rant – not about these kids in particular, but generally speaking:
    Honestly, how many average kpop listeners really care at this point about the fake story lines the agencies put upon these kids. OK, I shall answer: I really don’t care. Unless the story is particularly well crafted ala VIXX or humorous ala “Mamacita” these post-apocalyptic story lines set in any abandoned deserted any place are over used. Dark black and red torn jackets with random bondage. The current pick-a-mix is worn out. I want to shake these agencies, and give them less to work to make them think. One cyc, and a couple buckets of paint, go. Twelve refrigerator cardboard boxes and three stools, go. David Byrne does more with one light bulb than these people do with multiple scenes and costume changes,

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    • I will add myself to the ‘I don’t care about this vague yet elaborate lore’ club. Also, ever since you started pointing out the fast triplets in songs they really stand out to me. I hear them and check off a mental bingo square “oh, there it is again”.

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    • I completely agree and was barely paying attention to whatever storyline was supposed to be there. It was all over the place and I can’t tell if it was supposed to be a dystopian bunker or fantasy forest or weird victorian dinner scene.
      There was way too much going on but you can’t deny the murder by fork was kind of funny which I’m assuming was not their intended reaction. Never seen that before as a murder weapon

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      • Yeah I agree. I really enjoy music videos with weird/uncomfy victorian dinner scenes (especially at 2:21 with that weird diamond sandwich). But why can’t we have those types of music videos without these weird mystical storylines behind it? Why can’t they attempt to kill each other without it having some conceptual or deep meaning behind it?

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  7. I’m actually pretty surprised to see this passed off as “generic boy group”. My impression of the song was that it draws quite noticeably from VIXX’s roots. The beat is reminiscent of that of “The Closer” and the structure of the chorus parallels that of many VIXX songs. If we compare “Get Away” and “On and On”, both choruses have two lines that end (more or less) with a drawn out vowel, then two lines of staccato-ish fast singing, then a catchy, repetitive post chorus. (Actually now that I describe it, it doesn’t sound that unique lol). But still, I think the similarities are definitely there and in other VIXX songs (I just can’t seem to recall them off the top of my head). At some parts the vocals also reminded me of Ken and Leo. If VIXX were to have a hypothetical 2021 comeback, I wouldn’t be surprised if this was their title track.

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  8. I tend to like reggae – style beats, so I’m not mad at this. I’m also not super impressed. Verivery was once one of my sources for a brighter sound, but alas. I am somewhat disappointed, but not surprised.

    All the badass boy group concepts start to sound similar, not because the songs have no unique qualities of their own but because there is simply so many of them. It’s getting more and more difficult for these types of songs to really stand out.

    Boy groups don’t need to retire their colourful outfits and put on the leather pants to grow and mature their sound. Please, can this idea cease to exist?

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    • I think the reggae style is also why I’m not too mad at it. Like it isn’t too eventful of a song, but the sound intrigues me so I come back to it. It probably won’t stick around my playlist for a long time, but it will have its moment.

      And I do have to admit I was surprised at the sharp turn verivery took to badass boy concept. Like when I saw the preview photos and teasers I was shocked they were going for a leather pants sexy vibe. Just not the first thing that comes to mind when I think of verivery.

      However, am I mad about it? Nah. But I agree that they could certainly try something new instead of rehashing The leather pants and mature trope.

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    • I 100% agree, I was also attracted to VeriVery when they had brighter songs, but now they are pretty hit or miss. I also think that if boy groups want to have this mature dark concept, can they PLEASE wear ANY other color than black? ANYTHING? They could wear wine red, royal purple or even prussian or midnight blue. Just anything other than all black outfits with a sprinkle of white. I’m sick of it, it’s getting really bland and lazy.

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  10. The vocal delivery in the verses is a little too airy for my taste, but the vocal arrangement is very well done. It probably would have benefitted from being lowered a key or two. For me the harmonies keep it from feeling monotonous. I felt like the rap lines were well-placed and well-performed. (I also somehow made it all the way through Road to Kingdom without realizing the leader was a rapper.) I agree that it’s a little heavy and that it doesn’t feel exclusive to VeriVery, but I think it’s a stronger song than you gave it credit for. I also enjoyed the storyline in the mv even without knowing anything about the lore, but I prefer mvs that have a plot anyway.

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    • I feel the same way! Also this comment resonates so much with me cause I also didn’t realise Dongheon was the main rapper until recently lol. Don’t know how I completely overlooked that.

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  11. I worried about VeriVery when they debuted, because IMO their voices didn’t stand out, none of them struck me as the visual, and the rappers felt by the numbers. To me, their edge on other groups was their unique new jack swing sound, and perhaps their stellar dancing. Now that they seem permanently dark, nothing sets them apart for me. As a VIXX and Gugudan fan, I’m sad that all we have from Jellyfish are VeriVery doing dark.

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    • Gyehyeon has a pretty unique tone tbh. So hard disagree there. And their insane synchronised dancing does set them apart as well. I’m sure they will settle into a set sound eventually. That New Jack Swing style wasn’t bringing home the money and that’s the most important thing to a company. What’s the point of a “unique sound” if no one actually cares?

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  12. Honestly I blame them for not building on what “Tag Tag Tag” was: a unique blend of their upbeat musical style with a creepy twist. I feel like bright, funky new jack swing + spooky flavor would be a niche and fitting concept for a sibling group of VIXX.

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    • Retro sounds + a horror twist sounds so fun as a concept and loaded with potential. I just don’t get why kpop companies keep playing it SO safe…like, I get not wanting to take crazy risks, but to this extent? Where you’re doing literally the same thing fifty other groups are doing and thus failing to stand out at all?? It baffles me.

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  13. get get aWAY. I like this song with all its odd little clicks, trills, echoing bells, whirs and whatnot There are some lovely vocals, too. It may not be the most orginal song in the world, but I find it more pleasing than GBTB, and I’m enjoying it enough to want to hear what else they do. And I’m a sucker for these arcane music videos. No idea what’s going on, but it’s pretty.

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