Review

Song Review: Riize – Get A Guitar

Posted on by 36 Comments

RIIZE - Get A GuitarIt feels weird — almost nostalgic — to be excited about a new SM Entertainment boy group. After years of NCT-style tracks, the agency seems ready to turn a page with the newly-debuted Riize. Their pre-release Memories has grown on me over the weeks, anchored by a euphoric chorus that should inform their sound going forward. Get A Guitar is a fun little pop bauble, though it makes for a strange debut.

This song is aimed straight for my musical taste, laying down a sticky rhythm-guitar-meets-retro-synth backbone that fuels its every move. Add a heaping dose of lively vocal harmonies and you have a refreshing sound that bodes well for the future. This showmanship buttresses a series of fun melodies. My favorite comes during the pre-chorus, which plays more like a full-on centerpiece than a lead-in to the track’s funk breakdown. Riize’s performance is tight and exuberant. No single vocal stands out, but they make for a flashy unit.

I wish Get A Guitar didn’t hitch its wagon so firmly to the Radio Disney, BTS Dynamite school of innocuous fluff, as just a bit of edge could have pushed this into “instant classic” territory. I have a hard time stomaching the English lyrics (“If you want something to play with, get a guitar” feels very awkward), but I suppose this cheese is par for the course when you’re dealing with bubblegum pop. At least there’s no tough guy posturing or shout-chanting. Maybe the industry is finally ready to move on from those overused tropes. For now, I want to give Riize the benefit of the doubt and cross my fingers that they’ll continue to develop this bright, groovy sound throughout their debut year.

Hooks 8
 Production 9
 Longevity 9
 Bias 9
 RATING 8.75

Grade: B+

36 thoughts on “Song Review: Riize – Get A Guitar”

  1. very High School Musical and I unironically love those movies and songs, so this one gets a huge toot from me! I still prefer Memories as of now but this is a great debut.

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  2. I dig it. It’s promising. I was hoping they would dig into deeper musicality, but I appreciate the signature SM harmonies thrown across the track.
    It’s sounding, looking good. Not complaining, I would just prefer a tad more bite.

    There’s actually a lot about this and Memories, that makes me think SM is trying to do a BTS-esque type concept for RIIZE.

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  5. It’s just soooo old school sounding, and I love it for that. I’m pretty sure the song doesn’t really have a pre-chorus, just a few measures of verse and then straight into the chorus, with the “ooh baby ooh” being the first part and then the rest being a sort of post-chorus…?? I don’t know, but the taut structure definitely helps it – it doesn’t feel too long despite having not much melodic diversity, but isn’t short enough to feel unsatisfying either.
    I’m not sure I like the melodies as much as the instrumental (I LOVE those little synth bursts that pop up here and there) especially considering the main hook/post-chorus/breakdown whatever is basically just happy Another One Bites The Dust, but the entire song is just so replayable I don’t think I care. 9 from me. Well, done, SM.

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  7. Above average! I also really like the pre-chorus and felt like they could have leaned into that sound and done more with the chorus other than use the familiar sample. Overall it gives me the feeling of an ad for something. But I’m mostly glad that this doesn’t sound like another NCT clone.

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  8. I hear Michael Jackson in this, not Disney High School Musical. And since someone else mentioned Another One Bites the Dust, the real influence is 1980s pop music.

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  9. Ngl i went here thinking it would get a 9.25 due to its strong 80s influence. I personally don’t find the English lyrics cringe, as for someone who doesn’t have English as my spoken language. This and Memories for their double title just made them have my favorite bg debut of the year

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  10. As a big NCT defender I’m highkey relieved this sounds nothing like NCT and its units/groups lol. Super happy Shotaro and Sungchan found their home group.

    I like the grandiosity of Memories more but this is a fun 80s-nostalgic song to jam with. Feels like Black Mamba where it was a safe debut, wonder what will their Next Level sound like and if that’ll be their signature song or if it’ll stick with this. They’ve said they plan to release more singles this year so I’m looking forward to what they have planned.

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  11. I’m living for the 80s funky vibe in this song here! Some of the influences remind me a lot of Queen and Dua Lipa. Yeah, there are some cheesy lyrics but as someone who loved BTS’s “Butter” at first listen, I didn’t mind it. It’s a solid 9 for me.

    It’s so refreshing to have a SM boy group release something that’s not noisy or subdued after soo long. “Memories” is also a great song. I might as well check Riize out now.

    My only gripe with the song, is that like many recent releases, it’s soo short. I don’t understand why we’re getting more songs that cap out at around two minutes and thirty seconds – three minutes. I think an inclusion of a bridge after the funky guitar/dance breakdown would make the song more perfect.

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  12. The whole melody (the chorus and the verses) really remind me of BTS’s Butter, its like if Butter got a groovy guitar makeover. I dont think I love it as much as everyone else but i vibe to it. I think it was a bit too short and repetitive for me to like it and I wish the chorus went more full out but its solid

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  13. Mmhhh I am not keen on this one. I love this genre and I loved “Dynamite” – I didn’t even “hate” “Permission to dance”. But this sounds like the rip off of the rip off of the rip off, the chorus has such a massive nod to both Queen and INXS, which were already revamped by Dua Lipa… I don’t know, it’s just I can’t warm up to something this uninspired. This genre has been done and re-done to death, and if you want to go that way you need a hell of a song. I am not saying it’s a bad song, it’s “OK” but since it’s the debut of the first male rookie band from SM since NCT, I guess I was expecting more. I do love “Memories” though!

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  15. Not sure why some compare it to Butter & Dynamite. This sound instantly reminds me of TVXQ & SHINee who incorporated a lot of funk into their music, which to me makes a lot more sense since both are literally RIIZE’s seniors. Love it & hope that this will be the sound they’ll pursue for their debut year

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    • Both songs are in the same key, use the same Queen “… Dust” bass line influence, and start on the same notes but an octave apart. Gb F Eb C.

      Three blind mice, three three blind blind mice, making you sweat like that.
      vs
      Threethree threethree threethree bli-ind mi-ice.

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    • The “ooh, baby, ooh” part also immediately took me back to Dynamite. Perhaps because it’s just more recent? I can see the SHINee inspiration now that you’ve mentioned it, though.

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  17. For a song about getting a guitar, I wish the actual guitar was more prominent. If ever one were to hire Nile Rodgers for a guitar solo on a kpop record, this would be the time.

    That said, song is pretty catchy, if a bit corny. The air guitar needs some remedial lessons from School of Rock.

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  19. Eek. I like it, but at the same time I can’t listen to it for personal reasons. Way, way back in my high school days in my first year in the US, I had an AP Chem teacher that would cut anyone from the class who got below a C+ on a test. Every time that happened, he would stick on the instrumental for Another One Bites the Dust, and get up on the chairs and desks and just belt out the song while playing the air guitar. I can’t listen to this without reliving that in my head. 😹😹

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  21. I like it! I agree with a lot of the voices here that it’s nice to hear a non-NCT sound from the new boy group.

    Does anyone else get a slight NewJeans influence in the styling and choreography of RIIZE so far? I think NewJeans felt fresh because of their choice to go with natural hair and makeup, 90s styling, and loose groovy choreo, and I see those elements present with RIIZe in this MV as well.

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  22. I know it samples the 80’s but to me it sounds youthful, fresh, fun and catchy (in a non-annoying way).

    Also, the live performance enhances the song.

    Good follow up to “Memories” which I think is great!! 8.5/10

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  23. I really enjoy this song. I have been driving around listening to the cd in my car all week. It’s so fun and puts me in a good mood. I am looking forward to more songs from them.

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  24. Oh yeah – I’ ve been gone a while, but this song made it onto my radar even under the large rock, away from the kpop world, that I regularly retreat under.

    It was made for your tastes, which means it was also made for mine (there’ s a reason I’ ve been following this blog for so long). This is another song of the genre that Golden Child’ s Pump it Up falls in – upbeat, almost Disney-esque, but sophisticated enough to keep my interest and stay enjoyable for multiple replays.

    “Get-a-guitar” is also a really sticky, satisfying line to sing along to. Getagita. It’s great.

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