Thus far, VIVIZ’s career has been equal parts promising and frustrating. They have no obligation to continue the style of their former group GFriend, but it’s regrettable to see them tackling songs that feel smoothed of their individuality. As solid as their work has been, I can’t put my finger on what makes VIVIZ unique. New title track Maniac is another example of well-made dance pop without much character of its own.
Maniac‘s throbbing bass feels instantly familiar, laying the groundwork for a tentative melody that builds interest throughout the verse. The instrumental fleshes out during the chorus, adding welcome distortion that gives the production some edge. This hook is cut into two pieces — one quite sparse and one more robust. Unfortunately, the sparseness takes precedence as the girls trace the bassline for a coy vocal that doesn’t amount to much. I prefer the moments when the melody takes flight. VIVIZ sound great here and these flourishes of drama break up the monotony of the beat.
Overall, Maniac is successful. However, there are many similar-minded songs available on the global market and I’m not sure that this will compete in the long run. VIVIZ give an engaging performance, but there’s not quite enough for them to chew on.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
The song undersells itself. For lyrics that tells me “this love is maniac”, the ladies are rather calm and blasé’ about it all. The instrumental too. What if someone like Alexa were to have this song, she would sell the shit out of it. C’mon everybody! Wake up!
Well, at least it doesn’t interpolate the original “Maniac”. Just about the only song these days that doesn’t.
‘https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GCNUeTFSbA
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Can see why they went with this one, but I think rolling with Untie as the lead single would been the bolder choice to stand out from the pack.
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At this point, I have given up on my hope for them to release quality music as per their GFriend’s days. Source Music may be a shitty company and we all hate them for what they did to GFriend but can’t deny that their AR team is better than every company these girls are currently signed with
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I kinda dig it. This feels like if Padam Padam and Love Dive has a love child.
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Viviz is great. I love this song a lot.
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This one’s nice, though a little forgettable/would blend into a playlist. Untie however 👀 Up 2 Me is wonderful too.
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I know that grammar is optional in pop but the “I can’t killin’ it”, right in the chorus, repeated many times, is really, really distracting. I agree that their vocals are too coy and blase for this concept and feel like they need to catch up in term of vocal power for the style they’re going for. This song is vocally carried by the “ooh ooh ooh” sample which sounds nothing like Viviz’s own vocals.
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