RIIZE’s new album has a very strong visual element, with music videos or shortened “track videos” for each song. Because of this (and because the album is so strong), I’ll be working through the entire track list over the next few days. Make sure to check back often!
1. Odyssey // 2. Bag Bad Back // 3. Ember To Solar // 4. Fly Up // 5. Show Me Love // 6. Passage // 7. Midnight Mirage // 8. The End Of The Day // 9. Inside My Love // 10. Another Life
BAG BAD BACK
Yes, I already reviewed this song on the day it came out, but my thoughts have evolved so much since then that I thought it was worth posting a follow-up.
I love few things more than a classic SM Entertainment boy group sound. Think SHINee, TVXQ, EXO. And while I appreciated the different approach NCT brought when they first debuted, I eventually grew tired of how every new SM male act seemed to follow their same template. Because of this, whenever I hear anything remotely NCT-esque from a group like RIIZE, I have a visceral reaction. I so want them to mark a return to the classic sound that SM delivers better than anyone else.
At first, this reaction (along with the monotonous hook) colored my thoughts on Bag Bad Back. But as the days went on, I realized that this kind of is a classic SM banger. The instrumental forgoes trendy trap percussion (thank goodness) for something more robust and electronic. And when dramatic vocal flourishes begin to punctuate the verses, the song becomes delightfully weird and unabashedly huge. This builds toward a knockout bridge where Bag Bad Back grows and grows in intensity until it sounds like it might burst wide open. I’ve even come around to the weird, silly one-note chorus.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 9 |
| Longevity | 9 |
| Bias | 8 |
| RATING | 8.5 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
It’s weird, in the context of the album I can listen to the song and even appreciate its production value but the vocal effects are too grating for me to want to listen to it on its own. I actually think it’s more interesting than some of the similar Neo songs.
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I looooove this. obviously not my preferred type of music to hear from them (or any boy group for that matter), but the vocal parts are so well-written which make them stand out. the bridge to final chorus in particular gets me jumping.
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I always knew this song was a banger!
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i reflected on my comments on the first review and am happily surprised I still feel basically the same about it, despite listening to this song many more times. The vocal effect put on their voices in certain parts is still really grating and I still hate it, but the bag chorus still weirdly hits hard…. my mind has simply learned to follow my heart.
Still an 8 overall.
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Thought it was too NCT coded at first, and while 127 could do this, it works for Riize bcs of the 2010s banger angle. The riff at the end of the refrain sounds like Kanye’s Clique.
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