VERIVERY – 'VERI-ABLE'

Track List:

1. From Now

2. Love Line

3. All I Do

4. Get Ready

5. Light Up

6. Thank you, NEXT? (CD Only)

Rookie band VERIVERY is back, this time with a 6-track mini-album 'VERI-ABLE.' This is actually their second release, following up on their debut EP 'VERI-US.' For those not in the know, these guys are VIXX's brother band. As I don't have the CD, I don't have a way to cover "Thank you, NEXT?" I wonder if it has anything to do with the Ariana Grande song?

We start out with club-banger "From Now." Frankly, I think it's a great way to start an album. You can only listen to so many ballads before your brain goes to sleep. This one is pretty energetic, and stylish. It sounds like a lot of other club-bangers, and is a cheerful tune overall.

"Love Line" is somewhat stripped-down. Starting with only vocals and a piano, this jaunty tune is just what the doctor orders. It's a stylish tune and has some retro-elements. They handle this one pretty well, and it's mid-tempo, so it's not a drastic comedown from the first track. The emotional "All I Do" starts out as a ballad, but pretty soon graduates to soft rock. That beginning part definitely tugs on the heartstrings. It turns into a fairly pleasant tune after that and is refreshing.

"Get Ready" is pure party rock. It's loud, annoying, with some fierce vocals. I like how they put a lot of energy into this one, and it's got horns just in case you forget where this kind of song came from. Playful and fun, this is my kind of tune. As much as I wanted "Light Up" to be about something else entirely, it wasn't. It was about how the guy is nothing without the girl, and how she lights up his life. There are some rougher-edged vocals along with smoother harmonies, and a playful chorus. It's definitely tropical house, but it sounds okay.

So this is fairly solid stuff overall. I hadn't really much of these guys before, but I like how they're generally positive and upbeat. The weather's changing, and slow, wistful songs aren't really my speed. These guys know how to carry a tune, and the tracks are catchy to boot. Nice job.

MV REVIEW

Watch the boys of VERIVERY in their newest MV, "From Now!"

Can an MV look good and bad at the same time? With this MV, the answer is unfortunately yes.

The cool, the cheap, and veritable WTF moments were all wrapped inside a video just shy of three minutes long. There were some cool things like an exit door that appears to lead into a video game world with Pac-Man and the like. Of course, we had the usual assortment of members giving you doe-eyed looks. The cheap parts included moving a plastic curtain aside, or a having a member sitting on an obvious tarp. And there were oddities like a gun (for no apparent reason), a moving car with an open door (through which the band can be seen), and clocks with rapidly spinning hands.

Obviously, it's not all bad, but it sometimes seemed like they had several different ideas for MVs, so they shot them all and stuck them in here. I will say this, though, none of this was particularly boring, it's just that I'd seen some of it before, and sometimes it was cringy. I think they were going for a highly variable color palette, so they succeeded there.

And the dancing? Wow. These guys definitely have the moves, sometimes reminding me of other groups like GOT7. These guys are definitely agile and light on their feet, and I have to wonder how many takes it took to get that just right. They make it look easy, but it's not.

So, what of the MV? I dunno. It still makes me scratch my head, even on repeated views. I suppose I can be thankful it's not the traditional boy in a box video like we got so often in 2nd gen K-pop. And I can't say I was yawning through any of it.

Score

MV Relevance...........8

MV Production..........7

MV Concept..............7

MV SCORE: 7.3

Album Production.....8

Album Concept.........8

Tracklisting...............8

ALBUM SCORE: 8.0

OVERALL................ 7.6