VERIVERY – 'FACE ME'

Track List:

1. PHOTO

2. Lay Back *Title

3. Paradise

4. Curtain Call

5. MOMENT

Boy band VERIVERY has just dropped their newest EP, 'Face Me.' The mini-album has 5 tracks, including the title track "Lay Back." This is the group's third EP. It's episode1 in their Face It album sequence, so stay tuned for more. 

Starting with raps and whispers, "Photo" doesn't waste any time getting underway. It has an urgent sound to it. It also has some staccato sounds that I love. This has to be my favorite song on the album. "Lay Back" has a lot in common with disco. In many spots, it feels like they're holding back, some energy bubbling beneath the surface. The tune gets more energetic eventually, but it's a slow burn.

A ticking clock starts out the soft pop tune "Paradise." Interestingly, it gets a little more fun during the chorus, with bright synths. Other than that, it feels a bit like filler. It just sounded flat to my ears. "Curtain Call" ups the tempo, but not to club-banger status. I like this one mostly for some of the time changes, plus it sounds a bit playful. And I prefer a band who doesn't take itself super-seriously. This tune is one of the better ones on here.

They dial it all the way back to basics for "Moment." It's largely done to acoustic guitar, with occasional backing vocals. The boys acquit themselves well on this song, and their vocals are on full display, without hiding behind any electronic gimmicks.

Honestly, I was underwhelmed. The title track was a bit lacking, and another tune on here was just "meh." Frankly, I was hoping for something louder and fiercer to ring in 2020, and that's not what we got here. Maybe it takes a few more listens to get into it, but I'm not that patient. First time off, it failed to wow me, and that's why it gets the scores it did.

MV REVIEW

Maybe I didn't like the album, but that doesn't mean I can't reward them for what they did right. And the MV for "Lay Back" is right.

At first, it's odd, as they travel down hallways and intersections, peering down them every once in a while to catch sight of a mirror image doing the same. And the effects get weirder as the boys sit in a room, and one of their own sits down and de-rezzes (there's no other word, as they dissolve into digital lines and vanish) right in front of them.

They eventually track them down, dancing with their doppelgangers in the mirror. They definitely have their moves down, but it comes to a head when they all jump through the silvery pane into the mirror universe. Then, we see a Verivery-table army dancing in front of us, unleashing their best moves.

It's quite good, with darkened rooms and cramped spaces set the mood quite nicely until they hit the practice room with the mirrors and they take it to the next level with the dancing.

The album may not have wowed me, but this MV certainly did.

Score

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

MV Production..........9

MV Concept..............9

MV SCORE: 8.6

Album Production.....7

Album Concept.........7

Tracklisting...............7

ALBUM SCORE: 7.0

OVERALL................7.8