Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
While being an SM Entertainment boy group puts RIIZE on everybody’s radar by default, they were of particular hope to me because from the start they seemed slanted towards pop melodies and a vocal-heavy approach. While their releases to date have been solid, I haven’t felt like I’ve seen their potential start to be fulfilled yet. Well, now they’ve dropped “Impossible“, a pre-release single off their RIIZING mini, and surprisingly it’s what gets RIIZE really started on their journey for me.
The driving house beat keeps things constantly pumping along, and the throwback synths and electro squiggles keep things from getting too bland or repetitive. My dream has always been that RIIZE would take over for SHINee, and this is about as close to “View” as we’ve gotten since (or f(x)‘s “4 Walls“, I suppose). That’s a tough comp to live up to, but they do their best with an almost comically club-ready track that’s right in time with summer around the corner.
The danger of tracks like these is if it’s too flat then it reminds listeners of department store muzak, and while “Impossible” does lack the impact and bridge (SME, I’m begging you, man) of “View”, what helps set the track comfortably above the fray is the simple yet addictive refrain during the chorus. Their vocal harmonies melding together for “got me flyin’ in my dreams right now, boduga bulganeunghae an doendago haji wae” is sublime, and they then segue directly into the hook, a slower repetition of “can’t lose“, and then the track’s title. It’s a nice little change-up to the rhythm that leaves a lasting impact on the listener and helps make it feel a bit fresh in the current K-pop landscape. I’ve only listened to it about a half dozen times so far and it’s already staying with me, and at the very worst, it’ll be on a house playlist of mine forever.
Other than the vocals, RIIZE also bring life to the whole vibe of this with a very involved choreography and an oddly appropriate public transportation setting, and it seems like it’d be a blast to watch the boys perform this (though I fear for their joints). Regardless, RIIZE are positioning themselves nicely in the K-pop landscape with “Impossible”, and while I certainly welcome back our house overlords through this, I also can’t wait to see what they have up next.
