VICTON’s last comeback was a little over four months ago when the group (sans Han Seung Woo, who is currently carrying out his military enlistment) released their Chronograph single and single album. Fast forward four and half months to yesterday, VICTON made their comeback with the single Stupid O’clock, the title track off the group’s seventh mini-album, Chaos.

As opposed to Chronograph, Stupid O’clock is much more appealing from the first listen. I am digging the sleek and groovy bass that Stupid O’clock has going on in the background. I liked how it is (kind of) the constant throughout the song, featuring in the background of the verses and choruses. Though, the pre-choruses and bridge of Stupid O’clock do not feature the groovy bass, which I appreciated. Otherwise Stupid O’clock would be too repetitive and become boring a lot earlier on (more on this in a second). Instead, they featured a clean slate of synths to build up towards the chorus or background the vocals (in the case of the bridge). And before you think the constant bass is the only thing happening in the chorus, which would raise the issue of repetition and boringness, it isn’t. There are these warped-like vocals and some guitar work in the background that adds a much needed oomph and colour to the choruses, while also aiding in differentiating the verses and choruses of Stupid O’clock. As for the vocals throughout the song, they were were clean and pleasant, while Do Hanse’s rapping had a really cool rhythm to it, which kind of helped offset what I am about to say next. The issue with Stupid O’clock is the plainness. Yes, I still enjoyed the groovy bass of the song. I think it is the song’s best asset and is a step in the right direction. However, Stupid O’clock lacks oomph and boldness, which is usually paired extremely well with groovy and funky tracks. And as a result, Stupid O’clock comes off as plain. I wished there was a bit more to the song. Maybe Stupid O’clock would benefit from stronger and catchier hooks or some dynamic line delivery, or possibly something extra in the instrumental. All of this, or just one of these additions, would have made Stupid O’clock better and more robust (and so upping appealing towards the song).

Not entirely sure what is going on in the video (per usual, but I will take a stab of forming what I think is the plotline), but it looks like all the members aside of Byungchan (I think) have banded together to pull off a heist to steal the necklace. Byungchan, on the other hand, investigates the crime scene (he kind of looks like he is dressed up to be a cop) and searches for the other members. They members ultimately run away (interestingly, six members are seen running away). And in the end, it turns out Byungchan was the only one running and is seen holding the necklace the entire time. This indicates that he might have acted alone. Based on the scenes of the first chorus, it looks like he is going through something (i.e. alternate personalities possibly, and he does not have a recollection of events when he slips into these alternate personalities). Though, the scene of him at the start shows us that he might have remembered the events of the previous night’s event (i.e. the heist) after all. That is my interpretation of the plotline, though I might be wrong as I couldn’t really identify the main character of the video due to the lighting and fast pace of the scenes. However, they aren’t criticisms of the video. The lighting gave off mysterious vibes and works well with the sleek nature of the song, while the fast pace of the story allows it to feel action packed.

Overall, I think the performance consists of a pretty good routine. I liked the sharpness of some of the moves, and I feel the slower movements did a great job of encapsulating the sleeker nature of the song. My favourite bit has to be the rap sequence though, as the choreography did a good job of matching the more energetic sequence.

Song – 7/10
Music Video – 8.5/10
Performance – 8/10
Overall Rating – 7.7/10