Officially making their debut yesterday was RIIZE, the latest addition to SM Entertainment’s lineup. RIIZE is a seven-member male group consisting of Shotaro, Eunseok, Sungchan, Wonbin, Seunghan, Sohhee and Anton. They pre-released the single Memories two weeks back ahead of their debut yesterday with the single Get A Guitar.

Get A Guitar moves away from SM Entertainment’s venture into the world of synths with the debut and ongoing discography of NCT and aespa. Instead, RIIZE begins their career with a pop centric song that has a lot of funk and energy. Right off the bat, Get A Guitar makes for a fun listen. With the title making reference to the guitars, Get A Guitar features a recurring guitar riffs, some of which located in the chorus reminds me of Queen’s Another One Bites The Dust. These recurring guitar riffs felt like jabs throughout the instrumental and it made for a unique setup that pulls me in. Alongside the guitar, there is some old-school synthesizer in play in Get A Guitar, adding a retro flair to the song. This latter is present in the background of the entire song, but it is heard most prominently alongside the guitar solo that, in combination with one another, serves as the instrumental break in Get A Guitar. The vocals were quite refreshing to hear. While there isn’t much of a standout from this department, I did enjoy the simple melodies and the light approach the members took. Nothing felt too heavy and this made their vocals charming. The repetition and hooks were all very catchy and this helps makes Get A Guitar a memorable piece. Oh, also the absence of rapping in this song is notable, but felt just right. Overall, to my ears, Get A Guitar is a refreshing and successful debut track. Looking forward to RIIZE’s next release already!

The song is about coming together around the sound of a guitar and enjoying each other’s company. And we see this with the members hanging out with each other throughout the video. Of course, guitars make a presence in the video, just not as much as I had expected initially. While everything in the video is pretty sound and it does a nice job of showcasing the members as young teenagers, some of the members’ styling is questionable. I am not a fashion guru, but I feel like their mismatched styling here feels a bit too loose (some of the baggy pants were too baggy) and clashes with one another. Their hair styles, which I agreed with the general public looked dated in their Memories music video, have improved. But I guess that came at the expense of the fashion.

I quite liked the choreography. It really showcased the energy and funkiness of the song quite well. I like how some of the choreography had the members holding their arms to resemble them holding a guitar. We unfortunately don’t see any air guitar playing however (which feels like a missed opportunity). The funk was show clearly during the dance break and was a highlight to the performance for me.

Song – 9/10
Music Video – 7/10
Performance – 9/10
Overall Rating – 8.4/10