Song Review: VIVIZ – Shhh!

I’ve been writing about a different GFriend song every day for the past few weeks (and will continue to do so until I’ve run through their whole discography), so it’s fun when my daily GFriend feature converges with a new single by the group’s spin-off act VIVIZ. Their title track Maniac from one year ago went on to enjoy surprising longevity on the charts and SNS. I’m surprised VIVIZ didn’t strike while the iron is hot, doubling down with new music earlier. But good things come to those who wait, as the trio are finally back with new title track Shhh!.

English-language listeners may assume the girls are saying something different than “shhh” as the song opens, and that could be intentional. After all, the music takes an edgier tone than we’d expect from VIVIZ. They deliver charismatic sing-talk over a robust groove, taking a more aggressive approach than past singles. They pull off the transformation, even if it may not be my favorite mode for a K-pop song.

Listeners looking for an engaging melody will need to wait until Shhh‘s post-chorus for any salvation — and that doesn’t even appear until the song is more than halfway over. In contrast, its hook rests on the kind of repetitive, spoken catchphrase that’s been favored by so many K-pop songs this year. It’s catchy in a very obvious way, but grows old quite quickly. Shhh is still an above-average version of this particular song template, but it could have been so much more.

Grade: C+