Psycho: Red Velvet’s Crazy Good Comeback
Fear not, Reveluvs! Red Velvet’s here to close out not only 2019 but also their ReVe Festival trilogy with the December 23 release of their newest repackaged album ‘The ReVe Festival’ Finale. And with the release of their newest title track “Psycho,” we think it’s the best holiday gift yet. </deck>
An Insanely Good Song
It’s been almost two years since Red Velvet’s last “velvet” title track with January 2018’s wildly successful “Bad Boy.” Recent releases have showcased the group’s “red” side with some of the most fun and easily most eccentric releases of the last two years (we know you’re still chanting zim-zala-bim-zim-zim-zala-bim). The direction of “Psycho,” however, was quite clear at the drop of the cryptic teasers whose creepy tones seemed to take cues from 2017’s horroresque “Peek-A-Boo.”
A lilting pizzicato opens the track with light vocal runs from Seulgi and Wendy before Joy’s goosebump-inducing whisper of “psycho.” The electronic beat kicks in with Irene’s verse as she sings over running synths and a downright filthy trap beat. Heavy synth brass joins the bass in the chorus as the girls repeat “You got me feeling like a psycho, psycho” in a way that’s almost anthemic. The feathery falsettos laced throughout the track feel at odds with the gritty beats, perfectly encapsulating the back-and-forth nature of a turbulent relationship while the underlying layer of distorted bass gives the song an almost grunge quality. Separately, these are the qualities that have landed Red Velvet hits in the past, but together? It’s a gold mine. “Psycho” is, and I mean this wholeheartedly and in every way, insanely good.
A Cinematic Thriller
“Psycho” as a song is flawless on its own, but throw in jaw-dropping visuals, effortless choreography, and enough psychological thriller movie references to please any film buff, and you have an instant recipe for success. Donning various glitzy black and white outfits evocative of gothic horror, the girls sing against similarly Victorian gothic backdrops. Irene’s outfit in particular harkens to the 2010 psychological thriller Black Swan, wherein the protagonist succumbs to a malevolent alter-identity after taking on the Swan Princess role in the famous Swan Lake ballet. Joy, meanwhile, is seen frantically driving a car in a shot that is reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock’s classic horror—you guessed it—Psycho. Seulgi also has a moment where she recreates Black Swan’s famous mirror scene.
Overall, the video is extremely dark, filled with muted reds and blues to offset the otherwise grayscale. Visually, the girls’ makeup looks are much the same—each frame shows them with more or less neutral eye makeup but with heavy, dark lip stains. In an industry saturated with bright pinks, corals, and other pastels, the starkly different appearances of Red Velvet themselves in this video are eye-catching enough.
Amidst references galore and stunning wide shots, the video for “Psycho” is a beautiful watch that complements an already fantastic song, and one where I find myself hitting the replay button the second it ends.
The End of the Festival
With “Psycho” at the helm, the ReVe Festival series rounds out with three more new tracks, each of which brings something different. “In & Out” takes a page out of Red Velvet’s well-read R&B book, with heavy beats and slinky harmonies injected with just a bite of sass (particularly from Yeri). “Remember Forever,” on the other hand, is a new addition to the group’s ballad repertoire, with Joy shining particularly bright in the romantic song. Following previously released tracks from ‘The ReVe Festival’ Day 1 and Day 2, the album closes with “La Rouge,” a jazzy pop tune performed on the group’s recent La Rouge tour that’s suggestive of Broadway works like Chicago. All in all, it’s the perfect flashy and vocal-heavy song to bring Red Velvet’s wild ReVe Festival ride to an end.
With such a diverse set of songs, the album can at times feel like a bit of a rollercoaster (all the more fitting given the album covers). Also, with a handful of standout songs like “In & Out,” others unfortunately do tend to get lost by the wayside. That being said, “Psycho” itself is undoubtedly one of the best releases of 2019 and easy proof that Red Velvet—the queens of concepts—have outdone themselves. Again.