INFINITE and beyond...

The boys of INFINITE --- Dongwoo, L / Myung Soo, Sungjong, Hoya,
Woohyun, Sunggyu, Seungyeol

Infinite is another male idol group that's caught my attention in the past couple of weeks since I got my hands on their latest album, "Inspirit". It's the only album that I've reviewed where I've put all songs of the album in my iPod.

Well, there are only three songs in their mini-album, but normally you'd expect a song or two to act as fillers, while there's one outstanding song that serves as the cover song for the entire album. I was impressed with all the songs --- so much that I've constantly played them through most of last week, and I've had people listen to the tracks, and I've gotten a pretty consistent reaction.



They're a relatively new group, since they only debuted in June 2010. It's a large idol group composed of 7 members (personally, any group that has more than 5 members for me is a supergroup --- and Infinite is composed of 7). Sadly enough, it's hard to remember their names since they have rather uncommon ones. You'd really have to be a big fan to remember all their names.

When I first looked at their picture a few months ago when they had their comeback album, Evolution, I didn't notice initially since their management company, Woolim Entertainment, was going for dark and edgy in promoting their  last album --- I'm not a big fan of that (didn't dig the theme on Super Junior for Bonamana, didn't like it either on these boys).

This time around, the boys of Infinite ditched the black, emo duds (thank God!), and went for a livelier and more romantic tone for their latest mini-album "Inspirit". I loved their creative and funny MV for the song "Nothing's Over". The overall feel of the MV felt like it was taken with a Super-8 filter which gave it a strong vintage feel (I'm seeing a lot of groups aiming for that 80's laid back feel both in their songs and in their visuals). The costumes and the dance choreography screamed 80's in so many different ways --- i.e. the shirt that L / Myung Soo wore was totally retro... haven't seen anyone wear polka dots in a looooong time!

"Nothing's Over" is pretty much a break-up song, but with the guy expressing his hope that things can still turn around since he still loves the person who he's singing to. The song has a dance pop vibe with strong rock elements (i.e. drum work, and electric guitars abound). What sort of surprised me was a section of the song where I couldn't recognize the accompanying instrument --- it was sort of a mix between a harpsichord and a sitar (weird mix, right?), but it worked with the song! It added a strong playful flair that made me really dance to the song.

"Nothing's Over" by INFINITE

The second single in the album, "Shot", is my favorite though --- a real electro-pop dance track that's a treat to the ears! Its got a lot of the elements that made electronica a big thing in the 80's, plus the strong infusion of electric guitar work just livened up the song. The energy in the song strongly conveys a similar message to "Nothing's Over" --- about a love struggling to survive. Kind of makes sense, since the energy in the song is bordering on frantic.

"Shot" by INFINITE

"Can You Smile", the third song on the album, pretty much slows down the pace for everyone. It's a remake of a song that they released with the "Evolution" album. The last time they released the song, it was sort of schitzophrenic --- starts off like an electronica ballad, then it speeds up to a frenetic pace... which is weird considering it was a love song. This time around, they remade the song with a relaxed pace, and a stronger focus on instrument harmony music-wise. The vocals were amazing too since the boys harmonize very well in this song, and the rap doesn't seem forced at all (since it's a love song... it seems a bit weird to have rap suddenly pop in during the crux of the song). I'll be posting vids for both versions --- tell me which one you like best in the comments section, ok?

"Can You Smile" by INFINITE

Original Release (Evolution)

"Can You Smile" by INFINITE

Remake (Inspirit)

All the songs blew me away... 3 out of 3 in my iPod, and I'm still listening to them! I hope they keep up the good work, because I'll definitely be looking forward to their next album.