K-pop Goes February: Day 16- Infinite

‘Tis Tuesday once more, and once more, a K-pop group. It’s the second day of Second Generation week, and I actually had to scratch my original plan of reviewing Block B, simply because I couldn’t determine if they fully fit the brief of second gen or not. I know it may seem a petty reason to change groups, but I want this week to really show me what was around in this time in K-pop, and if I go for more cusp bands (I also got confused and started looking up BtoB as well. Too many Bs people), I don’t think I’ll achieve that. So I had a little root around what the internet considers the Second Generation, and, whilst the definitions are as hotly debated as I thought, it seems as though Infinite juuuust about fit into this category. So sorry to Block B (and BtoB), another time I promise. For now, it’s Infinite. And don’t worry, if you think there’s an obvious name I’m missing, it’s either coming up later in the week, or it’s Big Bang and I already know them.

Who are Infinite?

They were originally a seven-member group, who debuted under Woollim Entertainment in 2010. This is the same place that gave us the girl group Lovelyz, so that technically means I’ve heard of the company. For once! You can see my sneaky use of past tense when describing the members: in 2017, member Hoya decided not to renew his contract with the group, and in 2019, member L (yes, L) announced his departure from Woollim. Confusingly this doesn’t mean he left the group, only the company that represents it, from what I can gather. Also, as an older group, military service becomes a necessary part of the narrative: again, from what I can piece together, two members are currently performing their service at present.

Style wise, their ‘About’ section on Spotify seems to point to the usual influences: R & B, dance pop, and electronica. However, I have heard rumblings about Infinite being cast as ‘underdogs’, which I take to mean they have a lot of good music that doesn’t get the attention it deserves. Let’s see.

The First Song

Infinite debuted in June 2010 with the single Come Back Again. I’ll just jump straight into saying that this song is excellent, and one of the more unique K-pop songs I’ve heard throughout this entire project. The instrumentation is mainly choppy, sharp guitars that create a powerful, funky backing riff. The percussion is equally bright and tight, making the song almost disco, or maybe funk rock in its overall sound. No synths or electronica to be found here. The central melody is incredibly catchy and blends well with the guitar hooks. I was really sideswiped by just how unlike anything else it sounded. Also, at the end of the video, there’s a Fennec fox in a car with a blinged out infinity symbol on its collar. Because of course there’s a Fennec fox in a car with a blinged out infinity symbol on its collar. Bravo.

Five of the Big Hits

For Infinite, I chose the songs Bad, The Chaser, Back, BE MINE and The Eye. I randomly began with Bad from 2015, clearly a more modern, third gen style song. The use of dramatic strings to underline this fairly straightforward ‘badass’ concept added a lot more drama, and I also enjoyed the melody and effects used to make the refrain of ‘bad girl’ that much more impactful. Going back to the year before we have Back, which is notable for taking one of the most gradual turns from one genre into another that I’ve heard in K-pop. The song begins as a gentle piano ballad (oh no), and after a minute in this style, builds gradually into an electronic dance song, also with violins backing things up or more drama. It’s a shame that the video utilises a weird ‘damsel in distress so let’s all dramatically fight’ storyline, because otherwise the song is good. Jumping forward to 2016 (I’m just clicking on the next one I see on YouTube, blame the algorithm), and I am starting to recognise a theme with 2016’s The Eye. Here there is another gradual morphing from the slow ballad style up into the electro-dance number, underscored by violins. This song’s shift of styles felt more well-paced, and I liked the production being bold enough to even mix in some dubstep-esque breaks at one point. The strange sounding electro hook to begin the song gave the first clue that this track might be a little different.

The Chaser took me further back along the Infinite timeline to 2012, and my what a busy song. The production contains synths, guitars, violins (of course) and a relentless propensity to mix all of these things together happily. It’s a little overwhelming, but the strength, clarity and power in the group’s voices together in the chorus is probably the point where everything best comes together. Weirdly, just a year earlier, in BE MINE (their caps not mine), the sound is far more generically dancey and thus generally uninteresting. The saving grace is the dubstep/rock fusion in the bridge whilst some members breakdance, which gave me a little hint of the eclecticism to come. I guess they just hadn’t discovered the power of the violins yet.

The Latest Song

Oh no, the curse of the wishy-washy feelingsy mid-tempo ballad strikes again! Infinite’s latest single is February 2019’s Clock, and it’s very, well….sorry it’s very meh. It feels like it’s trying to aim at the slow anthemic feel of BTS’s Spring Day, but without the beautiful melodic centre to make it compelling. To be fair, I didn’t initially like Spring Day much either, so maybe this is a song that grows with your connection to the group. They certainly wear jumpers and stare into the camera in much the same way. But that’s about it. There are also a lot of those old rotary phones in the video. In the video called Clock. Maybe I needed to have the subs on.

The Latest Album

In January 2018, Infinite released their latest full studio album, Top Seed. Given the year, this means Clock isn’t on it, which is nice. The beginning intro mini-track, creatively titled Begin, gives me a big dollop of reassurance: there are ample violins here! The beat is funky, with the production blending in what I assume are hooks or melodies from upcoming tracks. The next song, Tell Me, keeps this promise, a nice, funky little number with some nice high notes in the vocals. Synchronise (with the British spelling!!!) follows, a joyful little EDM number that starts off with the classic low guitar instrumental that so many songs of this genre do. The next couple of numbers are fine, if ineffectual, and then the blessed strings come back for the grandiose Pray. I’m not exactly sure how to describe this except dramatic, and I love the underlying playful ‘la la la’ melody to compliment said violins. It’s not a ballad, it’s not a dance track, but it feels like it demands a swishing cape and heavy fabrics. I loved it. It put me in such a good mood that I even enjoyed the ballad Why Me that came next. This also had strings, don’t worry, as well as incredibly rich vocals, and the kind of sweetness in melody I was missing from Clock. Following this was Wind, which was similarly more enjoyable than I thought it had any right being, sticking to the best of fizzy EDM, with, of course, added strings. But the highlight of the album’s second half has to be I Hate, an unashamed foray into pop punk that reminded me slightly of their debut. It has a fully drum-heavy rock rhythm and heavy guitars to set it up, making for a great change in direction and providing a reminder of all those mid 00s songs I pretended to like whilst solidly listening to Queen. The last three songs of the album don’t really compare, though, much like Wind and Synchronise, the ending song Begin Again (I see what you did there) is a fun little slice of dancey bop music.

Thoughts?

Infinite definitely came out of the gate incredibly strongly with Come Back Again, and their career since has shown elements of this idiosyncrasy at different points. I enjoyed Back the most of the singles I chose, and was happy to find the experimental little gems of I Hate and Pray on their album. I think I’ve made it pretty clear that Infinite loves a string section moment, and hey, don’t we all, as slightly old-fashioned as it can sometimes feel. I mean, Clock didn’t have any and it was their most boring song. I say stick with the strings: not just violins but guitars too, as it’s so much more refreshing a way to express edge on a very electronic/bassline heavy stage that we have today. Oddly, I kind of feel like I’ve cheated out of not really choosing a second gen group, given that most of their music seems trying to bend more to the will of the newer styles, and came out in the mid 2010s. But hey, it absolutely began in an older time. If Infinite could be bold enough to lean into what they started out with, it might give them a distinctive edge moving into the 2020s.