Release Date : September 19, 2016
Tracklist :
1. Eternity
2. 태풍 (The Eye)
3. AIR
4. One Day
5. True Love
6. 고마워
7. Zero
Total Runtime: 00 : 24 : 51
Recommended for: Those who like an album with both fast and slow numbers
NOT recommended for: People who are predominately hip-hop or R’n’B goers.
Review
Track 1 – Eternity
The album kicks off with a military sounding intro. Heavy rain and footsteps are heard before a mysterious piano and double bass tune plays. The intensity grows with a crescendo. A violin dominates the entire concert band during the climax. “Eternity” concludes on a loud, exclamation by the piano.
Track 2/Title Track -태풍 (The Eye)
“The Eye” is a powerful and exhilarating title track, which is similar to another Rhapabet-penned track,“Destiny”. A slight eerie effect kicks off the track. Sunggyu’s sentimental tone begins the first verse. Dongwoo follows suit before the tempo becomes faster. Woohyun and Hoya trade lines as L and Sungjong lead into the chorus. The chorus is where the money is at as Sunggyu and Woohyun work their vocals. The others chime in with a few one-liners but they serve as little ice breakers. Nevertheless, L’s concluding line is pretty punchy. An electronic dance break follows the chorus. The second verse is relatively the same as the previous, with Hoya’s falsetto being the highlight. Infinite wrap up the track strongly, choosing to end without a highlight bridge that they usually go for before the final chorus.
Track 3 – AIR
This is fast-paced dance track that is suitable for a night out. Hoya makes a dreamy start to “Air”. The tables turn pretty quickly, as futuristic EDM-inspired backing is introduced. Sunggyu delivers a few rhythmic lines in the first verse, coupled with a belt from L and cameos from Sungyeol, Sungjong and the charismatic Dongwoo. Woohyun uses his falsetto in the chorus before Sunggyu exclaims, “You’re in the air”. A series of ‘oh, oh, oh’ are sung to end the chorus. Dongwoo turns it up with his rap in the second verse. The bridge features Sunggyu’s emotional vocals and Woohyun’s powerful high notes. After another block of EDM, Woohyun delivers a few adlibs in the final chorus. A robotic, highly auto-tuned voice says “In the air” at the end.
Track 4 – One Day
Infinite’s triple threat Hoya composed this gorgeous medium-tempo track.It begins with a nostalgic instrumental, which gives off a similar feeling to “60 Seconds”, “I’m Going To You” and the like. Hoya and L sing about numerous “if’s” before Sungyeol and Woohyun deliver some sincere vocals. Dongwoo recaps about the times he had shared with a former love to finish the verse. Sunggyu’s signature whiny yet emotional vocals tug on the heartstrings in the chorus. Wrapping up the chorus, Woohyun pleads for his girl to come back to him. The instrumentals slightly increase in pace, making the song feel like a rock-ballad. In the bridge, Sungyeol and Sungjong share some lines before L belts out a high note. Main vocalists Sunggyu and Woohyun sing their hearts out in the final chorus. Hoya ends the song by expressing his regret.
Track 5 – True Love
“True Love” has this real old-school feel. Woohyun and Sungjong set a flat mood to begin “True Love”. The instrumentals are rather simple and carefree at first. L and Sunggyu both adopt pretty tones to end the verse. All seven members sing together about their special girl in the chorus. Hoya raps with group harmonies in the background. L and Sungyeol sing in the second verse. Woohyun delivers his lines that are well in his comfort zone, even singing a slow vocal run. Dongwoo and Hoya slay their rap section before the bridge. Sunggyu chooses to sing with less nasality in the bridge and it’s really pleasant. Woohyun chimes in with a nice mid-range belt. The duo sings adlibs in falsetto and deliver a few vocal runs towards the end. Hoya does his final rap to finish the song.
Track 6-고마워
This is a sweet ballad for the fans and one that is not heavily dominated by the main vocals. L shows his worth and sings along with a guitar to start the song. Hoya and Sungjong express their honest feelings to end the verse. Infinite harmonise together in the chorus and it sounds really heartwarming. Dongwoo sings in between harmonies and Woohyun says “Thank you”. L sweetly sings the short second verse. Hoya and Sunggyu trade beautiful lines in the following chorus. After an exhilarating guitar solo, Sungyeol gets his turn to sing. Sunggyu and Woohyun bring it home with their tear-jerking vocals. Dongwoo sings his last “Thank You”.
Track 7 – Zero
An epic instrumental plays at the start, featuring drums and an electric guitar. Sunggyu and Hoya match the catchy beat in the first verse. L gets his chance to sing a big chunk of lines before Sungjong chimes in with his first line. Woohyun goes for a strained high note just before the chorus. Sunggyu delivers his lines with a few runs and belts. Woohyun follows suit but it is Hoya and Dongwoo’s rap that steals the show. Hoya sings about the rare chance to find his special girl in the second verse. The bridge features Sungjong and Dongwoo trading lines before another strained high note by Woohyun. The main vocals wrap up the song by giving it their all.
“Infinite Only” is yet another solid mini album however it did not set the house on fire. By no means is it disappointing, as there is not a weak track on the album, but did not really eclipse previous releases. There were epic and addictive tracks such as “The Eye”, “Air” and “One Day”. The remaining ones are solid numbers but they are not tracks I would personally replay often. One major positive about the album is the variety and versatility in the tracks. One negative is some parts of the album were a bit too ambitious to fit in too many things in four minutes. Overall, Infinite has done well with this comeback because “The Eye” is truly one of their best title tracks yet.
Replayability -YELLOW
Will replay it in full, with some extra replays here and there
Cohesiveness– GREEN
Had good flow from an epic start to a mellow centre before a strong finish
Originality– GREEN
Infinite showed their signature sound on top of experimenting different genres
