First Take: INFINITE's Paradise

Two months ago the boys of INFINITE released their first full album, Over the Top with the lead single, "Be Mine". Now they are back with a repackaged album and a brand new track, "Paradise". Say yay!

I have to say that INFINITE is on a serious roll. They won two awards and gained so much popularity in the past couple months. Also, they gained recognition from fans and musicians alike being the awesome people they are.As a fan, I am proud. So freakin' proud.

Now the music. The first impression when I heard the song: 80s electropop. It seems like INFINITE is really going for the retro sound resurrection movement. I was almost expecting the boys to be wearing flared jeans and aviator sunglasses and mullets. A lot of their songs, "Come Back Again", "Be Mine", and others, have a retro feel or retro inspired. But it's all for the best. I don't like how so many groups have some sort of identity crisis, changing their concepts and so on every other month. Even though INFINITE doesn't have the similar shades of concepts for every song, we can trace back the roots of their sounds to one similar genre and their own sound. This is really promising in a world that's quick to change, having something consistent to hold on to is a good feeling.

Vocally, they are good. I have to admit INFINITE isn't doesn't have the best voices overall in K-pop, but they have progress. Case in point: members L and Hoya have now become vocalists with a considerable amount of lines in this song. Should I mention again that Hoya is singing? Yes, he used to be in the rapper line but now he sings! This guy is super awesome and seems to be able to do everything. So jealous. The main vocalists, Sunggyu and Woohyun, are as awesome as ever. But my bias is showing through in that I wish Sunggyu would've sang more like the good ol' days. Whatever. I shall wait until the day this man releases a full solo album.

The music video isn't really all that special, if you ask me. It is a little different than their previous MVs in that this one doesn't feature their signature dancing. I was a little disappointed but listening to the song, it's not really one you can dance to. Maybe slow dance or whatever, but definitely not INFINITE style, rough and tough and sexy dancing. It's also good that the video actually has a storyline which is always welcomed in my book. The storyline isn't as distinct or memorable as, say,Bang Yong-guk's "I Remember", which I loved, but it has an understandable storyline unlike many, many other K-pop MVs. Oh, and should I say that the boys look so fine in their suits? Except for maybe the questionable mohawk or whatever hairstyles that some of them are sporting.

I have a feeling the boys won't do a live stage for this song, or at least in music shows. They're currently putting all their focus on their impending Japanese debut. Why are so many artists crossing over to the land of the sun? That will be for another article. But until then, let's hope the best for the boys.