Infinite’s long-awaited comeback resulted in the title track Tell Me, which divided opinion on this site and others. It’s taken from the group’s third full-length album, Top Seed, and kicks off a string of ten other newly released songs. Just like with 2016’s Infinite Only, I’m here to offer my thoughts on every single one of them. Check back each day for several mini-reviews, and be sure to take a look at my sprawling K-Pop A-Z page for thoughts on the group’s entire catalog.
1. Begin // 2. Tell Me // 3. Synchronise // 4. No More // 5. TGIF (Dongwoo solo) // 6. Pray // 7. Why Me // 8. Wind // 9. I Hate // 10. Reminisce (L solo) // 11. Love Song (Sungjong solo) // 12. Begin Again
LOVE SONG (Sungjong solo)
This may seem like a left-field comparison, but I’ve always regarded Sungjong’s airy vocals in a similar way to my favorite artist of all time, Janet Jackson. Both have beautiful tones, but by their very nature aren’t what you would consider powerful. The difference is, I still don’t think Sungjong has come to terms with how to use his voice yet. Given that Love Song is his first solo in seven years, that’s not at all surprising. He really hasn’t even had the chance to explore the depths of his artistry. I would love to see him fully embrace the inherent androgyny of his tone and deliver a boundary-pushing dance track. Instead, we get the pleasant coffee shop pop of Love Song. It convincingly proves his capability to front a solo track (particularly when those honeyed vocals are beautifully layered), but the song doesn’t give him a chance to display any sense of personality. It’s pretty darn generic.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 7 |
| Longevity | 7 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.25 |
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-0aDQDwJOM
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I think it was a great start for Sungjong and I really enjoyed this piece. I agree it was more than likely designed to be played in a coffee shop although I would not personally go as far to describe it as generic.
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My. Thoughts. Exactly. Granted, we don’t know how much of a say Sungjong has in what his solo tracks sound like. I’ve already stated what I like about Sungjong’s voice: unique, gorgeous tone, no real power, no real technique. Seriously, it’s an advantage if you play it right. Having a pretty, breathy voice but the inability to rely on power notes and runs gives several options to the songwriter. One is to make something rather nondescript like this song. The other is to actually write something really, really musically impressive with a clear and concise melody to make up for it. I’d be happy with a melancholy Sungjong ballad. But, even more, and just as you said, I feel like he would absolutely KILL a sexy dance track. Remember when he owned that cover stage of “Adult Ceremony” while wearing a dress of all things? Yeah. More please.
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