written by: rickyom
The first sub-unit debut of January and of the year comes from duo Infinite-H. Originating from boy-band Infinite, this sub-unit (consisting of Hoya and Dongwoo) aims to give listeners a different attitude and sound in the form of Hip-Hop – a sound very different from that of their origins.
-
The EP opens up in a full hip-hop manner with “Victorious Way.” The whole track is very monotonous, leaving too little to enjoy. The scratching makes up about 1/4 of the song and becomes tedious. Seeing as there is no real chorus, this song could be seen as an intro, but seems too long to be. Luckily, things start to pick up once the mini-album hits the next track and title song “Special Girl.” Hoya’s rap verses are soft while Dongwoo’s are a little edgier, which is a very nice combo for this sub-unit. But there are some snags, like when the song hits the chorus. It’s almost like you’re jogging and all of a sudden hit a pothole. The chorus is the song’s weak point, but the more you listen to it the less noticeable that pothole is.
-
Now, where “Victorious Way” was lackluster and “Special Girl” wasn’t, “니가 없을 때” lies somewhere in between the two. The chorus practically saves the song, but the verses are its misgivings. Hopefully they thanked guest singer Zion.T, who adds much needed oomph to this one. “못해” is another round of monotony.
“Fly High” is the only pride I have in listening to this sub-unit. Providing an uplifting message in a fun, yet corny fashion, this song wins big for me.
==
If there is something to take away from this, it’s that sub-units should be carefully picked. Sure, Hoya and Dongwoo rap in their representative group, but it’s different when you’ve been separated from the herd; there should be a variety, and Infinite-H doesn’t quite bring enough yin and yang as a duo. If a main vocalist was in this sub-unit, it definitely would’ve been a lot more interesting a mix.
To wrap it up, most of the songs on ‘Fly High‘ are laid-back, which as a whole isn’t a bad thing, but can be pretty tiring if you listen to it all at once.
==
Scorecard
| Victorious Way |
0
|
|
| Special Girl |
.75
|
Points scale 0 – could do without 0.5 – mediocre/filler 0.75 – pretty good/grew on me 1 – liked immediately |
| 니가 없을 때 |
.5
|
|
| 못해 |
.5
|
|
| Fly High |
1
|
|
| Total Points |
2.75
|
Points to stars conversion: [(2.75/5) x 5] + 0.25*
3/5
-
*there is a 0.25 bonus for every album. The logic is that, if every song were “pretty good”, it’s a 4-star album.
Want more? Follow and like McRoth’s Residence on Twitter and Facebook!
McRoth's Residence is a fun blog with quick access to everything McRoth and his friends enjoy. From their fascination for Korean media to their full-fledged reviews on the latest Korean pop music - they'll make sure the hospitality is badass and the content awesome. So, kick back, take a sip of your tea and enjoy your stay.
I don’t know, I kind of liked it (except Victorious Way and I Can’t Tell You) but it wasn’t amazing like everyone else was saying. I have to say, I have a soft spot for Zion.T’s voice, lol. Also, it is funny that the song See Trough (by Primary) (glorious song btw) has Zion.T, Gaeko and Primary, who are all featured on this EP?
yea, at some point it did feel like an ‘amoeba culture feat. Infinite H’ album. That’s expected given the involvement of so many outstanding artists of course, but I just hoped that the duo could shine more and up their ante here. It’s an interesting first attempt outside of the group, but instead of emphasizing their individual skills/talents, it revealed their weaknesses as pretty bland rappers as far as execution of the rap verses are concerned. I don’t need them to be great rappers at this point, but definitely expected a better performance from their independent venture.
I agree. Victorious Way wasn’t very impressive…
I never thought of them as amazing rappers, even within the group, so this project felt a bit out of reach for me. The songs are okay, but placing these two idols next to actually great rappers was a risk that backfired.
Definitely a mini about the features.
I agree. I was actually more impressed by the features than Hoya and Dongwoo…
Honestly the best part of this album for me was Primary, Zion.T and Gaeko. It’s a shame that the actual subunit weren’t really that great, but they picked some great artists to collaborate with which made the album pretty enjoyable on the whole (except for Victorious Way). Also, I really enjoyed the chorus of Special Girl.
Agreed.
I felt it was Dongwoo and Hoya, especially Hoya that brought this venture down. Hoya felt so non-existent that I started anticipating Dongwoo’s verses. I will definitely revisit some songs, but it seems more for the features and production, rather than the duo.