INFINITE Like Infinite: In-Depth Album Review – Umbrella

1. Heat It Up // 2. Dangerous // 3. Way You Are // 4. Umbrella // 5. Sad Loop // 6. Where U R

UMBRELLA

A K-pop song that’s almost five minutes long?!? I can’t even remember the last time I saw that, but here we are with the 4:42 minute Umbrella. Some of the promo interviews around this album involved Infinite stating that they wanted to work with collaborators from their past to celebrate their fifteenth anniversary. That idea didn’t extend too far into the actual music, but this song was produced by BLSSD — one half of the duo Rphabet who composed the classics Back, Bad and Destiny.

As skilled as BLSSD is (and he’s VERY skilled), his material tends to be hit or miss for me. I appreciate the moves he makes, but they’re not always the sonic territory that appeals to me. Umbrella isn’t the type of Infinite song that appeals to me either, yet it’s probably my favorite track on this album. You’ve got to love contradictions!

Umbrella takes the now-ubiquitous chugging beat of synthwave and mutes most of the electronic elements, adding band sounds to give the track a more organic feel. One thing BLSSD excels at is providing plenty of empty space for his artists’ vocals to fill. This technique works well here. The entire song drips in atmosphere. Touches of icy strings recall Infinite’s glory days. I wish they were more pronounced, but I’m thankful they’re included at all. Umbrella‘s melodies could be stronger and stickier, but the chorus bops along nicely. Best of all, we get a full-fledged bridge and build toward the final chorus. Given its length, the song could have teased these pieces out with more drama, but beggars can’t be choosers.

Grade: B