After months of delays and one departure, Infinite have made their long-awaited return with their third full length, “Top Seed” alongside their emotional-electro track, “Tell Me.” As expected, the gentlemen of Woollim pull out all the stops in terms of vocal and their infamous synchronised performance but just like their previous videos, they are showcasing their acting side more and more. Just like their last promotion, Infinite bring a mix of emotion and aesthetic. From the rough supernatural universe of “The Eye” to now, it appears to be a sweet transition that brings together a wonderland now broken by memories and heartache.
Throughout the course of the video, all six members are recovering from the loss of a loved one. Some fans may suspect this to be in reflection of Hoya’s departure from the company in 2017 but glancing through the translation of the song itself, it appears to be an ethereal representation of its story of regret and the self blame placed after a break up. The song overall speaks of actions that one has done or perhaps failed to do. In this case, this may be a variety of reasons; turning their back when needed the most and now they are faced with the longing of running back to them and return to the relationship when faced with the memory.
Linking with the line; “I’m in another typical drama”, some of the scenes do act out like classic Korean drama scenes; particularly with L & Woohyun’s solo appearances scattered within the end of the video. L’s break up with the female lead plays out like a delayed memory as it appears as they argue and ultimately leads to him walking out on her. On the other hand, Woohyun is living in the urgency to find his love again, chasing her own in appears to be a snow covered scene as he appears to beg for her return.
These scenes are the most obvious but when looking at the other members and how they would apply, they still play along this image of regret. Through the majority of the members, they appear in what appears to be a never-ending path; Sungkyu stepping out into a maze of doorways, L walking into the same memory multiple times and Sungjong wondering down a hallway before the door is slammed on him by the female lead. Repetition appears to be a constant feeling of loss; replaying the same happy thought or being in the mindset of one bad thing after another. Both of these can lead to a feeling of being lost; trapped in either happiness or sadness and being unable to let go of that due to the strong connection behind it.
On the other side, regret plays a part in not just how we feel about the relationship but how we feel about ourselves in the aftermath. What was interesting about this being played out was Dongwoo’s scenes. Standing in the middle of a neon frame, the female lead circles around him on a bicycle. What may appear to be just an eccentric scene for the sake of it being Infinite may actually be more than a regular viewer think but again, we need to look into the lyrics themselves; lines that include “I ran away, I’m getting used to it”, “I messed everything up” or “I know I’m so selfish”. The person speaking these words know that they were the cause of the departure, maybe due to their own bravado or how they acted within the relationship. With the girl circling Dongwoo, he is actually boxed in and fully exposed, possibly showing that the barriers that cause the separation has broken down and they are now surrounded by the damage caused.
As with every Infinite music video, they are known for their precise and strong performance which never seems to fail when littered throughout the video. It is to be expected from the group with such a wide variety of concepts under their belt. However, watching the video it is obvious that it is trademarked as an Infinite production. Despite this, it is interesting to see that they are bringing their song to life and not simply relying on their performance. In terms of story-telling, they have truly evolved from relying on only striking aesthetic and in fact using it to their advantage. We are only in the first month of 2018 but if Infinite are one of the many artists setting the bar, then we are definitely in for an interesting year of Music Video Breakdowns.
If you are yet to check out Infinite’s comeback in full, their third album “Top Seed” is available to download on iTunes and to stream on Spotify.
