Man, if drums were the star of the "Sober" instrumental, the strings here are amazing. When those opening measures started up you knew this was going to be a good song (otherwise it'd be so disappointing). It appears to be a recurring theme that a star song has just as powerful an instrumental to drive the vocals behind it: 9MUSES' "Wild," EXO's "Love Me Right," etc. While a suboptimal instrumental can be detrimental: AOA's "Like A Cat," Juniel's "Pretty Boy," etc.
This is a dance number after all. Despite that, the vocals of Sunggyu and Woohyun continue to be utilized well. They're always impressing and it's nice to see that Woollim can still combine both aspects rather flawlessly. L really surprised me with the jump in vocal ability from the last time around. He honestly might be able to overtake Hoya soon. Either way, it's really nice to see that progression out of the team visual. I'm not a fan of the sudden drop this time either (like with Big Bang's "Sober") but I'll forgive this time since it's very short and cuts right to some nice adlibs from Woohyun. Seriously I don't think Woohyun was ever underrated per se but in a sea of performance-oriented (boy) groups Woohyun has a sizable lead over other vocalists, even when compared to Sunggyu.
Dongwoo has had good raps before but his rap here leaves much to be desired. The low voice is good, but the speed of the rap is too slow and just sounds awkward compared to the impact vocals elsewhere in the song. At least it's short, and they didn't have multiple poor rap segments, as previous songs like "The Chaser" and "Last Romeo" have used both Dongwoo and Hoya as rappers before. This inclusion along with Sungjong and Sungyeol's...less-than-optimal pairing make that center of the song the weakest part of "Bad," but thankfully Woohyun swoops in to help recover and Sunggyu brings us back to goodness in the verse.
While it may be summer, Infinite are going for a Halloween theme. There's creepy symbolism everywhere and the sets aren't the usual fancy box sets. Cracked mirrors, sudden hands, evil dogs, etc. Honestly I'm so faint of heart that I wasn't really able to stomach multiple views. Apparently there's like a 360 version of the MV which lets you control the camera / angles? That's pretty neat and I'm sure the fangirls deeply appreciate this chance. Even still neither MV showcases the choreography that well which is a shame because Infinite always brings exciting dances to the table and this is no exception. I think what I like most about the dance is that it keeps pace with the vocals: slow when the singing is slow, fast when the chorus kicks in. There really isn't a dull moment in this choreography, though I'll admit having Woohyun awkwardly belting out notes in the center during final chorus is a little strange. Nonetheless, excellent showing again.
"Bad" makes a breakthrough from the other boy group releases this year. It's fast, exciting, has a badass instrumental and excellent vocals from Woohyun and Sunggyu. The rapping is certainly the song's Achilles' heel and had that been better I think the song could've been perfect. Infinite's trademark choreography combined with some interesting MV aesthetics make for a damn good release out of "Bad."
[ Overall: 94 / 100 ]
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