INFINITE made their grand return in July 2023 after a five year hiatus due to military enlistments and their departure from Woolim Entertainment. The mini-album, titled 13egin, also celebrates their 13 years career, which has definitely been fruitful over the years particularly in the 2010s. 13egin features a total of five songs, including an introductory track and the title track New Emotions. Like some other albums that I have been reviewing lately, 13egin has a fundamental issue of featuring the weakest track as its title track. Don’t get me wrong, I am glad to hear INFINITE in any form after so long (and hope that they continue to regularly release new music as a group into the future). I just think there are other songs on the mini-album that could have served as a better title.
1. Intro: 13 – This introductory track really got me excited for what is to come on the mini-album. The mysterious piano and suspenseful interwoven vibration synths leads into some groovy guitar and synth work. The strings that come into play in the latter parts of 13 throws me back to some of Infinite greatest works, which have involved strings in some way. No vocals, so no score. But damn, 13 was amazing!
2. New Emotions (Title Track) – Click here to read the full review for New Emotions. (7/10)
3. Time Difference (시차) – It seems like Time Difference is the more liked track on the album from what I can see online, and I completely agree with the public here. I really like how the track doesn’t require any powerful or dynamic elements (which is usually what I look for) to really sell the track. Instead, Time Difference features really pleasant atmospheric vibe, with its trendy synth line. I like the small additions to the song, which are well placed to maintain a consistent grooviness to the song. The members’ vocals are really well done, bringing a touch of brightness and a refreshing melody to the track, whilst all keeping aligned to that pleasantness mentioned above. (10/10)
4. I Got You – I Got You opts for a more upbeat pop number, yet the beats, string and synths elements in the instrumentation do continue the pleasantness that we heard in the previous song. The members do another amazing job in I Got You with their vocals, especially with how dreamy they made the song feel. In some cases, I liked the crispness the members themselves added to the song. Everything comes together to create a summery vibe that felt very clean and fresh. (9/10)
5. Find Me – The mini-album ends with a ballad, which gets me excited. INFINITE is one of the groups that I look to for amazing ballads. But rather going down the purely classical orchestration backing that INFINITE has done multiple times before, Find Me features some atmospheric synths and band instrumentation. However, the track does maintain the beautiful sound of the piano, which makes this track quite fulfilling. Once again, the members’ vocals are beautifully delicate and dreamier than in the last track. (9/10)