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10/10 Song Review: Infinite - Last Romeo
Infinite have produced a fair share of classics, and I think their best material remained under-appreciated until international critics finally realized that K-Pop deserves a look into. I am so happy 'The Chaser' is finally acknowledged as one of the best songs ever, now I am hoping the same happens to 'Last Romeo'. Last Romeo was their last title track with production team Sweetune. And while I see that more people love its (excellent) follow-up 'Back', I think Last Romeo might be one of the best songs of 2014 outright, and of all time too.
These days it feels every track shamelessly borrows something 80s and does nothing new with it. If groups want to go retro, this is how. Last Romeo takes 80s bombast, but feels unique, it feels defined only by itself. It feels inspired by Infinite's previous singles, not defined by it.
The opening moments of the song is one of the greatest openings, ever. The good old live band drums start, followed by the brass and guitar, it feels simple yet effective and over the top. Along with the second half of the Chaser, probably my favorite Infinite discography moment. Sungkyu's ad-libbing helps too. It is short yet sweet, and the rest of the song fulfills this opening promise.
The first verse starts right afterwards. Rather than continue the bombast, the production simplifies itself to a guitar with a back beat. Sungkyu in particular works great with this section. Right afterwards, the drums return with occasional brass support. The guitar effect fades slightly, creating a feel of memories lost. Woohyun and L's vocals contrast well. This is followed by the chorus.
The chorus hits hard. Brass and drums dominate with piano and guitar support. The vocals here are confident yet melancholy, letting the chorus explode in its full strength. The chorus culminates with the vocals fading to just one voice while the brass explodes, perfectly fitting the feel of the song.
Normally second verse raps in K-Pop decrease the tempo and cut the flow. But this song is produced by Sweetune, and although they are not my favorite K-Pop production team, they mastered the second verse rap. The brass continues its intensity and Dongwoo pauses mid-way through so that a line of the chorus gets recited. Performed with utter conviction, this is probably my favorite moment of the song following the intro.
After this, another verse and chorus play with the same structure, just performed even better. Afterwards, everything but the drums and vocals fade. This time, the vocals plead (and I know it is cheesy, but the lyrics fit with the song) and stretch, it works surprisingly well.
Right afterwards, everything but the backing track and vocals fade, and I think anyone who has read a good novel knows what happens right after the quiet. Rather than exploding back up the tempo and production in a moment, the song slowly increases the instruments in use, that does not mean to say the song does not have an explosion. Violins, drums and tempo build up right at the end of L's line and boy is it gorgeous.
The chorus arrives once again, thrice as strong, with violins aiding the quest. This is the moment in the song where you realize "Wow, for a song that basically copies lyrics and concept from 'Never Gonna Give You Up', the production is powerful". I do not know any other Infinite song so lodged in production. After the members ad-lib a bit, Hoya raps the song to its epic conclusion.
One of the many songs that is much stronger as a whole compared to the sum of its pieces, Infinite's 'Last Romeo' is how you tribute the 80s and your own discography while creating something entirely new.
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