Review

Song Review: FINITE – (≥*≤)

Posted on by 60 Comments

FiniteIt’s been an underwhelming year for debuts. I get the sense the Okay-pop industry has pulled their punches in anticipation of a major hit reshaping current trends. As we move into April, that hit may have finally arrived. On the heels of a mysterious Twitter announcement two months ago, Okay-pop provocateur Finite has finally made his long-awaited solo debut. (≥*≤) arrives with an unpronounceable fury, and fans’ loyalty has been rewarded.

With a beat reminiscent of The Neptunes’ early-00’s classics, Finite has tied the sample of a bleating goat to herky jerky synth rhythms. Goats are well-known to flock to trash – a reference that highlights (≥*≤)’s anti-consumerism message. It also supports his “Stuff Yourself” campaign, which has been adopted by many as a rallying cry. Fans are often seen waving their fry-bongs at concerts. With (≥*≤)’s steady repetition of fast food menu items, the track offers plenty of ammunition for their cause — paradoxical as it may be.

For this track, Finite has pitched his vocals into a chirpy mix. This approach demands deep listening if you want to catch all the lyrics. For example, the repeated tagline “Finite here, to show my griddle’s hot” is a clever play on (≥*≤)’s fast food theme. Incidentally, the letters in “griddle” can be scrambled to spell “girdled,” which hints at Finite’s unique stage attire during his solo performances. What follows is best described as a string of nonsense, though a defiant “yabba dabba doo” concludes this short verse with aplomb. I trust the choreography will further highlight the nuances in Finite’s delivery.

Surprisingly, (≥*≤) sheds its lockstep approach mid-way through and offers a contrasting tap dance breakdown. I’m not sure what Finite’s intention could be, but it matches Okay-pop’s current trend of randomly fusing two or more incongruous songs together.

At just over ninety seconds, (≥*≤) is perfectly designed for our streaming age. Finite is clearly banking on a robust digital presence, forgoing the expected mini album in favor of this quick, impactful single. And, the song’s hypnotic, looping quality rewards repeat listens. Without a distinct beginning or end, it plays as an incantation, placing listeners in a trance-like state.

(≥*≤) takes on a sinister tone as the menu items are repeated backwards during its climactic refrain. The song itself is structured almost as a palindrome, illustrating Finite’s concept of “Meverse” – a spiraling pocket dimension in which the artist is forced to relive his own vices in an unending loop. According to his agency’s press release, the NFT photocards from this digital album will unlock a code to decipher the Meverse and help Finite escape. A fan celebration/worship circle has already been announced for those devoted enough to collect all forty-six cards. Catering will be provided by McDonalds.

Hooks 10
 Production 10
 Longevity 10
 Bias 10
 RATING 10


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Happy April Fool’s Day!! (or 만우절 in Korea!)

60 thoughts on “Song Review: FINITE – (≥*≤)”

      • I was drudging through composing a comment for the monthly round up when you posted this, remembering the times when I tried to convince you that not all was lost in the face of brilliance like Vamos and Flex, but feeling pretty grim about the last 3 months of releases. But it’s encouraging to pop back into the comments a few hours later and see that you seem to be in rare form, so I’m going to pack up my grumpy pants and trust that brilliance like U Mad or No Diggity is just around the corner.

        Liked by 2 people

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      • Okay fine, brilliance that we can both appreciate like Favorite Boys or Miroh would be fine, too. And actually, there was a release just in the last couple of days that reminded me why I love kpop (or kpop adjacent) but you didn’t cover it here! Alas. I can only hope that it flew under your radar and I will alert you to its existence and it will make you even a quarter as happy as it made me.

        Liked by 2 people

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  5. I usually look @ scores before I read anything, so I seriously dropped what I was holding when I saw that you gave this a ten. Looking at scores first is something that I will not again be doing.

    Liked by 2 people

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  8. omg this is the greatest kpoop song i’ve ever listened to its so much better than the trash known as the chaser 🥺🥰😩😍

    nick oppar will you make more of these and collab with jypapi pls 😍🥰🤩😎🤪

    Liked by 1 person

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  11. I’ve been listening to music for around 12 years now, but never in my life have I come across something so perfect. It was love at first sight. The aggressive synth bass hits and the thumping kick beat had my heart racing from the beginning. But I knew, once the ‘ooooowahhhhhh’ vocals came in at 0:30, that this was the song of the century. Thank you so much for sharing this with us. Sorry ‘Miroh’, I have a new favourite song!

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  12. I’ve seen you appreciating songs like The Chaser, Rising Sun, Crooked, etc. To me, those songs are meh. I haven’t been blown away by any song until today. I have to say, Finite came through with one of the best songs I’ve heard in a while. I think it surpasses the quality of songs like Cravity’s My Turn and Blackpink’s Ice Cream, and I love those songs to death! But this exceeds expectations. I definitely have a new song to stream. I need to let more people know about this masterpiece. Not only are the instrumental and vocal awesome, but the lyrics are deep. I can feel the hard work this artist went through, so streaming this would reward Finite the favor of being the top artist out there. This is a production that Key’s Bad Love should’ve gone for.

    Liked by 1 person

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  17. *I accidentally sent this as an reply to a random comment. I aologize, I’m just gonna post it again since I don’t know how to delete the other one*

    Damn, I’m kinda mad at myself. I always skip the review and listen to/watch the music video before reading it. I always try to avoid seeing the tags, however I saw text that didn’t seem like a tag so I read it! I’m so disappointed I didn’t get the full experience of the prank.

    Also, weirdly I’m into this track. I’ve listened to it more times than I have the singles that have come out recently

    Liked by 2 people

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      • A bunch of AI-created websites routinely copy my posts and change random words so that they can bypass google’s filter. “K-pop” always becomes “Okay-pop.”

        Their latest stolen post is titled “The Prime Three Okay-Pop Songs of March 2022,” which honestly sounds like something from another planet…

        If they steal this FINITE post, my job will be done. We will have reached peak irony.

        Liked by 3 people

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