One of the benefits of becoming a “K-pop A-Z” artist on this blog is my commitment to write about each new song released, even if it’s not a promoted single. Infinite have announced an official comeback for next March, but dropped this special digital track on Christmas as a pre-release.

I fear a future of Infinite music where every review I write can basically be summed up by “they’re my ultimate group, they have my favorite voices in K-pop, but this music is doing nothing for me.” That’s how I felt about much of their 2023 comeback album and it’s definitely what I feel about Sad Loop (볼 수 있어). Despite not being a huge fan of ballads, Infinite’s ballads are some of my favorites. That’s largely due to their vocal skill and color, but also because they’ve often found a way to bolster their ballads with melodic and structural approaches that make them feel big and exciting.

Conversely, Sad Loop just kind of limps along. The opening lines by Sungkyu made me think we were in for something quite affecting, but from here the song fails to take flight. It plays as sentiment without ambition, cycling through melodies that never match the group’s potential. On the plus side, Sungjong sounds absolutely angelic on the bridge. Otherwise, this is a total skip from a group who have no business releasing skips.

Grade: C