Infinite: Evolution 2nd Mini Album Review

Infinite's second mini album, Evolution, is part of their BTD era which is portrayed very well in the album packaging and photobook.  This concept is very dark, eerie and mysterious, which is quickly seen by the album cover.  This Infinite symbol is edgy, the black gloss on black matte, this album matches the concept well.

The back cover is in the typical format, with a group photo at the top and tracklist at the bottom. I absolutely love this photo, which is very dramatic. What lured me to buy this album was Sungjong's glowing blond hair; he looks like a saint in that pose with that ray of light, and his hair just makes it that much more amazing. His ensemble, as well as Dongwoo's red hair,also balance out the other members' black outfits and dark looks.

Despite only being Infinite's second physical album, the quality of Evolution is still very nice and comparable to their newer albums.  The plastic backing that contains the CD is opaque black, so fingerprints are visible, whereas Infinitize and New Challenge as a transparent backing.  The photobook cover isn't made of thick material, however, making it more easy to crease and damage it.

This photobook contains 30 pages. The color scheme is black, which fits the concept well but my greasy fingers keep getting prints all over the pretty pages.  The first few pages illustrates the members in pure, innocent snow that contrasts well with the dark image.  I love how overall there is a dark tone, yet there are innocent pieces to counteract the darkness, such as L's furry top, Sungjong's platinum blond hair, and the calm snow in the background.

These pages also display definitions of the meaning of 'infinite' in the margins.  The type is small and with some pages it blends into the white background, so it's a bit hard to read.  Not that I bought this album to learn the meaning of 'infinite,' so I'm not complaining.

The next set contains a member profile that gives their name, position and birth date in a weird order.  The 6 digits are day/month/year, but within each unit, the digits are reversed.  For example, Hoya's birth date is March 26, 1991, and his number is 823019.  To my surprise, it only took about a minute to figure this out, and I was so proud of myself!  These are also the same digits in the Infinitize photobook.  When I first looked at my Infinitize album, I never bothered to figure out the significance of these digits, probably because I thought they were some company ID or something.

Anyways, the last section of the photobook contains lyrics and group photos.  Sadly Woohyun is bounded in the margin in this photo.  Overall, this is a gorgeous photobook that displays a darker, more dramatic side of Infinite.

Now on to the tracklist!  This album has six tracks.  I'll give my brief opinion for each track.

1. 'Intro (Evolution)' is a great lead-in song that has elements from the main track, 'BTD.'
2. 'Before the Dawn (BTD)' is the main track.  It begins with a fast and dramatic sound, and continues with this concept.  The dance to this is also amazing, especially the 'scorpion dance,' which really shows Infinite's dancing skills.
3. 'CAN U SMILE' is the original version of my most favorite Infinite song, 'Can You Smile (Remake)'.  This version has a faster pace that showcases the instrumentals more than the remake version, which illustrates Infinite's singing abilities.
4. 'Hysterie' fits  very well with this album's concept.  Like Sunggyu said, all of their songs could have been the main tracks, and he felt this song especially had that potential.  (I've read so many Infinite articles that I don't remember where I got this from, or else I would have sited it).
5. 'Voice of My Heart' is a beautiful ballad that adds balance to the tracklist.  It's very soothing, contrasting the dramatic sounds of the other songs.
6. 'I Don't Know' leaves a lasting impression as the last song on this album.  The song starts out with repeated and dramatic '몰라' (mol-la) that stays imprinted in my mind.

Overall, I love this album, the photobook and the entire tracklist!  There is no one song that I avoid, rather I can never choose which song to play first because they're all so good.  All the songs do have a similar sound, but they are still all unique yet fit well with the overall concept.