[This review reflects the opinions of the author and not necessarily those of allkpop.]

Track List:

1. INSIDE ME

2. I'm Cold

3. Fade

4. Room

5. DIVIN'

6. Climax

This INFINITE member has been AWOL for three years but is finally back to serve emotional vocals on his latest album, Inside Me. Kim Sungkyu has brought an intense display of feelings on this particular release and for those looking for an array of love songs, this may be the album for you.

Sungkyu's album begins with "Inside Me," which is primarily an instrumental that works as an introductory track. The song is melodramatic and moody in feeling with a lot of suspense until the song finally picks up with an interesting electronic element. The song is anticipatory and has well-interlaced vocals that are a nice addition. Inside Me's title track is "I'm Cold," an r&b hip hop vibe that expresses the icy feeling of being left with nothing but emptiness and sadness post-breakup. The vocals are charged and emotional, but the song wasn't my favorite in terms of vocal and instrumental balance.

"Fade" begins with a music box introduction and also is similar in song concept to "I'm Cold." However, it's much slower in progression and sound. Again, the song is about breakups and its focal point is Sungkyu's sky-high falsetto on the chorus. Sungkyu's cardinal ballad on this release, "Room," follows "Fade" and is once again about breakups. By this point, this album is starting to feel very one-dimensional, but this track does feel sad, emotional, and powerful in a simple, yet enjoyable way.

"Divin'" is suddenly very different from the songs prior. The singing style is more a mix of R&B and pop than anything and the song's overall vibe is funky due to an extremely groovy bassline. The song is retro and suddenly depicts the polar opposite from the prior breakup songs by choosing to focus on "diving" into the beginning of a new relationship.

"Climax" is a rhythmic and comforting close to the album that speaks about Sungkyu's love and passion for performance and singing. The song is sincere and heartfelt, but I wasn't a big fan of the cadence in which the lyrics are delivered. I felt the vocals to be a bit choppy as a result. Overall, the album serves a very strange array of feelings that doesn't necessarily feel cohesive, but the songs as individual units are fairly enjoyable.

MV REVIEW

Kim Sungkyu's MV for "I'm Cold" is quite literal in concept. The song depicts an empty and lonely feeling, and the music video does exactly that as well. The video's introductory shots of him in a forest are a bit Twilight-y, but it's not so campy that it's bad. The MV showcases several cinematic scenes and shows Sungkyu getting engulfed by the cold. The video is elementary and straightforward in concept, but is decently engaging to watch. The downside is that nothing really surprised me or captivated me in this MV.

MV SCORE:

MV Relevance…..7

MV Production…..7

MV Concept……..7

MV Score: 7.0

ALBUM SCORE:

Album Production…...7

Album Concept……...6

Tracklisting…………...5

Album Score: 6.0

Overall: 6.5