Infinity (AJR EP)

Infinity
EP by
ReleasedSeptember 23, 2014 (2014-09-23)
Genre
Length18:12
Label
  • AJR Productions
  • WMG
ProducerRyan Met
AJR chronology
6foot1
(2013)
Infinity
(2014)
Living Room
(2015)
Singles from Infinity
  1. "Infinity"
    Released: September 11, 2014

Infinity is the third extended play by American indie pop band AJR, published through Warner Music Group and the band's label AJR Productions. It was released on September 23, 2014, to accommodate the delay of the band's debut studio album, Living Room (2015). The EP produced the sole single "Infinity", which received praise from critics and commercial success. The song would later be included on their debut album alongside "Pitchfork Kids".

Background and promotion

Following the commercial success of AJR's 2013 extended play 6foot1, the band signed with Warner Music Group to release an album.[2] Living Room was scheduled for release on September 30, 2014, but was pushed back due to unfinished production on August 15 to an expected release of February 2015. Alongside this, Infinity was announced as an EP to follow 6foot1 and precede the album.[3] "Infinity" was released as the EP's sole single on September 11, 2014.[4] Infinity released on September 23, 2014, with the band additionally announcing the Infinity Tour, a 10-date tour across the eastern United States.[5]

Content

"Infinity"

"Infinity" is an upbeat pop song,[6] with string and acoustic-focused instrumentation and vocals led by all three brothers.[7] The song was described by Idolator as "a stripped-back, folk-tinged pop song with a powerful sing-a-long chorus".[1] "Infinity" was initially released on YouTube in 2013 before its proper release with updated production.[8] The song was picked as a single to contrast their previous single "I'm Ready", with band member Adam Met stating "we didn't want something that sounded exactly the same, and we didn't want to, kind of, pigeonhole ourselves into just doing that very specific kind of music" in an interview with Niagra Frontier Publications.[9]

Alongside its release on September 11, 2014, AJR published a lyric video for the song,[4] featuring stills of the band floating in the air with lyrics appearing on top of the images.[10] A music video for "Infinity" was released on January 14, 2015.[11] The video cuts between the band performing the song in a solid white room and illustrations of positive and negative relationship aspects.[12] The animation for the video was done by filming the scenes in-person and tracing over certain aspects of it.[13] "Infinity" was additionally performed on Today on May 19, 2015.[14] The song was included as the second track of the band's debut album Living Room (2015).[7]

Other songs

"Alice by the Hudson" is a downtempo waltz song, with vocals provided by each member in barbershop style.[8] The song's post-choruses electronically manipulate and cut up the vocals,[15] which the band refers to with the term "spokestep".[16] "Pitchfork Kids" is an uptempo electropop song, with heavy percussion and production.[8] This is accompanied by hip-hop influence in instrument choice and further use of "spokestep". "Pitchfork Kids" was included as the sixth track of Living Room (2015),[7] while also being a fan-favorite of the EP and album. "3AM" is a soft love song, additionally featuring whistling,[8] ukulele, and light piano. "I'm Ready - Remix by AJR" is a dance remix of the band's debut single, "I'm Ready",[15] changing the tempo of various sections and adding percussion.[8]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Ryan Met, Jack Met, and Adam Met

Infinity (EP) track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Infinity"3:59
2."Alice by the Hudson"3:37
3."Pitchfork Kids"3:32
4."3AM"3:45
5."I'm Ready - Remix by AJR"3:19
Total length:18:12

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.[17]

  • Adam Met – bass guitar, backing vocals, writing
  • Jack Met – lead vocals, writing
  • Ryan Met – lead vocals, production, mixing (all tracks), writing (1-4), arranger (5)
  • Chris Gehringermastering engineer (1-3)

Charts

Weekly chart performance for Infinity (EP)
Chart (2014) Peak
position
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[18] 36

References

  1. ^ a b Niagara Frontier (January 8, 2015). "Emerging indie-pop group AJR set to release full-length debut album 'Living Room' March 3". Niagara Frontier Publications. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  2. ^ Mochizuki, Hitomi (November 13, 2014). "10 Things You Need To Know About AJR". The Pitch. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  3. ^ Wippsson, Johan (August 15, 2014). "AJR Move Release Of Debut Album "Living Room" To Feb. 2015". Melodic Net. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Wass, Mike (September 11, 2014). "AJR Return With Nostalgic New Single "Infinity": Watch The DIY Lyric Video (Idolator Premiere)". Idolator. Archived from the original on December 19, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  5. ^ Digital Tour Bus (September 23, 2014). "AJR Announce "The Infinity Tour" For The Fall". Digital Tour Bus. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  6. ^ Baker, Elizabeth (March 5, 2015). "Critical Voices: AJR, Living Room". George Town Voice. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  7. ^ a b c Duff, Chelsea (February 1, 2016). "AJR's new album Living Room will have you dancing all around the house". GirlsLife. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  8. ^ a b c d e Curto, Justin (September 24, 2014). "The Music Man: EP review: "Infinity EP" by AJR". Mill Valley News. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  9. ^ Maloni, Joshua (October 29, 2014). "Interview: AJR is A-mazing". Niagra Frontier Publications. Archived from the original on October 26, 2023. Retrieved October 26, 2023.
  10. ^ Veronica (October 18, 2014). "AJR's Powerful Infinity Lyric Video!". Sweety High. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  11. ^ Whitmore, Laura (January 14, 2015). "AJR Premiere New Video for Their Single "Infinity"". Guitar World. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  12. ^ Szubiak, Ali (January 14, 2015). "AJR Debut 'Infinity' Music Video". PopCrush. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  13. ^ McGahan, Michelle (February 5, 2015). "Go Behind the Scenes of AJR's 'Infinity' Video". PopCrush. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  14. ^ Today (May 19, 2015). "AJR performs 'Infinity' in Studio 1A". Today. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  15. ^ a b Veronica (September 24, 2014). "Infinity is AJR's New EP!". Sweety High. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  16. ^ Fuse (July 31, 2014). "AJR Went from Street Performing to Creating Their Own Genre". Fuse. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  17. ^ "Credits / Infinity - EP / AJR - TIDAL". TIDAL. July 22, 2014. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  18. ^ "AJR Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 23, 2024.