The seeds to Infinite's fourth album were already being planted before the release of their third. 'Salt', the single released several months in advance to Insomnia, gave some fans a further look into the future than they were initially aware; while the actual song 'Salt' was the typical type of experimental music that was found on the majority of the then-upcoming album, it's B-Side 'Breaking Circles' was something else entirely. With previous albums, Infinite had delved several times into the lyrical themes of stardom and egotism on lone tracks, such as Blue Nebula's 'Black-Eyed Angels' and Midnight Skies' 'How to Disturb and Alienate Others'. 'Breaking Circles' fits right in with this pantheon. Not even Infinite realized that this track pointed the way towards an entirely new concept for the band; an entire album focusing on megalomania. While previous works in the band's canon have focused on external conflicts, with the lyrics focusing on the problems of the outside world, this time, all the narrator's problems are due to his own errors and faults.

This concept fell into Eric Quillington's head during the promotional period for Insomnia. The album had brought an unexpected level of fame and acclaim upon a band who, before it's release, had already been a moderately successful act, with a number one single to their name, no less. However, this period of their career completely eclipsed all that came before, as the band rose to such heights that Quillington seemed like a possible candidate for 'spokesperson of a generation'. Now forced, like so many before him, into the desirable position of a nation-wide icon, his knee-jerk reaction was a widely different public persona. Once a so-called 'anti-rocker' who was most known for his serious and poetic disposition, which was largely representative of Infinite's music as a whole, the levels of fame bestowed upon him brought out a more eccentric and unrestrained side. Although these quirks have cooled slightly recently, as the singer now seems much more in control of his life and the celebrity aspects of it, this period of time saw him almost completely destroy the band's image through drunken tirades both onstage (such as the 'Field Day Festival) and off. Success brought out similar, radical changes in his bandmates as well. Perhaps the least affected was Matt Roberts, who had always been one the reserved and relaxed member of Infinite. Greg Oldson, meanwhile, completely withdrew from the band, and maintained no contact with Quillington and Matt, except for when the three met during studio recordings and live gigs. Similar to what has happened to bands such as Pink Floyd, relationships between the group members disintegrated as fame became an ever-stronger part of their existence.

Although he's one of the few celebrities willing to admit his love of fame and celebrity, this period of time forced Quillington to see the downsides of the new world he now found himself in. The aspect that drew his attention the most was the self-admitted snobbery and arrogance developed by those bestowed with this lifestyle. In his own words, 'It's not like us celebrities can be dicks to one-another, right? I mean, that would ruin this whole fucking system. So you learn to use this almost passive-aggressive way of speaking when in the presence of another musician or actor that you don't like. Take Greg and I, for example; we loathe each other, but we have to be nice during interviews. Even if you want the fucker dead, you still care whether or not he likes you, because he's a celebrity. Even if you think all the problems in your life are their fault, you still want to look civilized for the outside world.' This passive-aggressive attitude became the basis for Dancing About Architecture.



The very first song to be written for the album was written the night of the Wembley concert, after the band had stepped off the legendary venue's stage. 'Reality is the Dream', as it was called at that point, had no musical accompaniment at that point, but even then Eric Quillington knew that it's lyrics would fit well as one of the closing numbers on a new album. Although not evident on that particular track, Quillington had become highly inspired by the crowd of 300,000 singing, with great passion and emotion in their voices, lyrics that were meant to be cynical and emotionless. With these ideas in mind, Infinite decided that music on the new album would share a similar contrast; distorted, angry melodies accompanying melancholy and revealing lyrics.

Initial attempts to cement this new concept into a musical foundation was fruitless and difficult for the band. Not only due to the difficulty of building on such an elusive idea, but because the newly found straightforwardness to Quillington's lyrics were a drastic shock for Matt Roberts and Greg Oldson, who had become accustomed to developing music around more avant-garde material. Perhaps out of frustration of the band's musical inertia, Quillington eventually developed several aggressive guitar riffs, ones that would make up 'Grinning like a Jackal' and 'Synesthesia'. These were something new and exciting for Infinite, which inspired the band to continue in this new direction.

While the first batch of songs (3 new tracks, and 2 re-workings of old B-Sides) on this album were self-produced by the band, the trio looked for an outside source to step in the role of producer for the rest. In the end, there couldn't have been a more fitting choice than Ryan Ross Hernandez, as Infinite wanted a softer, more balladic style for this half of the album, something that RRH used frequently in his own work. The song-cycle is perhaps the most intricate out of any Infinite album; the shift between the heavy, aggressive first half to the calmer second isn't abrupt or, as the band worked for a slow and gradual development. In a similar characteristic to the album, Quillington's original concepts of fame and celebrity slowly shifted towards a broader topic about admitting to your own faults, largely because he didn't want to make a record that shares similarities with over a thousand others. For something that wasn't meant to be so, Dancing about Architecture sounds a hell of a lot like a concept album.

Edited by user 30 September 2011 23:25:14(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Of course. Because you ditched me for Big Brother. Not that I'm the jealous type, though.

-Eric Quillington

OOC: If I could thank someone for.. thanking a post, I would. This took me forever to write out, haha.

Interestingly, for a man who prides himself on lyrical quality, Eric Quillington has never been too keen on talking about his own feelings. On the contrary, he's often mocked the so-called 'emo-bands' who use angst, love, and depression as focal lyrical points. The reason for this is relatively simple; although he'll never admit it, he has always striven to be a highly unique individual. His methods of achieving this goal are to delve into lyrical concepts not typically used, in order to avoid what's been written about thousands of times in the past. These ideas are the basis for the first track on Dancing about Architecture.

Eric Quillington has also never been much of a guitar hero. Throughout the entirety of his career, he has kept an admittedly simple style of guitar-playing, putting most of his focus on the lyrical side of music, rather than the melodies. Insomnia, the band's third album, took this side of him to the logical extreme. The lyrics took center stage, and took on a much more stream of consciousness approach; there were precious few anthemic choruses, with a repeated line often acting as a refrain instead.Various aspects of the way he wrote lyrics at that point have made it to the present; there are very few choruses, as the preferred structure instead has several verses building up to a one or two line climax. While the lyrical structure between the two albums bare similarities, the subject matter and guitar styles are something else entirely. The sheer arrogance expressed in several of these tracks is echoed by the new focus on the fretboard, which echoes the styles of such bands as Oasis and Van Halen. Although Quillington only plays like this for around half of the album, as the rest is dedicated to the much softer acoustic style he has become known for, it is still a shock to see him delve into this completely new territory for a short territory of time. There is a direct evolution that can be traced through the album; the beginning is one of grittiness and egotism, slowly transforming throughout the course of the album into a mood of melancholy and self-revealing. This song is, naturally, the beginning.



Amid distortion and feedback, Infinite's fourth album kicks itself into existence. Instrumentals are no new concept to Infinite; both Blue Nebula and Midnight Skies had drum-and-bass solos by Matt Roberts and Greg Oldson, while Insomnia used musical interludes as a means to shift the lyrical content from one emotion to another. What is new, however, is hearing Quillington's guitar joining in with one of the more aggressive back-beats. And not only being a part of it, but enhancing it to another level of focus and emotion. When Quillington's voice joins the improvised intro, his soft, almost broken, falsetto is almost drowned out entirely. This honest, unflinching emotional outpouring, the only one to be found on the first half of this album, is buried beneath the bang and clutter of the louder, more blunt noises emitting from the guitar, bass, and drums. For once, the usually self-assured frontman sounds lost and confused, a part of the horrors he typically associates with the outside world.

Bikki : Beautiful lyrics. I love how raw this song is. Keep it going! (:

Thank you, Bikki! Lyrics are, to me, the most important part of a song, so it means quite a bit whenever somebody comments on them with words like 'beautiful'.

-Eric Quillington



Thanks, Ryan! It's always thrill to hear praise of my work. It makes it all worthwhile!

-Eric Quillington

OOC: I'm really glad you enjoy reading them, and that don't bore you. I'm always afraid of that...

Glamazon: Lover, people may roll their eyes at me for complimenting, but I'm not just saying it, promise! I'm in absolute love with the lyrics, "Synesthesia" is nothing but wonderful, fuck it, I love them all.

Ryan: Once again, fantastic. Thus far, this is my favorite record of the year.

Album of the year, huh? Oh, it inflates my ego to hear you say that, so I thank you! But, in all seriousness; it really does mean quite a bit when people think so highly of my work. I'm really glad these songs don't make you bleed out your ears.

-Eric Quillington



'Almost as much'? I'm gonna have to try extra hard next time, haha. Still, I think the album gets a bit better towards the end, so who knows? Maybe this'll be your new favorite thing in the world! After sharp objects, that is. Number 2 is my new goal!

-Eric Quillington