Three years since he celebrated being 27 with his second solo EP, INFINITE’s Kim Sung Kyu returned on Monday (Feb. 26) with his first full length album 10 Stories.

Fronted by lead single “True Love,” 10 Stories returns the K-pop singer to the ambient alt- and electro-pop stylings he’s previously explored on solo work. Soft rock instrumentals and plinking digitized beats propel the track, during which Kim Sung Kyu confesses his love to a friend through crisp, clear vocals. The track was released with a music video filmed in Hong Kong, which features Kim wandering the streets of the city as he expressively sings.

His first LP, the album features 10 tracks and was predominantly crafted by Nell’s Kim Jongwan. Juuno of Casker and Spaceboy also are credited for writing tracks on the album, while Epik High's Tablo, featured artist Punchnello, and Kim Sung Kyu provided lyrics on various album tracks.
The first INFINITE member to release a full-length album, Kim spends 10 Stories relaying different tales and emotions through each song.

Beginning with the moody "What Did I Say" featuring Punchnello, the album then moves into the airy “Don’t Move” featuring a ‘90s-sitcom-style saxophone solo, which is then followed by the single. The next track “Stuck On” incorporates a gentle piano and guitar melody, and plays up the squealing synths as it alternates between melancholic verses and an echoing hook of a chorus, while “Vanishing Days” differentiates itself as an orchestral ballad that puts Kim’s vocals front and center.

“Til Sunrise,” with Kim Jongwan appearing as a vocalist, features heavy vocal distortions to counter the previous track, and is followed by the apologetic rock-tinged “Sorry.” The Sung Kyu-penned soft electro-pop track “City of Angel,” the quirky “Sentimental,” and the acoustic piano ballad “Mirror” round out the album.  

Nell’s vocalist Kim Jongwan produced each song on the album. The pair have previously collaborated multiple times in the past, and Sung Kyu has previously stated that his high school discovery of Nell's music led him to his current career path. The band was previously signed to Woollim Entertainment, the same label as INFINITE, but has since left the company and set up their own label, Space Bohemian.

Watch the music video for Kim Sung Kyu’s “True Love” here: