If Face was all shadow and murky waters, then Muse lets the light in. A year and a half after his first solo effort, Jimin has released his second album, Muse, and it’s a clear departure from Face, which was led by the tenderness of tracks like ‘Like Crazy’ and ‘Alone’ or the raw anger of ‘Face-off’. Instead, we’ve been on the receiving end of an audio package that is noticeably brighter, bringing its fair share of eccentric whimsy and heartfelt lyrics to the listening experience.
To add to the mix, the BTS member is making sure his undeniable flair for the stage shines through as well. For title track ‘Who’, Jimin has also dropped a devastatingly titillating music video, which sees him prancing through a night street in Hungary, showing off some slick moves and scene-stealing charisma as he croons away about an anonymous lover. With an entire MV to enjoy and the full album now with us, all that’s left is to sit back, relax and let the music take us along for the ride. Below, our seven thoughts for the seven-track effort that is Jimin’s second album, Muse.
- Compared to the dark, twisted turn ‘Face-off’ takes as the opening track on Face, ‘Rebirth (Intro)’ feels like a huge sigh of relief—one that instantly radiates through your body at the ten-second mark, as the song welcomes a twinkling injection of what sprinkles on a cake might sound like if it had an OST.
- It’s showtime. Like the kooky approach his fellow BTS leader RM does with his own interlude track, Jimin’s own ‘Interlude: Showtime’ is sheer musical fun. Designed with what sounds like the entrance of a marching band, it’s the playful build-up for the next track, ‘Smeraldo Garden Marching Band’.
- Cue Jimin’s most ecstatic track on the album, and his first collaborative track with rapper Loco. Musically inspired by The Beatles’s ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’, this lively, brassy escape is a symphonic caricature of the highs of finding new love.
- By the time we get to ‘Slow Dance’, it’s easy enough to suspect that there is indeed a ‘muse’ in mind for our dearest BTS member. This gentle tune has Jimin harmonising with the honey-sweet vocals of Sofia Carson to convey a message of a blossoming relationship, and their voices certainly melt like butter together.
- Remember ‘Filter’? Well, the sultry dance solo has just met its younger, more adventurous cousins. Whilst ‘Be Mine’ is a catchy afrobeat experiment, ‘Who’, with its powerful swing and that nostalgic R&B swerve, certainly earns its cred as one we can’t wait to watch when BTS finally resumes regular programming (aka concerts).
- It’s interesting that Muse sounds a lot more like what we had initially envisioned for Jimin’s first solo album. Yet considering the time difference between Face and the date of his enlistment (late last year), we can’t help but wonder if the music had been written at the same time and he had just been audibly tinkering with two very disparate sides of himself in the studio.
- Of course, he aptly ends the album with ‘Closer Than This’, the warm, honest tune he had dedicated to his fans when he left for his enlistment duties last year. As an ARMY, it’s a simple, charming reminder of the fact that Jimin has always been our comfort person.
Muse is now available on all streaming platforms.
