BTS Jimin’s sophomore solo album is a celebration of love and romance
By Sabrina Fatma Ahmad
Chapter 2 of the BTS journey is a gift that keeps giving. A welcome opportunity to explore the signature sounds of each individual member, the offerings have continued to push the bar for excellence with every single and album. The last time MWB featured the charismatic Park Jimin, he had just dropped his debut solo album Face, which went on to make history as the first Kpop soloist to hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with his smash hit “Like Crazy,” opening week sales of a whopping 164,000 equivalent album units resulting in a No. 2 debut on the Billboard 200, which created another set of new records for Korean artists. This summer, he reaches out to the global audience while still in active military service, with another stellar album Muse, which marks a sharp departure from the much-darker Face, and demonstrates Jimin’s growth as an artist.
While Face was undoubtedly a child of the pandemic, an exploration of dark themes and a spectrum of anger and blues, Muse muses on the various facets of love. With the seven tracks, six of which are co-written by Jimin himself, he flexes his versatility, transcending genres with the fluidity of a dancer, playing with the vibrancy of R&B, the subtlety of light hip-hop, and the warm tones of Latin and Afrobeat. The songwriting, as Jimin himself has intimated in his interviews, offers his audience a window to his soul, revealing layers of intimacy and reflection, and in Muse, we find a welcome return to the gentle, playful, and emotive Chimchim we know and love.
Muse opens with “Rebirth (Intro),” an intimate gospel-inspired ambiance to signify his renaissance on this new record. The track’s introspective dialogue (“If I’m trying to be special/ Can I get closer to you?”) sets the mood for the album’s focus on love and personal growth. Jimin’s yearning for connection is a vehicle for self-improvement through love. His feathery vocals soar over the hums of a choir, making for an ecstatic opening to the album.
The “Interlude: Showtime” is a cool flourish that keys us into the “Smeraldo Marching Band” featuring Loco, which is an upbeat rhythmical track, which was released as a buzz track to warm us up for Muse. Longtime ARMY know of the mysterious “Smeraldo” flowers that appeared in the BTS Universe circa “Love Yourself: Her.” The bright tones and upbeat rhythm, with pitched up vocal samples, drawing both thematic and visual inspirations from The Beatles’ Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, definitely underscores Jimin’s brightened outlook towards life, with Korean rapper Loco sliding into the second verse and giving us a fresh, modern banger.
At the halfway point of Muse comes a duet called “Slow Dance,” where Jimin pairs up with Sofia Carson. The sentimental melody serves as the perfect foil for Jimin’s signature high vocals to merge with Sofia’s breathy, raspy voice. Incorporating an R&B groove with a smouldering saxophone finish, this is a song that demands repeat listens. In “Be Mine” we get sultry Jimin serving us Latin and Afrobeat inspirations. Vocally, he gets his sexy on, commanding the seductive production, and this reviewer, for one, cannot wait to see how he interprets this in live performances.
The penultimate song, an absolute pop banger called “Who,” which is also Jimin’s first solo English single, is slated to become the song of the summer. Co-produced and supported with backing vocals by Jon Bellion of “All Time Low” fame, the melody is reminiscent of peak ’00 pop, and pushes Jimin’s vocal limits, taking him from verses in his lower register to drawn-out falsetto belts. The haunting flute and key flourishes are the chef’s kiss to this musical meal of a song.
Jimin closes out the album with a sweet note to his fans with “Closer than this” with an affirmative message. The soothing blend of acoustic strings and a subtle hip-hop beat underscores the warmth in his vocals, and he promises “Anytime you want me, I’ll be/ Right here where you call me, I’ll be/ I can never let you go” as something to hold on to until he returns from military service
