LIVE REVIEW: PHOEBE BRIDGERS @ ZEPP DIVERCITY, Tokyo, Japan (21/02/23)

4/5

The Reunion.

Day off in Tokyo and after getting bored and looking around at the 7Eleven, it was time to finally see Phoebe Bridgers take to the stage. Wrapping up her world tour, big in Japan for the first time since the pre-pandemic 2019. All to mark a big week of gigs after seeing the Red Hot Chili Peppers in the Tokyo Dome last minute on Sunday. Following Lady Gaga, Norah Jones, Bruno Mars and countless others welcoming the border open Far East back to the live show, you can bet our bottom merch dollar we've got our fix back. So almost being fourth in line to then get walked down to the t-shirt stand and be made to wait outside (could have used one of my skeleton hoodies to cover these skinny bones) as Zepp DiverCity invited you in by order of your ticket number (did they call 1930 yet?) can be forgiven. Besides, I'm the kind of idiot who waits outside with the Nirvana like boygenius cover of the latest Rolling Stone magazine with a magic marker from Family Mart (sorry, 7Eleven) like I didn't just read the part about her not liking 'Punisher' invasive fans. I ended up giving up the ghost. 

None of that mattered as one of the best indie artists of our time came out to heavy metal, flames and a logo Black Sabbath would be proud of. Band baring their iconic jumpsuit bones. As soon as Phoebe bridged the gap that was keeping us at a social distance for so long across the Rainbow Bridge of Odaiba, looking over the bay like the massive DiverCity Gundam statue, we were right in her alien world of Halloween delights and ghost's in the machine like a seriously stellar SZA collabo. Although opening to the massive 'Motion Sickness' my old ass legs swayed with a feeling Maggie Rogers (rocking her Gatsby 'Surrender' tee) TikTok put best later. It's been a long, overwhelming time. Stay safe out there, people. 

There's nothing like hearing 'Kyoto' in...erm Tokyo. But anagram aside, when a fan who asked for a picture of my Rolling Stone (that sounds dodgy) showed me one he snapped of him and Bridgers in Kyoto (or maybe it was Osaka) the night prior, needless to say the jealousy pangs hit me like waiting in line through dinner service. With tour teams asking for fans testimonials for a concert film, being here hit different. "If you don't mind telling us, how's your relationship with your Dad?" A fan opened up with courageous candour, as I was still nervous about being in front of a famous YouTuber just by chance. A YouTuber whose living in Tokyo videos helped me get to grips with moving to Japan. I hope she knows how much she helps. It's not often you get the chance to seize and say. And it's hard to put into words without looking like a complete creep. Through the cold and confusion, crowds felt connected. Especially to this evening's host who also full-circle felt close to this country. Bridgers sadly lost her Dad recently, telling us the last place she spoke to him was whilst she was in Japan. 

Punishing storybook pages took us through this compelling and connecting concert like no other. Her silhouette being beamed up a spaceship, only to hit back down to earth like a saltine on the New Orleans sidewalk of Beale Street. If these pictures could talk, they'd sing. Because with artistic inspiration as well as integrity, they were part and parcel of a stunning set, crafted and curated, that told a story like no other. The heart breaks, but it makes for some magnificent music and a solidarity that soldiers on, wounded and weary, but willing and ready. We all felt it tonight. Bridgers brilliant dry humour watered the gig with comic relief to the feels we were all getting punched in. And a sure to be viral bit about a bandmate looking like Ed Sheeran was the shape of things to come on a beautiful birthday celebration for him. As this reunion tour wrapped up like gifts for an old friend, Bridgers belted out the epic screams like 'The End Is Near'. Getting into the crowd for the second time before leaving on the highest note. All before she revealed more with an encore that teased a song off her supergroup boygenius album ('The Record') coming in March. No longer stranger to the live show, this killer set was anything but punishing. Instead, for the record, it was the work of a genius, boy. TIM DAVID HARVEY. 

Set-List Picks: 'Kyoto', 'Motion Sickness', 'The End Is Near'. 

DOCUMENTARY REVIEW: J-HOPE IN THE BOX

4/5

A Box Full Of Hope.

Spike from 'Notting Hill' may have never got the chance to see Pandora's box, but now you can on Disney +. As their latest music documentary takes you behind the stage scenes for 'J-Hope In The Box'. Following their 'Permission To Dance' concert film, the Mickey Mouse giant entertainment company's streaming service looks at the making of BTS member J-Hope's 'Jack In The Box' album. And nothing is left on the cutting room floor.

From Seoul to Chicago, we see the South Korean rapper like never before. All whilst curating and creating his classic album, hot on the heels of his supergroup's hiatus. You get to see just how hard Hope works here and how all it all pays off...without a trace of 'Ego' like that epic song. The soul of Bangtan Sonyeondan takes his solo act to the Lollapalooza stage, burning the Windy City down like he did his credit card on his last shopping spree on Lake Shore Drive. An effervescent man of the people. He gregariously gushes upon meeting rap God J. Cole and impresses the emcee with his mixtape knowledge. He gets sweet support from his bandmates Suga and Jimin, showing this brief break could never bore into the beautiful bond this Korean ARMY still makes and recreates.

Get ready to be surprised like a popping box, Jack. Because if you thought this type of music was manufactured, your mind needs a rework. The meaning behind this muse and his message is given new translation, no longer lost thanks to the subtitles. Then, it feels like the whole state of Michigan is out in full force behind him, at the same Grant Park President Barack Obama gave his election victory speech. The whole raised like the L skyline behind like, "the city is mine."

But even off-stage he holds court like a GOAT. Working in the studio like a bull on an album that shows he's a real rapper to all that pop power. Hitting the rehearsal steps like M.J. (either or) did the gym. J is all butter like another big hit. If this is what hope looks like, I don't know why we lost it.

Intimate and inspired from production to performance, Jung Hoseok is the real deal. Sitting in New York's Bryant Park with a smoothie like you wish you were there that afternoon, or chopping it up with collaborator rapper Becky G like he was the 'Chicken Noodle Soup' to her soda on the side. The love felt for Hope is palpable. The process, potent. This journey of endeavour is one that will encourage fellow artists to follow suit, no matter what hand they've been dealt. From Seoul to 'trotting around the globe is a notion that is now more than just an American dream in this and his reality. You can't keep the energy of Hope in a box. And now the whole world is open to it. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Further Filming: 'BTS: Permission To Dance (On Stage-LA)', 'Billie Eilish: Happier Than Ever (A Love Letter To Los Angeles)', 'Taylor Swift: Folklore (The Long Pond Studio Sessions)'. 

LIVE REVIEW: RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS @ TOKYO DOME, Tokyo, Japan (19/02/23)

4/5

Under The Dome. 

Ever since Tokyo opened up its post-pandemic borders to the world last year, a slew of superstar artists from America have stuck their set-lists to the stage. Lady Gaga. Norah Jones. Bruno Mars and Maroon 5 to name just a formidable few. The latter two performing in the Giants home of the Tokyo Dome. Under a sphere in this land of the rising sun. Now in the same week Phoebe Bridgers is set to punish this town in Zepp, the Red Hot Chili Peppers are back after a bittersweet sixteen years for a sweet set of their signatures.

Get the funk up for one of the best bands in a sold out show. Because what a spontaneous night this was. A buzzer-beating affair for the Laker fans decked out in purple and gold in Rui Hachimura’s home. A last minute decision to cop some discount tickets behind the nets that usually catch baseballs, but closer to the stage than most, no foul. Besides at stadium shows, even row A is a postcode away. This Sunday we were so skin of our behinds close that by the time we resisted the merch, got a drink, paid a visit and found the seats, a second after a quick snap of our tickets for the socials journals it went dark, and the show started...at 5.30pm. This is Japan after all.

As Chad Smith took to the skins, John Frusciante opened proceedings with a raucous riff and Flea provided the beautiful bass backing and all the best lines (wondering whether he ate "a donkey's a##hole" for breakfast may have gone over the heads of most in the Dome, but his "beautiful and mysterious" comments were exactly that), Anthony Kiedis came bounding out chords later with his signature stamping puddles style of stage rug cutting. Exploring all the space of this live studio like a spinning top.

From the first classic to the last, the Chili's couldn't stop. Performing choice cuts from their duet of albums last year ('Love Unlimited' and the 'Return To The Dream Canteen') before the bicep flex of a 'Black Summer'. Because 'suns out, guns out', let's face it, the Ant man's giant, tribal tattooed shoulders belong in the Smithsonian like this all American dream of a band from a Hollywood basement belong in both the hip-hop and rock and roll Hall of Fame. Or any genre they blend brilliantly and effort less as such like Prince's before them. One hundred years from now, the Red Hot Chili Peppers identifying signature sound will be as instantly recognizable as Sinatra's. Yet, talking about my generation, one of two of the world's biggest bands alongside the Foo Fighters are amazingly treated with apathy instead of appreciation these days. Like you're not witnessing living legends like LeBron in the flesh. With their boundless body of work still being classically curated, far from the peak. 

Whether it's dreaming of 'Californication' or 'What Hits' ('Funky Monks', 'Suck My Kiss' and so much more nostalgia for your tube sock, that's what). Or surprising us with standout favourites like 'Soul To Squeeze', before the epic encore of back-to-back absolute classics 'Under The Bridge' to thousands of smartphones and 'Give It Away' to even more hands thrown in the air. One of the most amazing bands we need to appreciate whilst they're still in their prime (still swinging at 60) know how to rock out (without their c###s out, these days, but still shirts off), but with a Chili chilled vibe. Much like Rihanna's real touchdown of a half-time show from last week. But now the Mars Superbowl spot nostalgia is complete with those that are Red Hot, the Tokyo Dome knows how to knock it out the park again, and the Yomiuri Giants haven't even sent out the first pitch yet. Now, bathed in a neon surfing crowd sea of red, how's that for liking it hot? TIM DAVID HARVEY

Set-List Picks: 'Black Summer', 'Soul To Squeeze', 'Under The Bridge'. 

REVIEW: P!NK - TRUSTFALL

3.5/5

Born Pink. 

The power of P!nk. In the exclamation of 2017's 'Beautiful Trauma', the huge hit, lead single off this classic pop album ('What About Us') was a political statement disguised as a break-up song. "What about us? What about all the times you said you had the answers", Pink asked then President Donald Trump and the America he claimed to be making great again. We love layered songs like this, accessible to everybody, but hiding deeper truths in a moral message. Like Stevie Wonder's 'Happy Birthday' song which is actually an ode that helped MLK get his own day. Now how's that for a dream? Whilst we're here, check out Pink's anything but 'Irrelevant' track protesting the overruling of Roe vs. Wade to show just how important this artist and her message is right now. But on the all-caps 'TRUSTFALL' of music megastar Pink's ninth album (her first since the pre-pandemic 'Hurts 2B Human' of 2019), Alecia Beth Moore Hart straight-forward bares it all on the outstanding opening track dedicated to her Dad. The heartbreakingly beautiful 'When I Get There'. 

"I think of you when I think about forever/I hear a joke and I know you would’ve told it better/I think of you out of the blue when I’m watching a movie that you’d hate/You’d said you were never one to hesitate/You were always first in line, so why would it be different for Heaven?/But I got a couple questions/Is there a bar up there where you’ve got a favorite chair?/Where you sit with friends and talk about the wеather?/Is there a placе you go to watch the sunset/And, oh, is there a song you just can’t wait to share?/Yeah, I know, you’ll tell me when I get there." Need we say any more? Easily one of the greatest songs this singer has ever sung which clearly means the most to her. You can trust in that. 

'TRUSTFALL's' title track is all about letting go and falling backwards into the arms of someone you embrace like faith. Then you can fly like the iconic video for another early 2000s legend that still believes in MTV. It's a beautiful message for the trauma, underscored with lyrics like, "Picture a place where it all doesn't hurt/Where everything's safe, and it doesn't get worse, oh my/We see through bloodshot eyes/Picture a place, somewhere else far away/Where you know what they mean, and they mean what they say to us/And would that be enough." Pink has always represented for those who feel like they can't have their say with her powerful voice. Way before it was "cool" or social media support easy to do. She's still championing everybody who now feel like somebody thanks to people like her. And the ones who are going to come to that realization late at night, headphones on, tears wiped under the covers. Smartphones illuminating screens of iconic album covers. 

The Lumineers leave a legacy on the album standout 'Long Way To Go' on some compelling collaborations for the record. First Aid Kit help stitch up the beautiful ballad 'Kids In Love' which reminds you of the teenage one LL Cool J rapped about as a youth, alone in his room. Whilst the classic closer featuring modern country giant Chris Stapelton ('Just Say I'm Sorry') staples everything together with one of the realest love songs of autonomy and accountability. But for all these big names, one of the biggest in the industry still holds her own like trading album guest features with fellow rebel with a cause Eminem in 2017.

Pink still has venom and knows how to get the party started again. You can feel that coming home to the lead single 'Never Not Gonna Dance Again'. She's been through way too much to not cherish all the steps we all have left. And it's a notion you should two-step with whether your parents are getting older, you've become one yourself, or if you're still just a kid. 'All I Know So Far', Pink remarked in 2021 in promotion for that documentary was that this new album was going to be "very honest". And it's exactly that to the tee a few weeks after fellow artist of before their time women's empowerment (although this has always been an important and potent movement before mainstream media latched on) Shania Twain showed us she was still the 'Queen Of Me'. 

Experiencing 'Turbulence', Pink navigates the storms of love and life. And you should buckle up as the 'Just Like A Pill' singer is about to start a fight, embarking on a 2023 world tour now it's safer to do so. The 'Runaway' talent is still here to the 'Last Call'. Deeply devoted like her now iconic, gone viral award show speech to her daughter. 'Hate Me' or her? Nah! This singer is no 'Lost Cause' singing on 'Feel Something', "I usually break the things that I love/I usually break the things that I love/I build 'em up too high just to watch them fall down/The sins of my father are heavy/I carry the weight on my back/Wouldn't you think by now I'd be ready", until you do. Navigating all these inner and outer nuances for better or worse. But it's 'Our Song' that will strike a chord with the "little bit funny" Elton John and John Legend 'All Of Me' crowd. A script flipped antithesis, stating, "Now we don't even know the words to it anymore/And you don't look at me that way like you did before/Now it's just another song on thе dance floor/And we don't evеn know the words to it anymore." Get ready to be in matrimony with a mainstream artist that's the real deal. P!nk has released one of the biggest albums of the year, yet we're far from the fall. Trust. TIM DAVID HARVEY. 

Playlist Picks: 'When I Get There', 'Trustfall', 'Long Way To Go (Feat. The Lumineers)'. 

REVIEW: SHANIA TWAIN - QUEEN OF ME

3.5/5

Man! I Feel Like A Queen!

Let's go again, girls! Where the legend of Dolly Parton and the mainstream millions of Taylor Swift meet, you get country icon Shania Twain. Ready to rock again, more than a half decade after 'Now'. The comeback was already complete then, impressing us much. But now after a pandemic lockdown and recovery from surgery and a major illness, the 'Come Away With Me', diamond 'Best Friend' singer is back to take the throne as the 'Queen Of Me'. Saddling up on all the pretty horses for her sixth studio album. Unbridled with powerful passion and anthems of women's empowerment that show the former poster-star of country music is 'Not Just A Girl'. No doubt, like Stefani. 

Before Taylor and Gaga, there was her. And she is that icon in star-studded Stetsons that spangle for the States. This Canadian crossed the border, due south and made her name in more than just one genre like Nashville. Tailor made. Twain still knows how to twang out a hit on the old guitar too. Add 'Giddy Up! ' to her greatest hits and your next hoe down. Singing along to this exclamation, "Time to make it happеn 'cause it feels so good/Singin' in the mirror like it's Hollywood/Lifе is gettin' shorter, gotta drink it up/Time to shine like I know you should/Slide to the left, then slide to the right/Jump in the air 'til you're ten feet high, yeah/Come on, come on and make it your night/Smiles for miles/All up on my face (My face)/Wear it, share it/'Cause we ain't got time to waste (Get to it)." The perfect elixir to get you out of your seat and on your feet. Lifting your malaise out the doldrums of a New Year this February (already?!) with the first major album release of 2023. 

Yet, it's the first single 'Waking Up Dreaming' that's really catchy, striking a chord as you wipe your eyes. With "Way up higher than we've ever been/No, we won't stop at the ceilin' (Ooh)/So let's keep wakin' up dreamin" and all the sing-a-long "whoa, oh, whoas", this is what it feels like to be in the beauty of a boundless love. And why not sing about it? You only have to read Shania Twain's amazing autobiography (named after one of her biggest and best hits, 'From This Moment On') to see that it's been a long and winding road, concrete tough. Enduring enough over the last few years to write another moving memoir too. Departing her record label (Mercury Nashville) of almost 30 years. Overcoming dysphonia and Lyme disease and almost losing that incredible and important voice. "I'm not a girl, I'm not a boy/I'm not a baby, I'm not a toy/I'm a queen/No, I don't need a king, so keep the ring/I've got the gold in my chest (gold in my chest)/A heart that can sing/I'm a queen", she declares with authority on the title-track that also serves as an affirmation to those who run the world. Consider the world tour she's about to embark on as a victory lap. 

'Not Just A Girl' indeed, like the name of a Netflix documentary you can put next to the Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift and Jennifer Lopez ones. Or her sign-off compilation from Mercury that shows Shania has more hits than Serena's racquet. That title also being a standout here. The penultimate track before the closer and our save the best for last favourite of the set, 'The Hardest Stone'. "Hold me, but don't you hold me down/Changе is gonna come/But my patience running out/Madе a decision/What the dictionary's/Missing is my definition/I'm not just a four-letter word", is your new quotable like "do, do, do" from the woman in me who sings, "I solved the mystery/That was it for me" from the stone. La, da, da. 

Jack Savoretti co-writes the scorching 'Last Day Of Summer' to put a spring in your winter's step. It's hard to feel discontent with the enchanting queen of electric power-pop ballads. You can 'Inhale/Exhale' and breathe the 'AIR' of this album and even enjoy some Target and JPC bonus cuts ('On Three' and 'Done and Dusted' for your one, two). Much impressed, this feels like a 'Number One'. Even with the "pants on fire" child's play of 'Pretty Liar' that then drops an F-bomb as strange as the time Will Smith dropped it (but with meaning for the moving 'Tell Me Why' with Mary J. Blige). But this queen can do whatever the f### she wants. She doesn't need any man to tell her what to do. No woman does. 

Twain changed the game when she flipped the script on Robert Palmer's infamous 'Addicted To Love' video and made it her iconic own for her huge hit 'Man! I Feel Like A Woman'. You might as well face it, she made empowering groundbreaking strides for gender equality way before the mainstream made it easy to do. All without the following of a social media army behind her too. You best believe the pioneer has one now though. Feeling 'Brand New'. She's 'Got It Good' like, "The heartaches, and the mistakes/I'll be there, I understand (I understand you)/Babe, don't bе afraid (don't be afraid)/To give me your hand." Getcha by golly, wow! Don't say "welcome back, Shania" like a lovely Lionel Richie on their 'Tuskegee' remake of his 'Endless Love' classic. The Queen of Country Pop has been HER for years. 100 million albums sold and streaming for one of the bestsellers by the record books. Count it! TIM DAVID HARVEY. 

Playlist Picks: 'Giddy Up! ', 'Not Just A Girl', 'The Hardest Stone'. 

REVIEW: SZA - SOS

4/5

SZA Our Soul.

CTRL-ALT-CREATE. St. Louis, Missouri's own Solána Imani Rowe (AKA, SZA like the initials of her epic EP's (we can't wait for the A)) is the Queen of R&B pop. In-between 'Feeling Myself' with Nicki Minaj and Beyoncé and Rihanna 'Consideration'. That's why you see her with 'All The Stars' like Kendrick Lamar for his classic curated 'Black Panther' soundtrack (good job to Tems for 'Wakanda Forever' too). Or cameo sitting on the hood of a car for Childish Gambino's 'This Is America'. Arguably the only artist that comes close right now is Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson, but she is still H.E.R. It's hard to believe it's been a half-decade since her 'Ctrl'. It's even harder to believe that it didn't garner a Grammy. Still, the nominated like a Golden Globe LP is part of Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all-time. And now SZA is back to save our souls again. 

'S.O.S.' is one of the most eagerly anticipated albums of the year and also one of the best like U.K. grime icon Stormzy telling us how he really feels this month too. Truly an extended playlist. Diving off the springboard into an ocean of songwriting talent and subtle genius. A Jordan worth of tracks both cinematic (the billboard worthy 'Kill Bill' (the best since Taylor Swift's 'No Body, No Crime' with Haim, or D'Angelo's 'S###, Damn, Motherf#####') and 'Gone Girl') and blockbuster big budget (classic collaborations with Don Toliver ('Used') Travis Scott ('Open Arms'), Phoebe Bridgers ('Ghost In The Machine') and the late great Ol' Dirty Bastard of the Wu-Tang Clan ("the RZA, the SZA") for the classic closer 'Forgiveless'). The second studio album from SZA is anything but a sophomore slump. Wearing a football jersey with her own name and initials on, she's been in the game too long for that. 

The Top Dawg and RCA Records album's self-titled intro says it all. "Nah, lil' b####, can't let you finish/Yeah, that's right, I need commissions on mine/All that sauce you got from me/All that s### I gave for free/I want it back, want it back/This ain't no warnin' shot/Case all you h##s forgot/Know you been more than lost/Without me, I'm so/Comin' like I'm so greasy/Ex-n####, he so needy/Punk a## tried to replace me, but the stakes is too high/They can't survive off mini-mes/I'm talkin' pedigree/Ain't no writers, that's just me/Ain't no spiteful, I'm just tea/Can't hate a b### for free/Talkin' I'm off the bench like Brady/I'm pressin' n####s like KD, it's up." Even the most hardcore hip-hop heads can't F with this flow, Joe.

Souls, the big-three singles are our savior right now. 'Good Days' will offset the bad. Whilst 'I Hate U' is the beat dedication since R&B money King Tank's 'Sex, Love and Pain' devotion of the same name. But it's the third and latest single 'Shirt' that really buttons up. "In the dark right now/Feeling lost, but I like it/Comfort in my sins and all about me/All I got right now/Feel the taste of resentment/Simmer in my skin, it's all about." Yearning like we've been burning for this song for so long. 

Frank like beans. Lyrically this album 'Seek(s) & Destroy(s)'. On 'Low' the hi-fi's get sweet licks of, "Cunning down, the side of me, I like to get it poppin' (Alright)/But these b#####s in my business got me out here choosin' violence (Yeah, yeah)/If you see me out in public, you don't know me, keep it silent (Okay)/In the bedroom, I be screamin', but outside, I keep it quiet", as Travis Scott backs her up. But it's the 'Love Language' with Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo that really speaks to you. Before hitting the 'Snooze' button on her middle of the night music, Solána reveals her deepest insecurities and vulnerabilities on 'Blind'. "It's so embarrassing/All of the things I need living inside of me/I can't see it/It's so embarrassing/All of the love I seek living inside of me/I can't see, I'm blind." Also adding, "my p#### precedes me."

Notice this like 'Notice Me' putting you on notice as SZA sings, "If I had a dime or two/For the cheap s### you be spittin', I'd provide the mood/That's cool with you, be jockin' me for all my jewels." On the one minute and 23 second on this 23 track album change 'Smokin' On My Ex Pack' SZA sizzles over a sample as classic to hip-hop as she is. And you still love her to the initial. From 'F2F' to 'Nobody Get Me', but you will. You can see it like a mirror on 'Conceited'. It's truly 'Special' like exploring your pure and physical vulnerability, and laying it all out, "I wish I was that girl from that Gucci store/She never wore any makeup and she owns couture/I got pimples where my beauty marks should be/I got dry skin on my elbows and knees/I never liked her, wanted to be like her/Hate how you look at her 'cause you never saw me/Like I was an art piece, like I was an ordinary girl" bare. This is the anthem for everybody. 'Too Late' is anything but and 'Far' takes it even further. "Tried to wash all of my s### away/Tried to wash all my emotions/Need a few brews, need a palm tree/I be drinkin' in private, don't call me to party, though/F### on your n#### for cardio/Too good, he really fell in love right away." Not afraid to cross that line. 

Babyface, Benny Blanco and Bjork are amongst the writers and producers creating this classic. Lizzo, Rodney Jerkins and The Neptunes too. And how about the great Jacob Collier for those 'Good Days'? A lo-fi delight of grungy surf rock that will get high with you in the lonely abyss of the midnight hour. Musing over the one you love and the one who got away. Submerging itself deeper, it's the iconic photograph that covers Princess Diana in tribute that’s truly this album's artwork. In her St. Louis Blues jersey with all due respect to the Diana they did dirty, it's as clear as water to see, that this R&B royalty has the crown now. TIM DAVID HARVEY. 

Playlist Picks: 'Kill Bill', 'Gone Girl', 'Ghost In The Machine (Feat. Phoebe Bridgers)'. 

REVIEW: RM - INDIGO

4/5

Monster's Ball.

Proof of BTS' hiatus between mandatory military service and BLACKPINK's worldwide domination may be greatly exaggerated. At least, speaking solo like Han, that is. We already had new hope with J-Hope's 'Jack In The Box' album opening Pandora's like a 'Chicken Noodle Soup' ("with a soda on the side") a mere month after their Ross and Rachel announcement. And only last week Jung Kook cooked up an amazing anthem for all you 'Dreamers' to kick off the World Cup. They won't just let it BE (good). And now, in we go with 'Indigo'. The undisputed leader of South Korea's prime pop act, RM (AKA, Rap Monster (AKA, Real Me) back with a new album, live from the United Nations. As the elder statesmen and worldwide spokesman of the group gives us his first personal playlist since the '.mono' of 'Seoul' and 'Tokyo' fell on our ears like 'Forever Rain'. 

Japan's MUJI would be proud of the album artwork aesthetic. 'Harry's House' and Stormzy too ('This Is What I Mean'). But how about the hip-hop heads? Baduizm on the first track? Now that's a flex. Don't hate. RM is as much a real rapper as Badu is a constant collaborator with the most creative. 'Yun' is an instant classic to set off the vinyl vintage of a body of work that just flows like being water. "F### the trendsetter" RM proclaims after a Yun Hyong Keun sample intro in tribute tells us, "According to Plato's humanity. It's the human essence to seek truth, goodness, and beauty. It's the sincerity in truth, the moral goodness, and the beauty. But in my opinion, you have it all when you have the truth." And here it is. "I'ma turn back the time/Back the time, far to when I was nine/When things were only good or bad/I think I was more of a human/A finger pointing from here to a mountain/Saying it's the place I need to go now/That's where you belong," Kim Nam-joon tells us as Erykah evokes even more. "You keep the silence/'Fore you do somethin'/You be a human/'Til the death of you." Haunting this young life as we knew it. 

Anderson .Paak on the second track?! Already it's like that for a man who was recently 'Musicians On Musicians' teasing a collaboration with Neptune N.E.R.D. Pharrell on a Rolling Stone cover, Silk Sonic. Smooth as it goes, forget 'Still Life'. This is art living its best beat life. More Big Hit's for your HYBE hybrid hype. "I'm still life (Yeah, ooh-ooh, you're still life, baby)/Y'all can't lock me in the frame, I'm movin', yeah (You're still life)/I'm still life (Ha, ooh-ooh, go ahead, go and live it up, yeah)/Life is better than the death, I'll prove it, yeah (Let's get it now)", Anderson sings on the chorus, as the Rap Monster calls him Paak like Shakur. Adding, "난 still life, but I'm movin'/Just live now, goin' forward, yeah/멈추지 않는 정물, huh/또 피워 나의 꽃을/Gimme no name 'cause I'm untitled/계속 전시되는 내 삶 (Huh, yeah)/그래도 삶 아직도 삶 (What? Mm)", for the record with one of the game’s best, from the fourth of July 'Fire On The Sky' of Marvel's 'Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings' to drumming on Superbowl Sunday for the good Dr. Dre and all his friends. 

Honne honed a nice 'Crying Over You' remix with RM back in 2018 and there's more monster collabos here. Korean-Canadian Tablo is here 'All Day' for the tableau and the 'Romance' of Korean folk singer Kim Sa-wol duets beautifully on 'Forg_tful', no need for the E like Sheila and this young Prince. Paolo Blanco and British-Jamaican singer Mahalia get 'Closer', before things get 'Hectic' with Olympic Park, Grand Mint Festival favourite Colde. Fresher still is the air of the 'No. 2' closer with 'Dinosaur Teacher' Park Ji-yoon. But for all this legendary Korean talent it's the 'Wild Flower' lead single and vivid video with Youjeen that really blooms with beats, rhymes and life. 

"Flower field, that's where I'm at/Open land, that's where I'm at/No name, that's what I have/No shame, I'm on my grave/When your feet don't touch the ground/When your own heart underestimates you/When your dreams devour you/When you feel you’re not yourself/All those times", Real Me emotes and devotes on an album that for all the warmly welcome guest spots is truly at its most powerful when it gets personal. And 'Lonely', musing, "In a moment of eternity/It's neatly packed here/I hate this hotel room/I'm floating alone/This loud horn/As wide as the narrowed room/I'm trapped in myself." Always able to cut to the core of what means more in a modern malaise dulled by depression, but spoken up for and told to love yourself like an anthem. Even so in solo it seems it has been time for a 'Change' like Part 2 as Monster raps on the sequel, "I can't believe I loved you once/Fool me once, then fool me twice (getting his George W. Bush on)/Shame on you, yeah, shame on me (and Stevie Wonder)/Think I lost my sanity/Chemistry we had for sure/Gradually we wanted more/Thеy say you can't fix someone/Seems you got one fit you right." This top ten album and one of the best and most anticipated of the calendar is the album we've been waiting for ever since he gave us 'Mono'. BTS may be taking a collective break, but individuals like RM are here to stay. The book and postcard version of this 30 something minute album saying so long to Kim's 20s and mapping the persona of his Seoul soul to come. TIM DAVID HARVEY. 

Playlist Picks: 'Yun (Feat. Erykah Badu)', 'Still Life (Feat. Anderson .Paak)', 'Lonely'.