REVIEW: JIMIN - FACE E.P.

4/5

Face Of The Future. 

Last Summer gave us 'Proof' of BTS' hiatus. And the direction(s) one of the biggest groups on the face of the planet since the juggernaut mania of The Beatles would be going in. Whether mandatory military service (good luck Jin), or anthems for the World Cup (Jung Kook's delightful 'Dreamers'). Leader RM has already gone in with 'Indigo', featuring the likes of Erykah Badu. And the joy and enthusiasm of J-Hope went in a completely different direction too. Opening up like Pandora for 'Jack In The Box'. After their 'Permission To Dance' concert film, Disney + recently went further into the crates with the 'J-Hope In The Box' doc also. Which really showed just how much of a friend Jimin is to Hope. Arguably the third most famous face on the most recognizable group on the planet, now it's Jimin's turn. And with his 'Face' EP he looks towards the future and the facts of that life. 

Opening like John Travolta and Nicolas Cage, Jimin goes hard on 'Face-Off'. It's a whole new music freaky Friday the way he embodies a brand-new persona for a whole new world. Rapping, "All right/I guess the blame is on me/Look at me right now/Living like stupid, hmm, uh-huh/Believing in people/It's the beginning of this terrible nightmare, mhmm/Gave you all the money/Gave you all my heart/Your masquerade party I was f#####g drunk, oh/Even these damn days/It's over now." As an ARMY of fans behind him ask who hurt him. And you know they come for people. Ain't that right, Donald? Lend your ears to a rallying real audience and movement of the masses, all in perfect time.

Now he's 'Set Free' again, 'Part 2' sounds so much better. It's the biggest BTS banger since the boys dropped mics with the cake throwing Steve Aoki on the wheels of steel. As this extended play album's pre-single moves to the leather and monochrome greyscale style of BTS' last release. "I got feel low/Still 난 미로/But I got no time to break soul/Just let me flow/Hey fool, just get out of my way/Shut up, f### off/I'm on my way." From Seoul to Hollywood, if you thought this born star was locked out the game, think again. Jimin is jimmying the locks. Opening up his broadest and best work to date. I hope you marked your calendars for this week and one of the best releases of the year. Even if it's only Spring and this play just an extended one.

From the deep 'Dive' inspired interlude to the loneliness of the COVID-19 pandemic it evokes, 'Face' fronts and hides nothing behind a mask. 'Alone' takes us through all that pain, by our side. Singing, "The same day (The same day)/It flows again (It flows again)/How long do I have to endure it?/Can I go back to where I am from?/This cold and lonely night/Without thinking/I walk in my dark room alone," for all our quarantined and collective pain, no shame. Isolation was a bitter pill to swallow during lockdown. But it allowed us to set free our creativity and provided us all with a voice of experience, even behind shut doors. Jimin's 'Alone' time recognizes this and shows you he hasn't forgotten in this all too easy to world of new woe. Smashing and overcoming it all, this melancholy is no infinite sadness. This isn't the Pumpkins' '1979' generation of Zero's, but that of Idol's practising self-love that unites us all across the nations as one.

But to the 'Letter' of the physical release hidden track with Jungkook (we feel like this is a spoiler, sorry) that brings it all back to the good old days when albums sprung don't eject yet surprises like twists in movies, it's 'Like Crazy' and it's English translation that will set crowds across the globe wild. No empty space. "I'd rather be/Lost in the lights/Lost in the lights/I'm outta my mind/이 밤의 끝을 잡아줘/매일 밤/You spin me up high/너를 품은 달/Let me have a taste", everyone will soon be singing along in concert like Jimin supporting his friend in Chicago's Lollapalooza. The taste of things to come. After J-Hope showed he can really rap like this squad and RM continued that 'mono' music across the soundscape, Jimin is the perfect bridge and pop/rap landscape that covers both territories. 'Face' it. BTS may have called it a day or two. But this is no comeback. They'll be here for years like a battalion of fans behind this band that put it all on the line. Turning a page, but not the other cheek. This is the perfect portrait of things gone and others yet to come. TIM DAVID HARVEY. 

Playlist Picks: 'Face-Off', 'Like Crazy', 'Alone'.