REVIEW: JIMIN - MUSE

4/5

The Face Of Your Muse.

The reunion of BTS, after their hiatus, may be on the horizon, but all the members of the South Korean pop phenomenon have released so much music (word to Toronto, Canada), you would be forgiven for forgetting they had even left in the first place. There's been so much quality, 'Like Crazy', over such a short period. Only fellow rap collective, the Wu-Tang Clan, and their individual icons, have released records like this at a relentless, classic clip. And doubling up, even the most prominent players are now releasing their second string of albums during the temporary split.

Mere months ago, the rap monster leader of RM followed up his inspired 'Indigo' with the matrimony of the 'Right Place, Wrong Person' concept, just a calendar and so much change later. And now, just a year and a few months since we came fact to 'Face' with his debut LP, one of the most popular parts of BTS and their amazing ARMY, Jimin, releases his own concept follow-up for his 'Muse'. A part two, like 'Set Me Free'. One that you will make your muse like a British band in an instant. All as Jimin and RM show us after their successful solo album debuts, their sophomore sets are even deeper and better. Darker, but still with that sense of joy. We can only hope, J's next work sugars us the same.

Dressed up for his own white wedding and nice day, the circus is back in town for the lovely lead single 'Smeraldo (the fictional flower of BTS in a dream world, like a Yellow Submarine) Garden Marching Band' featuring Loco and a beautiful video that would do the childlike abandon of the Teletubbies proud. You've never head happiness quite like this. Especially with lyrics like, "Ooh, I love you, babe/다가갈게 너에게/I love you, babe (Yes, Sir)/Ooh, I want you, babe/I wanna hold your hand/I want you, babe", with Beatles beauty. Simplicity, like love, is purity.

What a beautiful, brooding 'Rebirth' with this truly brand-new album. It's 'Showtime' like an inspired interlude after the intro. And this album has it all, like a Sofia Carson collaboration on such a beautiful 'Slow Dance'. But stepping lively like Blake, 'Who' could give Michael Jackson's 'Billie Jean' dancing a run it's moonwalking? Jimin in a leather jacket, that's who! In the 80s, video game and pizza parlour inspired, city slicking video that moves in perfect time to the lines, "We never met, but she's all I see at night/Never mеt but she's always on my mind/Wanna give her thе world/And so much more/Who is my heart waiting for?/I'll take her places they ain't found yet/I'll put it all on the line/I'll be that someone she can count on/One, two, three, four, five."

Like prom punch pretending to walk down the aisle, there's a corsage for 'Be Mine' that blooms into a lovely dedication of young love. But the real love and loyalty, at it's most poignant and powerful, comes with the closer 'Closer Than This'. The latest single and photo book video reaches out to Jimin's BTS brothers with memories like a Disney documentary that shows us all is not lost, and of course...the best is yet to come. The seventh seal says it straight, "'Cause anytime you want me (I'll be)/Right here where you call me (I’ll be)/I could never let you go/Never let you go/Whenever you need me (I'll be)/If you believe me (I'll be)/I'll never let you go/Never let you go." Which we, as fans, hope is sooner rather than later with this love letter to his squad. Signed, sealed and delivered....it's yours. Sometimes your muse is just love in itself. And who has more heart than this? TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Playlist Picks: 'Interlude: Showtime', 'Smeraldo Garden Marching Band (Feat. Loco)', 'Who'.

Spin This: Jimin - 'Face' EP.