BTS’ Jimin made his solo debut today with the song “Like Crazy” and album “Face”. Here are my first thoughts on the album.
Face-Off
The intro of this song really teases you with the circus-theme sound that eventually twists into the trap beat. That alone makes me wish we got a music video for this song, just to see what they would have done visually.
The song reminds me of Halsey’s music, which I love, so I’ve been low key vibing to Face-off since listening to it the first time. I enjoy the powerful vocals, especially since the rest of the album excluding one other song is very melodic.
Interlude: Dive
I normally don’t pay much attention to interludes or intros and outros unless it’s clearly a song of it’s own. Dive however keeps me intrigued, mostly the the music portion which has a dreamlike quality to it which nicely transitions into the next track. It sets a mood sprinkled with moments that are strictly Jimin.
Like Crazy
Like Crazy is quite the antithesis of the pre-release track Set Me Free pt. 2 with it’s synth driven pop sound and a hazy, dreamlike quality both musically and visually. Much like how Jimin wished to be “lost in the lights” and for the night to never end, we get immersed in those feelings with the almost lulling quality of the track and the slight disorientation of the visuals. Both song and video do a great job of replicating the feeling of pushing or drowning out the weight reality for a sense of peace, for one night of freedom.
There is also an English version of Like Crazy on the album, but I’m not going to cover it since my thoughts aren’t really unique. I will say that they really paid attention to the meaning of the song over a direct translation, which I appreciate.
Alone
Alone is such a vulnerable track that even left me feeling exposed and a bit emotional. It is one of the songs that I would insist you read the lyrics for because even though the production sets the tone, the lyrics are where this song’s strength and deep meaning are.
Set Me Free pt. 2
I have to say when I first listened to Set Me Free pt. 2, I did question the vocal tone of Jimin’s starting rap. It seemed a little whiney, at least to me, and it was an interesting choice to start with that after the dramatic intro. But after a few listens I have grown accustomed to it. Plus when Jimin sings, his vocals sound perfect so all is right with the world again. The video is fascinating, with some many little details that fans can deep dive into.
I could write a lot about this track and video, but that is the antithesis of a quick take. So leave a comment asking if you want to know more.
Letter
Letter is actually a hidden track on the physical album which I have not received yet, but thankfully ARMY are on top of it so I could listen to it now versus later. And honestly, Letter might be my favorite song on the album. There is something about the gentle strings and soft vocals singing so fondly that got me to almost cry. It’s a beautiful song with a lot of meaning behind it.
Album Overall
I have seen complaints about the use of autotune in the songs, but I have to ask those that do complain if they actually paid attention to the music or if they just wanted to hunt for something to hate. If you’re actually paying attention, it’s obvious that when autotune is used it is an artistic choice to add layers to the vocal tone, not to try and improve his vocals which don’t need improving.
One thing that is definitely just in my personal taste is that I think the interlude would make a better intro to set the mood for the album, still followed by Like Crazy and Alone. Then put Face-off before Set Me Free Pt. 2. I like the sound of that flow through the album, but it would lose the intrigue at the start that comes from the beginning of Face-off. This is honestly not a critique but more my own artistic interpretation of what I, who is clearly not Jimin, would do.
Overall, Face is a great album; it’s honestly it is a no-skip album. My only complaint is that I wanted more songs to be honest. I wanted to dive deeper into Jimin’s perspective like we did for Indigo with RM. Hopefully we will get much more music from Jimin in the future to fill that need, and I’m sure we will.
Have you listened to FACE yet? It’s available now on most streaming platforms. Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
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