“The key point was freedom.” When Jimin sat down with Consequence to discuss his pre-release single, “Set Me Free Pt.2,” he shared this sentiment, one that also feels largely applicable to his new album, FACE, available today, March 24th. Welcome to the show, where Jimin is officially taking center stage.
The BTS member is known for many things — his mix of athleticism and delicacy onstage, honed by years of ballet and modern dance training, makes him one of the most fascinating performers working right now. His airy, acrobatic voice has him responsible for many of the most memorable high notes and harmonies throughout BTS’s extensive discography. By any account, he’s notoriously kindhearted and thoughtful, and strikes as the kind of creative who feels things deeply. FACE is a whole new game, though, and posits a question for longtime listeners and more recent BTS fans alike: Who is Jimin, when he’s on his own?
Take a listen to FACE below, and read on for our analysis of Jimin’s first solo effort.
FACE begins, maybe a bit surprisingly, with a circus-type melody on “Face-off.” The world of entertainment is a wild one; the experience of existing so intensely in the public eye might sometimes feel akin to wearing a full face of makeup and putting on a performance for the sake of everyone in the vicinity.
In the notes that accompanied the stream of the album, though, Jimin specifies that this opening track is about finding resilience after feelings of doubt and disappointment. It lands like an Ariana Grande sweetener-era song distilled through the expert, hard-hitting lens of a BTS recording session (the highest of compliments from this writer); in short, the song absolutely slays. “Tonight I’m gonna not be sober… It’s all fucking over,” Jimin growls. Jimin wrote lyrics on every track of the album, and his bandmate, BTS leader RM, is credited as a co-writer on two of the highlights of the overall strong project, “Face-off” and “Like Crazy.”
“Face-off” cascades into “Interlude : Dive,” an amalgam of sounds and memories both sweet and sad. The vignettes offer an intimate look into Jimin’s daily life, especially since these are noted as audio clips he chose and, in places, recorded himself — there’s a knock at the door followed by the sound of someone catching their breath; later, we hear a flashback to Jimin introducing himself onstage at a BTS concert. Is it a coincidence or an Easter egg that the chord progression mirrors bandmate j-hope’s “Blue Side?”
