bts - map of the soul; persona

— Keni ❞

12.04.19

↳ ʰᵉˡˡᵒ ᵏᵃ

—————————꒰ :game_die: ꒱

➶ map of the soul

︿︿︿︿︿

🖇;; ᴡᴇʟᴄᴏᴍᴇ ᴛᴏ

ᴍʏ ʙʟᴏɢ,,

hello and welcome to what will

probably be me rambling over

this masterpiece of an album, i

mean, my ult group came back

after all. i can barely hold in my

emotions so let's hope that this

doesn't turn into an appreciation

or something. let's get into it!

full album

persona

this is such an intriguing song. bts have always been experimenting around with their sounds and this is no different. the electric guitar in the back seemed so weird at first listen, overlayed with hip hop beats, but then i found that it blended it so well, and provided a sound that just lingered around my ears, making me want to come back to this song. rm went with this aggressive rapping and raspy tone in places, which i think added so much color to the song. tbvh, i've never been a huge fan of rm's voice in itself, even though i always found his rapping skills flawless, but the amount of times i listened to this already says how good of a song it is. i loved that the instrumental kept changing throughout, with a wide range of sounds fading in and out. it's just rm rapping for three minute straight, yet it didn't have a single second where you'd get bored. the story in the lyrics is one of rm questioning his existence, on a journey of discovering himself and his flaws. the mv gives off old school vibes, as it take us back to their "skool luv affair" era, but there are also other reminders about their previous releases here and there. it was so meticulous and well thought out. i feel like all the dummies in the back could represent the different aspects of rm's "persona", but again, these can be interpretated differently.

boy with luv

i wasn't expecting this feature of halsey, at all, but i'm so proud of my boys, really. this funk pop song got me hype as from the teaser itself. it's such an upbeat, fun song that makes me want to get up and dance along. jimin opening up the song in his sweet voice got my attention right away, if not for the synth filled instrumental. the little "oh yeah oh yeah's" are gonna keep playing in my head, i know this already. the whole pre-chorus is so addictive and the quick build up to the little drop was so smooth. the chorus is my favorite part, as the sythns from the start kick back in. onto yoongi's part, tbvh i'm not sure what to think of the distinct flow, but i loved the second part of his verse. hoseok came in with a very hoseok-ish color, a slower pace than yoongi and that made the song all the more interesting. halsey's voice was pretty much only heard in the second chorus with the "oh my my my", she only sang that part, yet it already put in such diversity, even though i wish that she had an actual verse. i've always loved jungkook's vocals, and i loved even more how it was sandwiched between halsey's voice. namjoon had his full time to shine, with his usual stellar rapping. the instrumental is so highly detailed, with all the little background vocals, the melody loop, bubbling bass and the different sounds they added. this is seriously going to be /the/ summer song.

in the mv, we find a lot of factors that say that this comeback is a throwback to their previous eras, for example the recurring lollipops or the scene arrangement in that one scene with "persona" written above them, that reminded me of the "omelas" scene in spring day. there were a lot more of these, but i'm not here to make theories so let's move on. i'm always stunned when i find the little details in bts' mvs, they always seem to put the most meticulous efforts in each and every comeback, getting better and better. at this point, it seems like each pixel we see has its own little significance in its way. what i loved the most, was that they all looked like they were having the time of their lives. the mv is so bright and colorful, from their wardrobe to the scenes, everything screaming joy. we saw so much of jimin in the mv i couldn't be happier- i'm showing my bias again. the scene with yoongi walking on the piano has to be one of my faves, it was so a unique shot. the choreography was as expected, bubbly and energectic.

mikrokosmos

british producer duo, arcades, worked on this track, as well as 'jamais vu', with bts and they did say they weren't trying to emulate the kpop style or anything, they just wanted to make a good song for bts, and they sure did. my boys are lyrical geniuses, really. "we're shining brightly, in our own rooms, in our own stars" this was such a simple line, yet it hit so hard. they're still trying to inspire self confidence in us. their 'love yourself' series is over, but they still leave these little messages that bring us this feeling of solace. "i got you" they say they, or rather, their music is here with us for these lonely nights we have nothing else to hold onto. i love the random tinkling sounds in the background, and how it slowly builds up to the chorus. rap line once again brought us different styles, with these more energetic and bright verses. the harmonisations towards the end of the song were so pleasant to listen to, while the subtle high note showed the full extent of their capabilities.

make it right

ahh, the song ed sheeran participated in. this started with horns-like melody and blanketed vocals, until the sound got fuller and it started bulding up to the chorus. i love the smooth and easy going vocals here. i especially liked how tae went falsetto, and how jimin went with this deeper tone in places. the hook was a tiny bit underwhelming, no lie, but i think that it was the theme of the song, and it's very charm. hoseok's sing-rapping part striked yet again, it was short, but impactful nonetheless. the lyrics depict a story of finding someone who's been wandering, and giving them the love they need to heal, thus "making it right". the beats come in again as we reach jungkook's part in the second half of the song, before it explodes again into the chorus. i loved, absolutely adored yoongi's part here and i really wish it had been longer. the delicious bassline was also much more prominent during that part. overall, a light and sweet song with polished vocals to get you through the tough days.

home

just from the title of the song, i expected a home-like, warm and comforting feeling. what i didn't expect was a slick r&b track with trap beats, fast rapping and "mi casa's" in lush voices. a finger snapping beat fades in, in the pre-chorus and fades out again as we reach the chorus to give way to the trap beats yet again, overlayed with the sugary sweet voice. this is apparently a song for army, saying how we're their home, a confidence dripping anthem over such a delightful tune, and little synths scattered through, especially in the chorus. i feel like it's gonna be a slow charmer for me, since it'll take a few listens to fully grow on me, but at the same time, i feel like it's a really easy to get addicted to song. also the throwback to 'no more dream' with yoongi's "big house, big cars, big rings".

jamais vu

probably my favorite b-side here. this song is so beautiful. starting with the near-acapella vocals, with jin's and jungkook's emotion-laden voices, until it got to the slow, emotional rapping and they conveyed the feelings of the song so well. hoseok's rapping really shined so much here, in his own definite style. the subdued instrumental put the full focus on their voices. i loved how there was this guitar in places, and subtle hip hop-py beats, which managed to blend in perfectly without taking away the ballad-esque feel of the song. jungkook's voice in the chorus made this so ethereal, his voice always has that effect for me, like it makes things feel really dreamy. jin's airy vocals were a perfcet fit for this pop ballad. this song is basically a cry for help, asking for a remedy, for someone to save them, while telling us how it would have been better if real life was a game, and that is so relatable to me. i often have this desire to run away from problems, you know, drowning yourself in a game so you can't think about real life. so this song touched me on so many levels, it already made its soft spot in my heart.

dionysus

the most intense song of the album, providing a break from all the fun and lightness. i think this could also become my favorite b-side. i can't place the exact genre, this feels like a mix of hip hop, rock and electronic, taking us back to bts' old style. i seriously love how it started with effects on hoseok's voice, layered with slight disk-scratching and transitioned to namjoon's tight rap, over the music that gives the old school hip hop vibes. jimin's part is so catchy, and the harmonisations in the back made this all the better. the autotune on their voices come back in the later verses, then dispersed again, this was very well arranged as a whole. the rock feels come in with the addition of the electric guitar, along with the drums that feel like they are ever present throughout the four minutes. there's this little break after yoongi's verse and the music comes back even stronger, with this high note in the back, is that jin? i'm not sure but i loved it. it ends with the electric guitar, keeping the rock feel to the end. ok no, i might even like this a tiny notch better than boy with luv.

————————————————————— ❞

this album shows how hard they

worked on this. we got so much

of jimin, i am living i tell you. but

really, each and every song was

worth it. thank you for reading, i

hope you liked it and have a great

day/night ahead!

edit; thank you for the feature!!

:game_die: