The Daily Spin, November 7
RM | Indigo
Welcome back to the Daily Spin, the series in which I review 365 albums during 2023.
Each album will be given a rating on a scale from 0 to 10. You can look at the entire set here. Additionally, you can check out a list of my favorite songs from each album right here.
Album: Indigo (2022)
Artist: RM
Link:
Regardless of what anyone says about his work, RM will leave an undeniable legacy across Korean music - as one of the most prolific producers of all time - but also in Western circles as the ‘leader’ figure of BTS, who we’ve spoken about previously on this page in reviewing Wings.
This is the second solo project that we’ve looked at by a member of BTS - the first was Jack In The Box, j-hope’s mixtape released a few months prior to this album. It’s interesting to look at the similarities - both about half an hour long, 10 songs apiece, both stylistic departures from the wheelhouse of pop that have made the group near kings of international music.
Indigo misses where Jack in the Box hits more often than the inverse, if you ask me. Studded with a pretty fantastic feature list - Anderson .Paak, Erykah Badu, and longtime K-rap mainstay Tablo highlight a rotation of nine guests that sprinkle their touches throughout the album - but rarely do I feel these features stand up to their true potential, and two of my favorite tracks are actually the ones less any features.
The standouts are where he gets a little crazy with it - he pulls at his inner Reznor for ‘Change pt. 2’, a very unique little jazz-hop tune that relies on grating synths and a gorgeous little piano loop. The same is true of the earworm that is ‘Closer’, with Mahalia’s angelic soprano sailing on tiny waves over dueling verses from RM and Paul Blanco, the sort of pared-back RnB that calls to mind dvsn and Brent Faiyaz.
It’s not a bad record, by any means. There’s an inherent ease to this pop-rap charcuterie board, the sort of music that demonstrates how the group have ascended to these heights behind the talents of their members, but it’s also the sort of album that tends to pass without much of a lasting memory. An album that rages about trendsetters and the mainstream in the opening notes pretty quickly falls into line, and at the end of it there’s a bit of plasticky sheen to it all.
Rating: 7.2/10
Best Tracks: Closer; Change pt. 2
Worst Tracks: Still Life; Wild Flower; For_tful