album V - 'Layover'

[Joseline]

 

[Joseline]

 

[Joseline]

 A lot can go wrong when a performer endeavors outside of the group that made their career. In the case of BTS baritone V, a lot can go right, as well.

 

“Layover,” the first solo album from V, is moody, smooth alt-R&B, a collection of songs that feels true to the performer — and offers a glimpse into his oft-considered mysterious interiority.

 

First came the two singles, the bilingual “Love Me Again” and “Rainy Days” — the former, languid pop with V’s voice high in the mix, the latter, a syrupy, lo-fi post-breakup ballad. “Blue” and “For Us” connect the two. “Slow Dancing” is a standout, with its impromptu flute solo at the song’s coda.

 

 

[Joseline]

 

[Joseline]

 

[Joseline]

If it wasn't Olivia, he would have been in the top five. But it is clear that his target is not western lists. No remixes, no gimmicks, no promotions.

 

 

[Joseline]

 

[Joseline]

BTS’ V feels like an old soul when it comes to music. Sure, he’s one-seventh of the biggest pop group on the planet, who have helped push Korean music forward on a global scale. But, when he shares music recommendations on livestreams, social media and in interviews, he often chooses to highlight jazz classics and vintage R&B staples over artists from his own generation.

 

That his debut solo album ‘Layover’ pitches up in that smoky, smooth world of yesteryear, then, comes as no surprise. The singer’s voice – which is at its goosebump-inducing best when its owner drops it into a deeper register that’s soft and fluffy around the edges – is made for such a style. V’s compatibility with his chosen palette makes magic, the record instantly oozing sophistication.

 

Rather than fix his gaze entirely on the past, though, this release finds V giving these classic sounds his own modern twist. ‘Rainy Days’ opens with a piano melody that transports you into the dimly-lit glow of a jazz bar, where it could be 2023 or 1923. But the ping and zoom of texts flying through the digital ether cuts through within in seconds, pulling you into the present. ‘Blue’ combines old school R&B with a more current beat and production effects on snippets of backing vocals that feels at once timeless but also futuristic.

 

 

 

The contrast between periods can be felt most keenly on ‘For Us’, the most interesting song on ‘Layover’. The pitched-up vocals that usher in the track don’t serve just as a mood-setting introduction, but as a device for a shift and intrigue. When they reappear midway through, they signal an imminent key change – one which becomes all the more impactful for its chipmunk-high preface. The rest of the track, though, is deliciously of the past, its synth pads and bright piano immediately reminiscent of soft-focus ’70s live performances.

 

 

Lyrically, ‘Layover’ is simple and deals largely in relationships that have veered off course, but with V at times hopeful, others longing (and sometimes both) that they can get back on track. It makes sense. The album’s title refers to a period of waiting – limbo, almost – on a journey and, here, the singer is searching for the connection to the next stop in his life.

 

“It’s about time we get it straight / Gimme a minute if it ain’t too late,” he instructs on the romantic ‘Slow Dancing’. In the chorus, he offers more incentive to make the call. “Maybe we / Could be / Slow dancing,” he suggests, voice moving as glacially and calmly as the activity he’s proposing. “Until the morning / We could be romancing / The night away.”

 

 

His debut album has survived his tough vetting process and it’s an engaging listen; one that makes artistic choices rather than commercial ones (see: the minute-long, meandering flute solo at the end of ‘Slow Dancing’). Perhaps V made us wait for this one, but it was thoroughly worth it.

 

[Joseline]

 

[Joseline]

 

[Joseline]

 

[Joseline]

I loved the intro. It made me miss summer vacation again. Also, the way he pauses a little in the middle of the song, allows the backtrack to play, and then continues, tells us that 'I am the one singing the song'. 

 

 

[Joseline]

(2.5 Days tracking)

[Joseline]

 

[oceans]

ouuuu this is good

[Saint James]

the videos are very cute but i dont like the music

[Joseline]

 

[Joseline]

 

[Joseline]

 

[Joseline]

 

[Joseline]

Album by soloist with over 2M copies sold in South Korea history

Standing Under the Shade of a Roadside Tree (1988)
When Love Passes By (1987)
Back To You (1989)
Memory (1995)
Wrongful Encounter (1995)
Reason for Existence (1996)
To Heaven (1996)
For Your Soul (1999)
Let Me Love (2000)
Layover (2023) [NEW PEAK]

 

 

 

[Joseline]

 

[Joseline]

 

[chiliam]

This is surprisingly good coffee background music. And i mean it in a good way. I can see myself stream the whole ep casually on rainy cozy chill day

[iconicyayo]

this is a really nice album. i’ve always really liked v and he actually was the one who got me into k pop. 

 

am i right in saying it’s absolutely smashing locally in sk but not doing as well as jimin and jk in the west? i’m really interested in its chart performance bc v has always been my fav member and i thought he was the most popular worldwide too.  

 

also the yeontan stage was adorable