Not too keen on the rap verses in this. i like REN’s rapping ability - usually it’s quite poetic - but these verses don’t seem to fit with the more mature tone of the rest of it. Overall it’s really good. I love retro soul music and Message in a Bottle is a great song that Ren does really well. He’s just beating the music industry at the game right now by self producing and keeping it simple. It works well - the live performance in a jazz club kind of setting. Low budget, and he knocks it out of the park. The backup singers are so elegant. It has great visual appeal. The base player looks like a bit of a poser in that outfit but I’ll forgive him. Ren pulls his look off. He doesn’t have to try to look cool, somehow, always (not a real fan of the Peaky Blinders high top haircut though tbh. I wish he’d grow it but it’s popular in the UK. His article is still great, I don’t care about his haircut in terms of what he does, whatsoever. But I can’t help but notice he’s handsome and I selfishly think a different haircut would look better on him. Bass player and Ren have good, symbiotic, timing regardless of their looks. Musically they’re excellent.
I feel like I can critique their deliberate choice of aesthetics because they are part of the performance and artistry. I’m not making fun of anything about looks that they have no control over. That kind of haircut (even though his is longer and combed forward) reminds me of not good things. But so can other military style fashion. It’s all in context. His is more subversive. He mixes it with a Billy idol style dangling earring (often a cross) and 30’s style trousers, dress shirt and suspenders, with goth/ punk/ hippie finger rings and whatever else he wants to wear…so it’s his own look. The other guy looks like he’s trying too hard with the black shades on though lol.
