[Album Review] ECHO (2nd Mini Album) – JIN (BTS)

JIN’s 2nd mini-album, ECHO, is next up for an album review. Released in May 2025, ECHO features 7 songs, including the title track Don’t Say You Love Me. This particular mini-album comes 6 months after JIN released his first mini-album, HAPPY, which featured the title track Running Wild.

ECHO is quite adventurous, exploring multiple genres. Each song on this 7-track mini-album was different to each other. Thus, making JIN’s release exciting to listen to. There are a few 10/10 songs on here, and the rest of the mini-album was also of a similar quality. Another ‘no skippable’ mini-album. Continue reading to find out what I thought about each song.

1. Don’t Say You Love Me (Title Track) – Click here for my full review of Don’t Say You Love Me. (8/10)

2. Nothing Without Your Love – JIN pours his heart out in Nothing Without Your Love as he sings fondly about the missing piece in his life. The track takes on Brit-pop, which has a spacious yet atmospheric flair to it. Throw in JIN’s vocals (that just goes hand-in-hand with the genre) and that already mentioned outpour, and you have a stunning track that is hard to pass up on. (9/10)

3. Loser (ft. YENA) – JIN changes gears through Loser with a fun pop-punk track, featuring the always bubbly YENA. Both work well with this style and each other to create this awesome track that ended up being one of my favourite side tracks of 2025. Their chemistry is one of the things I remember the most about the track. I particularly liked it when they were echoing on another or alternating between each other (depending on which part of the song you were at). Loser’s energy was fabulous and super addictive, and I really liked how catchy the track was. (10/10)

4. Rope It – JIN delves into the country genre with Rope It. This was another fun song and a definite blast to listen to, especially since it wasn’t expected of JIN. I liked how infectious the energy is, which always makes me want to boogie when the song appears on my playlist. (8/10)

5. With The Clouds (구름과 떠나는 여행) – With The Clouds sounds like 2 songs stitched into one. The first is a vibrant up-tempo rock track that has a crisp, refreshing tone. The second is another rock track of a slower melody, which brings out an emotive tone from JIN. I like the way the song melds into one, but it did require a bit of getting used to to really appreciate the track. It is different and unique (though not unheard of), so props to JIN and the producers for experimenting within With The Clouds. (8/10)

6. Background – JIN’s emotions pour out in this pop ballad. I really liked the rock/band elements in Background, which adds so much and appreciated oomph to elevate JIN’s vocals. I remember finding it easy to get lost in the melodies, emotive vocals and instrumental when it was first released. Over a year on, it still has that pull and appeal. (10/10)

7. To Me, Today – I really enjoyed the momentum that the chorus builds into alt-rock To Me, Today. It takes the song into soft head-banging, foot-tapping territory and feel-good vibes that just work really nicely with JIN’s vocals. I also liked the punchy “The One” in the background of the chorus. It adds a playfulness to the song that works nicely with where the alt-rock lands in the track. (9/10)