New Music Friday - 11.07
The latest in our "New Music Friday" series is live. Our writers have scoured all the best new tunes coming out of Korea's indie scene and picked their faves.
chiyoonhae – Green Tree Frog
Chosen by Marie Joncquez (@mariejoncquez)
By the pond, the greenery thickens and the humidity rises. The weather is warm. The rainy season is approaching. Suddenly, frogs can be heard. The world succumbs to languor, lulled by a tender guitar melody around which a whispering trumpet and the appeasing voice of chiyoonhae intertwine. The song feels like a delicate weaving of distant softness, resulting in a warmly enveloping experience. The song doesn’t really end, leaving a cottony impression of peace and eternity.
Socialclub Hyangwu - Bleeding Cherry
Chosen by Christian 이수 Mata (@chris_isu_m)
One of the reigning champs of Seoul's underground indie rock circuit, SocialClub Hyangwu’s new track, Bleeding Cherry, is poised to become a crowd favourite. The dark imagery confessionals grow into a desperate plea as the guitar transforms the track from a straight chugging rhythm into a discordant, hazy landscape. But don’t worry, it's deceptively sweet-sounding call and response chorus keeps the song anchored. Electronic virtuoso Ahn Maru also deftly reimagines the track as a late 90s party anthem perfect for the house party scene in a riot grrrl slasher flick.
molar system - Fear of Flying
Chosen by Jamie Finn (@jamiefinn2209)
“Do I look pretty enough to come inside?” This double entendre is repeated through the chorus of Fear of Flying. It’s a powerful song about sexual frustration and the shame (particularly that of women) we put on ourselves for our desires. Lyrics about “the guilt I feel between my thighs” are a great example of the brutally confessional fragility at the heart of this track.
Musically, the first half of Fear of Flying is a flood of ideas. It opens with an attention-bashing shitmix of jazz, ambient, dreampop, glitchy. This scattershot approach is no doubt meant to reflect the confusion over one's self-worth that the song’s lyrics are exploring.
Just after the halfway mark, the song eventually settles into a souring Cocteau Twins-esque dream pop, complete with an excellent vocal performance from singer Sannie.
Sally Everywhere - An Adventure to Chase the Light I Once Had
Chosen by Charity Lynn (@_charitylynn_)
An Adventure to Chase the Light I Once Had is quite a mouthful, but perfectly encapsulates that nostalgic yearning we experience from time to time. This track, coming from the band’s newest EP release of the same name, is an anthem for the child inside us all. Although its sound is upbeat and light-hearted, the lyrics carry a bit of melancholy. Wouldn’t we all be happier if we could see the world through the eyes of a child again? Let’s not get so caught up in being a grown-up and remember to search for those happy, child-like feelings as we live our lives.
Yojung - Drift Apart
Chosen by Sam Dougherty (@samtdougherty)
Sometimes you just need the right guitar chords and a heavy heart to make a great song. Everything seems to flow from there on Drift Apart, an expressive and moody rocker from Yojung. They waste no time getting right into the groove of the song, which is slow-paced but catchy, with some killer emo vocals. It feels like it could’ve been written in a few minutes because they just needed to capture a feeling, and they absolutely do.
Gloomy - Chain
Chosen by Jamie Finn (@jamiefinn2209)
“Gloomy” isn’t quite the right word to describe the excellent debut from the producer of that name. For me, “gloomy” suggests something greyer than the intense melancholia of the expansive Guilt Protocol. Over the course of 12 songs, Gloomy explores a range of emotions (though none of them are happy) through an impressively diverse set of musical styles, such as emo, ambient, techno, and more. I’m going with the jazzy trip-hop inspired Chain. Densely layered, atmospheric, and an attractive vocal performance that at times touches on Jeff Buckley.
Kona - Blue
Chosen by Christian 이수 Mata (@chris_isu_m)
Given that the debut album A Kind of Animal was made as the score for a short film, it feels a bit unfair to pluck one track from the whole. Synecdoche and emotive choreography evolve with the enigmatic score in the short film. But Blue stands on its own as a playful track with cascading melodies and a bouncing hi-hat-led rhythm. Dial tones chirp against each other as the layers build and the energy keeps driving forward in pursuit. It’s just a small taste of the musical prowess on display in the short film/album.
SUMIN - All in
Chosen by Jess Howell
This isn’t a song about what can be between two people. It’s a song about what will be. As the name suggests, SUMIN goes all in on this track. He spices a mid-summer love song with proprietary seasonings that defy genre to bring much-needed shock therapy to a subject so frequently marred in melodrama. SUMIN’s whole ensemble comes together in a blissful, thunderous celebration of ecstatic yearning. This song is a rapturous journey that brings all the excitement of an unplanned night with a love at first sight through your eardrums and into your heart.
NoSo - Don’t Hurt Me, I’m Trying
Chosen by Jamie Finn (@jamiefinn2209)
LudiSTELO describe itself as “psychedelic space rock”. The moment you start listening to them, it becomes apparent how apt this title is. A pulsating and driven slice of psychedelia, night & light builds and moves, using every bit of its 9-minute length to expand into new territory. Pulled along by some excellent guitar work (from Ash, also of Animal Divers), night & light epicness means that it never gets boring, despite its length.
Silica Gel (feat. Japanese Breakfast) - NamgungFEFERE
Chosen by Mica (@mishckah)
The ethereal, synth-laden atmosphere of NamgungFEFERE feels like a natural evolution of both artists' established sonic territories, where Silica Gel's experimental edge seamlessly meets Japanese Breakfast's introspective indie rock approach. The collaboration feels organic rather than forced, likely benefiting from the mutual respect between artists who've both carved out distinctive spaces in the indie music scene.
What emerges is a tapestry of atmospheric textures that shimmer and breathe with life, accompanied by lyrics that strike at the heart of their fans. There's something divine about how the music cascades and interweaves, creating that signature floating sensation both artists are known for.
The track's hazy, reverb-soaked sound creates a sense of liminality, opening space for reflection on cultural identity, language, and the worlds between different experiences. It's music that exists in the in-between moments, perfect for late-night drives or contemplative headphone sessions.
MELKI - BODY BREAK
Chosen by Christian 이수 Mata (@chris_isu_m)
The standout track of MELanKoll by MELKI, BODY BREAK houses something sinister. Is it the throbbing bass with an onslaught of percussive crashes, or the haunting synth reprieve? Maybe it's the distorted glitches and mounting digital wails that seem to signal an impending force. BODY BREAK works just as well in a derelict ship corridor or under the dizzying strobes of a dark rave. At just under 4 minutes, it's a stereophonic maze that envelopes the owl listener.
WEMONDE(위몽드) - Whispers of summer
Chosen by Connor Cass (@aminorcharacter)
A song's title means a lot, the best titles allow you to hear the song before even pressing play. Whispers of Summer is perfectly titled for that reason. Its airy, beachy vibes are as intoxicating as you’d expect going in. The track instantly wins you over when it crashes in with bouncy piano, drum patter and groovy basslines. Bright guitars and synths weave in and out to dial up the breezy summer feelings, while laid-back vocals hop between hopeful falsetto and breathy half-sung sleepiness. It all comes together for some sick seaside summer bliss, which we’ve gotta get somewhere within Korea’s aggressively humid climate.