Peach Truck Hijackers: DO YOU NEED A BAND? (Eng version)
Words and pictures by Christian Mata (@chris_isu_m)
It began with a bold personal ad posting on Instagram in June 2024, but constant word-of-mouth has quickly cemented Peach Truck Hijackers as one of Korea's top new indie bands. Ahead of their much-anticipated self-titled debut album, the band joins Debaser Magazine for an exclusive first interview.
They have: a stylish monthly playlist, memorable band imagery (Thunder Peach), a magnetic presence, and a tireless work ethic. In Seoul's indie rock circuit, you are either seeing them on stage or dancing in the crowd. It's easy to forget that the group has only been a band for about a year.
First and foremost, the band is made up of music lovers. Their playlists show a broad variety of inspirations: from Black Sabbath and Julión Álvarez to Meshell Ndegeocello and KIRARA. Vocalist and guitarist Lee Chung-Kyoung practically lived at Gimbap Records, even "at the old location where half the records were outside, on the street in a box. In winter, I would be freezing my hands searching through all the CDs and stuff." She bought a guitar in high school and wrote her first song ever, Rubbish, which appears on the album.
Kim Gyuri wanted to find her soul instrument in life: she tried violin, piano, and drums before deciding that bass would be the most expressive (least demanding) instrument to enjoy on stage. Lee Sejeong actually tried bass for a bit after learning drums, but found that her heart belonged to drums. Lee Jeonghyo was always interested in band culture but never imagined she would join one. She took a liking to the guitar.
The band considers Chung-Kyoung the glue of the group because she knew all the members first and brought them together. In 2020, Chung-Kyoung meets Gyuri, who offers to jam at a practice room sometime. Meanwhile, Sejeong, a massive hip-hop head since middle school, finds Nirvana and moves on to Dream Theater. She is determined to become Mike Portnoy.
It's 2022: Chung-Kyoung and Jeonghyo spend a semester in Germany, where Jeonghyo is touched by Chung-Kyoung's singing. Gyuri, returning to Korea, needs a European bank account for a refund; Chung-Kyoung obliges. Sejeong drums tirelessly but realises that the bands on campus don't have room for her ambitions and sound.
Chung-Kyoung and Jeonghyo take a trip to Italy before going back home. The pair are fighting a bumpy Sicilian alley, huddled together on an electric scooter as the scent of peaches catches Chung-Kyoung's attention: in front of a truck packed with ripe peaches stands a portly Italian man in a bright yellow shirt. Through a translation app, the pair procure a euro's worth of peaches. They are so delicious they come back the next day. For 5 euros, they get a full trip's worth of peaches, the stickiest hands on the airport bus, and an urge to steal the whole truck.
It's March, in Korea again. Chung-Kyoung and Jeonghyo are ready to jam in a practice room. The pair are wandering near the practice room when a despondent Sejeong walks by in search of a band that wants to do more than covers. Great timing. A message from Gyuri reads: "Where's my money?" Perfect—up one bassist, down a few hundred euros ("oops, forgot about the refund money"). Now, 2 becomes 4.
Among their stage experiences, a few colourful moments stand out. Sejeong's favourite gig was playing at The 1234-Dah's final show. She "broke the snare drum and the whole crowd was just screaming 'fuck you' to the stage; it was a beautiful scene." Gyuri's first gig was her favourite, where the university festival stage felt impossibly big and the digital fire shone bright. "The students were all waiting to hear New Jeans covers, but we came on first, playing Killing in the Name; everyone was confused, and our only friends were way in the back, cheering." Chung-Kyoung's memorable gig was at a President Yoon protest rally in the middle of winter, where everything went wrong: sans Gyuri, Jeonghyo had to play her guitar with an octaver, all the amps broke, the venue was a half-built restaurant with no heating, and the police came. Jeonghyo can't pinpoint any specific moment: “Just any gig where there's a lot of people giving us a reaction is a great feeling." All these stories say a lot about the group - they roll with the punches.
Now that they have finally finished a record, one has to wonder why they waited. "No singles, no EPs, no demos," Chung-Kyoung partially jokes, but a big reason was "we didn't know much about recording at first, but we knew how to play shows, so why not just do that?" The recording process at Beach Town Music Studio ended up being easy, thanks in part to their mentors, Soumbalgwang's Dongsoo Kang producing and Say Sue Me's Kim Byungkyu engineering. Sejeong was the only one disappointed with recording: she finished her drum tracks ahead of schedule but still wanted to play on the studio's kit more. Peach Truck Hijackers continue to outrun any genre label when it comes to their music, and the self-titled album doesn't change that. This will suit fans just fine. Songs about climate crisis anxiety, facing hopelessness, defiant anger, confusion, and more all fuel the album.
It's tough to choose one song as the biggest crowdpleaser, but Fuck You is probably a highlight for many, and it was also Sejeong's favourite to record. On stage, this is where Chung-Kyoung's vocals go from clean to screaming, Sejeong becomes a blur of intricate stick patterns, people invade the stage, and middle fingers are thrown. The album perfectly captures the primal fury and visceral, complex rhythms that Sejeong spent so long crafting. Chung-Kyoung's favourite track is Twisted Lips (or more literally translated, “even if your mouth's twisted"), a very post-punk cut with a hazy surf guitar laid on top and a spoken word bridge. It talks about the futility of everything but also how she admires someone for fighting against it; the personal lyrics feel hopeful. Radio, Radio's infectious guitar licks and timely climate message are finally available at home, and Jeonghyo struggled to choose it as her favourite because she's proud of so many of the guitar tracks on the album. Gyuri picked Dreamgazi because it feels so different from the other tracks, and it's something that can make people cry.
With their debut album done, they have no intentions of slowing down. They already have a second album in mind, but first, they have a dream to check off their list. Every year, the group goes to the DMZ Peace Train Music Festival; it's their favourite ritual. But someday they hope to visit the festival as performers. They are also eager to play abroad, but until then, they will be playing live showcases across Korea in December at Commune in Daegu, Ovantgarde in Busan, and Baby Doll in Seoul. The self-titled album will be released on 11.18.
Jeonghyo
MBTI: INFP
Likes: cooking (Italian)
Dislikes: cucumber, the feeling of riding in an electric car
Awards: Messiest room, binge watches the most
Chung-Kyoung
MBTI: INTP
Likes: collecting cds.
Dislikes: strong perfume smell in the subway
Awards:Snacks the most, best spontaneous dancer
Sejeong
MBTI: INTP
Likes: hiking
Dislikes: Dwaeji-gukbap, people who don’t try hard in life
Awards: Worst cook, pickiest eater
Gyuri
MBTI: “CUTE” ENTP
Likes: Pilates
Dislikes:burnt-tasting coffee
Awards: Best Tiktok dancer, no sense of direction, best at selfies
For more information on Peach Truck Hijackers, follow them here.