So!YoON!

[dr. b 492]

I can't say I'm a big fan of K-pop. I heard more than my fair share of it during my last few years living in Vietnam when all-things-Korean were skyrocketing in popularity. It didn't do much for me and much of K-pop is a pretty big departure from the noise I usually put in my ears. But I got turned on to this artist So!YoON! this week via a a collaboration with a really cool Thai singer/songwriter that I follow, and here we are -- I can't stop listening to this album. [Here's the link to the album on Spotify if you do Spotify]

 

There's a lot going on on this album. The open / title track starts like an atmospheric electronic song, but when the guitars come in it gets kinda psych-rock-ish.

 

Track #2, "zZ'City" starts with a really nice vocal over some very nice and subtle synth. I think the best way I can describe this is bedroom / dream pop with more hifi production quality. Whatever you wanna call it, I think it's the stand-out track on the album and a great song.

 

 

Track #4, "Holiday", is a very funky number. I like the horns and the very subtle (almost too buried in the mix) guitar track. It's my second favourite song on the album.

 

 

The rest of the album keeps the variety coming. "Fntsy" has some rapping going on, which isn't totally my thing but it's got a decent groove. "A/DC=" is a very electronic tune with a bit of a psychedelic feel. And then you've got a couple alt-rock sort of tracks like "Forever Dumb" and "Athena".

 

 

Did I mention that this gal can play a pretty mean guitar? It's a shame she didn't take a solo during the interlude, she's clearly got the chops for it. I don't think there are any solos on this album for any instrument - that seems like a bit of an oversight, but oh well.

 

In short, this album is rad and you should check it out