I've already heard a decent amount of rock this year, be it indie musicians like Gaz Coombes or the definite surprise of Lil Yachty's Let's Start Here. Even still, After the Magic distinguishes itself with its shoegaze influence, which creates a sonic landscape that is incredibly expansive throughout the album, and puts a real emphasis on the sound of the music over the vocals when listening. This isn't necessarily to the detriment of the album, as these lush soundscapes are probably the most intriguing thing about the album to a non-Korean speaker. Even with a myriad of influences, some moments stand as a cut above the rest - see the flourishing "Insomnia" with it's heavy chorus and brilliantly filling piano that contrasts with the aggressive guitar and drums. Some of the more pop-leaning moments still stand as the album's best, such as the memorable "We Shine at Night," which probably sits as my favorite song on the album as it builds and falls throughout. With nearly every song at over five minutes, Parannoul has ample room to experiment with his songs and ideas, and the result is a pretty creative sounding album that certainly delivers on the energy.
With all of the songs being as long as they are, that often makes each moment a multi-part experience - typically, the song will start with a faster paced, energetic segment, such as the heavily-electronic "Sketchbook" before falling down into a slower, more spacious section, before taking all the momentum they've been saving and unleashing it in the final moments. Take the big sound and brilliance of "Sound Inside Me, Waves Inside You" as key example, which stands as one of the album's more ambitious and well-executed moments. A definite highlight. That isn't to say every song is like this, as the shorter tracks are far more direct, such as opener "Polaris" or the simple and catchy "Imagination" in the album's third quarter. Now is a good time to mention that every song flows from one to another in a brilliant and natural way; I wonder if, like To See the Next Part of the Dream, After the Magic is also a concept album. If it is, I gather that it's about the magic of dreams, growing up, and what happens when those dreams lose their specialty - this is all based off English-translated lyrics, so I'm doing my best, but it's hard not to see this when looking at the lyrics to songs like "Imagination," "Blossom," or the title track. If this all is the case as well, than it's done excellently.
After the Magic may be a record for future digesting, but as it stands it's already one of my personal favorite releases of 2023. The music is explorative and more than willing to grab from a handful of ideas to create the expansive walls of sound that come through your headphones. Couple this brilliant ear for blending ideas with an ear for melodies, aggressive production, and a tightly executed concept about maturing, and you have a bona fide album that only gets more fun to listen to with repeated time. Two years later, after Parannoul became one of my first memories of keeping up with modern music, I'm sitting here reviewing their newest album, fully confident to call it the best album of 2023 yet - I love it when stories are bookended.
RATING: ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯
Listen to After the Magic.
Comments
Post a Comment