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😄 joseon / snows review

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more i’ve been listening to

ella thompson / let there be nothing

it’s vibey and smooth and giving a lot of soul tied up in a tight 3:26

tunde adebimpe / magnetic

this is a bit nuts but also a really really cool track with tons of fun ideas, and i think it’s neat :)

deep thrills, paper idol, xkyler / first date

this feels like a real blow up potential, one of those sleeper viral moments that out of nowhere goes nuts

genre: indie / shoegaze
release date: 15/11/24
runtime: 2:40
video: yes :)

contents

• 😄 joseon / snows review

• more i’ve been listening to

  • deep thrills, paper idol, xkyler / first date

    • what i like

    • what i don't like

    • my drunk opinion

    • for fans of

    • should you listen to more

• next edition out next tuesday!

this is gonna be a quick one gang because i feel awful but i would feel even more awful if i didn’t share this sick lil track a subscriber sent in. so we’re gonna get in, get what we need (some indie shoegazey vibes from a banging band called joseon) and then we’re gonna skedaddle alright let’s gooooooo

let’s get something out the way. the production on this track is top tier. everyithng in this sounds like a million bucks, from the heavy groovy bass on those first notes to the massive drums, gritty vocals and soaring lead guitar. it’s all top tier and excellent and i nod my peaked cap at the engineer, if i had a peaked cap and was in the same room as them which i don’t and amn’t. what is being portrayed with such high quality production is also one of the damn catchiest lil shoegazey numbers i’ve heard in a while, and that is a killer combo let me tell you that one for free. why do you think so many pop acts sound like shoegaze when they play live with their catchy lil hooks. it’s because it works, and it works here so well. on top of that, the details on display are really fun, especially int he chorus the way the lead guitar jsut accents the main vocal which is laid up without a huge amount of sung melody, but is carried by the rest of the band. it’s a great way of cementing the vocal work within the wider song and making it feel cohesive.

my only real gripe with this song is that the verses feel a lil bit placeholder, they don’t seem to have as much in the way of structure and meaning to them as the rest of the song, and i don’t think that’s because they’re bad. i more think that the rest of the song is really really good, and the verses don’t seem to be massively serving them. the breakdown / bridge section for example does a great job of laying out some of the ideas in the choruses and messing aroudn in them in a way that feels deserved, which serves to both legitimise the chorus and make the bridge something really solid. the verse meanwhile structurally doesn’t feel like it’s playing in the same sandbox so to speak.

sometimes i wonder how bands that send their songs in and their band name or song name is in block capitals and i keep it tight to the ol’ brand and have it in lowercase. like do they get mad? are they annoyed? do they go aha that’s cool we’re part of the thing? i genuinely want to know so if anyone out there has a thought or opinion on this one, hit me up gang let’s gooo

this band awakened a tonnnnn of memories of the bands i grew up listening to and hanging out with who came up in the north coast scene. you almost definitely will not be familiar with that scene, but it was the best imo, with some absolutely banging bands, many of whom never really went anywhere other than my heart. this particular track got me thinking of more than conqeruers who i lovedddddd but cannot spell ah well

i think this song is a bit of a touch and twist in terms of direction for this band, as it is definitely a step up in terms of direction but also in terms of songwriting for them. i think it’s a really cool and positive step, but their older stuff still slaps. it’s a bit more on the lo fi and scrappy end, but there are plenty of the tells of really solid songwriting on the go, so definitely one to give a spin if you enjoyed this.

or better yet, reply to this email! what did you think of this song? have you been listening to anything good lately? any gems i’ve missed?

next edition out next tuesday!