A lot of the music I listen to on repeat is loud and poppy, especially since I started listening to Kpop on a regular basis. It makes me feel good when walking around listening to music; I can block out all the annoying sounds of the public and listen to cheerful and energetic music instead!
But the weather recently has been more sombre, seeing it’s started going into Autumn, so I’ve been listening to more slow, chilled out music that fits with the atmosphere a bit better. The band that I’m really enjoying is Hyukoh, a Korean indie 4-piece band. I know, another Korean band, but hear me out.
I found out about Hyukoh when they were on a variety show I was watching, where they were one of a few musicians helping the show’s member write a song for a music festival. The singer, Oh Hyuk sang a song with a mask on and everyone else had to guess who was singing, and he had such an interesting voice that I knew I was going to look into whoever it was (because I was fairly certain I’d never heard them before). I didn’t like the song that they made for the show, but their other songs are definitely becoming quite popular in my music library.
Even Ben seemed to like them! I had them playing while getting dinner ready, and he had a much more positive reaction than the other music I normally listen to. We were trying to work out how we would describe the sound, and it was harder than we expected. I feel there’s a definite post-rock vibe going on with the guitar melodies, and Ben said there was a Sigur Ros feel to the songs he heard.
I also like that they’re not conventionally attractive like all the Kpop groups seem to be. I wouldn’t call Hyukoh ‘pretty’ like I would for the more manufactured bands I enjoy listening to – They basically seem like a bunch of nerds who are friends who play music, and recognise that they’re all big nerds. And that really appeals to me, it gives me the warm and fuzzies.
They seem to be a relatively new band as well, but have gained popularity recently partly from being on that variety show. I’m really glad more people are finding about their music and listening to it, I wish them a multitude of success. So check them out, and hopefully you will enjoy them as much as I do!