The harshest critic of Parannoul’s music occurs to be the one that makes it. Simply learn the quotes the nameless Seoul artist posts to their Bandcamp web page: “I believe these are some sort of magic, that may shine brilliant for some time after which lights out, like nothing occurred”; “He believes he’s gifted…his singing abilities are fucking terrible, and is under common in top and look and all the things.” Whilst they’ve emerged as a figurehead of South Korean indie rock and a number one mild in an exploding on-line shoegaze scene, Parannoul are imagining backlash. Although 2023’s After the Magic upgraded their blown-out, lower-than-lo-fi digital shoegaze with beautiful outcomes, Sky Hundred trades that deep blue for scorching purple—a loud-as-fuck rock report that might be referred to as “again to fundamentals” if Parannoul had ever as soon as appeared like a typical rock band.
In distinction to its lush and collaborative predecessor, Sky Hundred is credited solely to Parannoul. Guitars strum barely out of time, drums tumble in imperfect rhythms, and on “암전고백 (Lights Off Repentance),” Parannoul play at roughly twice their typical tempo, working up a folk-punk froth that resembles Within the Aeroplane Over the Sea far more than Loveless. Is Parannoul engaged on MIDI with next-generation humanizer settings or had been they capable of play all of those analog devices in isolation? Not that Sky Hundred is precisely natural; the “piano” motif on “시계 (Backwards)” is paying homage to a Skype ringtone. However whereas earlier Parannoul songs added or eliminated layers, Sky Hundred works in dynamics. The opening “주마등 (A Lot Can Occur)” breathlessly tries to maintain up because the tempo shifts to a breakneck IDM beat. Even when the 14-minute centerpiece “Evoke Me” was spliced collectively in Professional Instruments, the uncooked parts sound culled from hours of real-time jamming.
For all of its tweaks, Sky Hundred is straight away “Parannoul music,” its constituent influences welded collectively by quantity. Shoegaze nonetheless has the perfect declare to an album that makes use of this a lot guitar distortion, although in distinction to modern gossamer and gauze, Sky Hundred is outlined by its presence; the guitars punch fairly than soothe and the melodies have the definition of a soda jingle. Although the occasional glimmers of twinkling MIDI guitar that located To See the Subsequent A part of the Dream in emo’s fifth wave are gone, the spirit of the style stays in Parannoul’s lyrics, which categorical numerous variations on digital sentimentalism. “Even after all the things, I need to imagine the sensation lasts perpetually” (“주마등 [A Lot Can Happen]”) or “Within the stunning world I dreamt of, there isn’t a story of me” (“환상 [Fantasy]”) can be essentially the most potent distillation of Parannoul’s POV if it weren’t for the refrain of the aching “황금빛 강 (Gold River)”: “I bear in mind recollections of recollections.”
