Two years after Home in the Desert, Precocious Neophyte returns with Stony, a five-song EP. With so many years of experience, I was already sure that Stony would be a step forward. But there’s a bigger difference than expected. Stony sounds more confident, in both the recording and mixing, along with the performance.
Stony’s five songs are the next chapter in Precocious Neophyte’s journey. The songs on Home in the Desert were a tentative return to music and Stony is the blossom of those seeds. “Maum” was a pre-release single which served more as the transition between the releases. It’s a good return and reintroduction.
I think Stony actually starts with “San.” Even though it follows Precocious Neophyte’s dream pop and shoegaze foundation, it builds on layered melodies and simply feels comfortable, like there’s nothing to prove. This is when Precocious Neophyte is most pure.
“Haru” continues this and it may be the best song on the EP. There’s a new freedom that comes through the faster tempo and somewhat simplified overall presentation. “Panpryin” is a good song to flesh out Stony and present another angle of composition and arrangement. What’s surprising to me is that Precocious Neophyte doesn’t fall into the repetition of shoegaze and each song feels distinct.
The experience with Vidulgi OoyoO and Juck Juck Grunzie helped shape Precocious Neophyte. I think Stony leans less towards the Korean-listening audience and more of an international fanbase. It’s only if the EP can get shared enough to gain the attraction of a new audience.
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Written by Chris P for Korean Indie.