I found out about summercomesagain from seenyoungkeem, who was introduced to me as vocalist for COREMAGAZINE, who unfortunately disbanded too soon after she joined. Browsing through her Instagram, I also discovered that she was Stereotype‘s vocalist. Now she’s the vocalist in summercomesagain.
summercomesagain is influenced by 90s alternative rock, specifically calling out bands like My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, and The Jesus and Mary Chain. This era of music rides a big nostalgic wave and summercomesagain presents an impressive debut.
Lead by Jae Yeon Hwang, summercomesagain feels like a necessary revisit to this music era. I feel that a lot of recent music has been following specific trends and tones and has become too similar. when summer comes again is a reset. It’s pulling the past forward when artists and bands could exist within a genre but all have unique sounds. This is something that’s lacking with newer artists.
The two-disc release is a long conversation through music. The first disc is the more contemporary view of 90s alternative rock. It sounds like it came from that era but has a different kind of polish and sometimes an artificial filter to make it sound “authentic” to the time. But the 12 songs definitely make an impact.
The second disc offers the same 12 songs but “slowed + reverb.” The tempo might be the easiest to notice, but it also has a slight effect on the vocal pitch too. I don’t know if that’s deliberate but it’s a little distracting. I would have liked if the instrumentals had the slow and reverb effect but the vocals were left alone.
Choosing to create an album by taking inspiration from this era makes when summer comes again almost timeless. It doesn’t sound old or new, but familiar. summercomesagain can definitely find a lot of international fans, especially fans of the bands that served as inspiration.
summercomesagain’s debut is a sign that there are still musicians who can create inspired-but-new music. It’s something that other musicians need to take to heart. Create something interesting that has a lot of heart and emotion behind it. Even if the album doesn’t find its audience in 2024, this will become a classic album in the years ahead.
Instagram | YouTube | Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube Music
Written by Chris P for Korean Indie.