Bitgwasoeum (빛과소음)

80/90s indie rock with a psychedelic touch from Korean group Bitgwasoeum (빛과소음)

Some musicians take long time to extract their first output. I first saw this band in 2010, in the live acoustic set video playing “The Forest of Gohdremi” (고드래미의 숲).

At first, I thought “Why this band call themselves Light And Noise (빛과소음), as there is no noise (though much light) in their music?”

The secret was solved when I went to their live show, as they topped vigorous rock’n’roll with plenty of noise.

I thought this band was disbanded until 2015 as there had been not much news about them. In 2015, they were selected as “Hello Rookie” by , a renowned TV music show which focusing Korean indie scene constantly. But it took two more years to get their first recording, “Irregular” EP, after then.

You can easily recall 80-90s American indie rock heroes such as Dinosaur Jr., Pavement or Guided by Voices when you’re listening to their first album. But they also add some psychedelic touches to their straightforward indie rock, which grants listeners delightful twists.

An ear-busting opener “Mudang” (무당), which means “Shaman”, is a good example of that strategy.

8 years are not short time, and Bitgwasoeum haven’t spent that time in vain. It is good news that there are plenty songs left only in their live setlist. We can expect more tracks to be materialized as formal recordings.

Stream “Irregular” EP on Spotify and Bandcamp.

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Bitgwasoeum on Facebook, Twitter, Bandcamp.

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