The Sneaky Beaver Music Blog

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Blues from Busan: Korean Band 'The Cowchips' Bring Fresh Energy to a Classic Style

Blues from Busan: Korean Band 'The Cowchips' Bring Fresh Energy to a Classic Style

Busan, Korea seems to be have to an active underground rock scene from what I've been seeing, and is home to at least a few bands playing British-inspired rock with a swagger and rawness that is not seen amongst the more popular Korean bands, who tend to play softer, more indie-rock style tunes.The Cowchips are unique even amongst the Busan scene though, and I've become a huge fan of their old-school American blues rock sound. So far they've released one album in 2016 called Return Home (귀가) and a bunch of singles throughout the years. I recommend starting with the album, which is kicked off by the fun and energetic 'Get up your mind.' Vocalist Choi Se-ryun (최세련) belts powerfully over bluesy guitar licks with plenty of groove, and finishes off the song with a laugh. The album also includes some more laid back tracks, like the title track, which contains a tasteful and melodic guitar solo that has become one of the highlights of the album for me. I recommend checking out all of their singles as well - I like them all, but lately I've been listening a lot to 'Paradise' and 'Highway Blues' which were included as part of compilation albums. 'Highway Blues' in particular can be tricky to find on Spotify as it's under the artist name 'Cow Chips' instead of 'The Cowchips' but it can also be found by searching for the compilation album 'Dong Baek Rock Won Compilation' from 2013

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PHOON - The Hong Kong Band's 2019 EP is an Indie Rock Hidden Gem

PHOON - The Hong Kong Band's 2019 EP is an Indie Rock Hidden Gem

I first discovered PHOON on Youtube, through their song "You!", which was the only song they had released at the time. I was immediately drawn in by the catchy vocal melodies and the interplay between the electric guitar and keyboard. I listened to their first (and as of yet, only) EP as soon as it was released in 2019, and it has been frequently in my rotation ever since.

PHOON is, or was, a four member band from Hong Kong, that seems to be inactive according to a recent comment from vocalist Lili Forest on his Instagram post about how the song "You!" hit 1 million streams on Spotify. His comment from September 2023 reads: "we are basically disbanded now hahaha lets see how things go in the future" so I guess there is a sliver of hope that they may reunite, but in all likelihood, this EP will continue to be the only release from PHOON. Lili Forest has released a few solo songs under that name though, which are worth checking out.

This EP contains 6 songs, one of which is an instrumental Intro. Throughout the EP, you'll hear catchy vocal melodies soaring over punchy guitar rhythms, keyboards, bass, and drums. Lili Forest has a unique voice and his vocals are definitely a high point in these songs, but the other instruments are just as much a pleasure to listen to. As I mentioned at the beginning, I especially enjoy the interplay between guitars and keyboards.

"You!" is a perfect example of all of this. It's an incredibly catchy song, and the instrumental interlude that transitions from guitar to keyboard is one of my favorite parts. "不妙" is the only song that is not entirely in English, with only a few lines in the chorus being sung in English. The section near the end where Lili Forest starts out talking and then builds in intensity until he is basically yelling is one of my favorite aspects of this track, and something unique to just this song. "Me!" is a fun and bouncy track that transitions seamlessly into a section of synths and stylistic auto-tune at the end. "Pure" and "People in the Dark" are less upbeat and more reflective, trading in the punchy guitar rhythms for arpeggios and more drawn out melodies.

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