Huijun Woo is looking at death with a smile in ‘pumping of heart is torturing’. In the album description she writes “I’ve packed nine songs tightly, yearning for a day when we can put our sorrows aside and dance together.” This album is a blend of rock, blues and some insane layering skills.
We open the album with ‘a low god’ which is one groovy rock track. The electric guitars are shredding away and I love the playful sections. It’s mostly focused on the instrumentals in this track. Woo plays the bass and drums.
The following track ‘Heel’ feels like a fever dream. The drums really pop off here and I love how she wrote “We loved without wings and called it friendship.”
‘Naked’ brings some fantastic adolescent angst to the scene on top of an almost bluegrass instrumentation. It feels playful, a bit lost and has refreshing lyrics. The outro is wild and chaotic and it creates a full picture of a teenager. It’s a delightful listen and the guitars are absolutely fabulous.
‘Effort’ is the first of two title tracks. Here Woo has many life questions that remain without answer. It’s a wandering kind of track that almost feels like a stream of consciousness. It’s a great listen and feels very dynamic.
Next up is ‘Quiet serene beautiful sound’. The sound mentioned in the title is the sound you hear after you’ve died and had your funeral and your body is decomposed and all that remains is nothing and that ‘quiet serene beautiful sound’. The electric guitar is one of the highlights of the track alongside its rather dark subject.
‘Kid like me’ feels like a more toned down, melancholic introspection. A friendless childhood is something that lingers on your character for a long time. I particularly enjoyed the childlike humming that adds dimension to the track.
‘Spacious house’ is the second and last title track. I think it’s very interesting that they used a filter on the vocals here to make them sound very far away. The play between the timing of the instrumentals and when they come in, also makes for a very enaging listen as you’re never quite sure where the song is going. The outro with the crescendo of the guitar and the 10 seconds of silence leaves a lasting impression.
‘A row’ sits between wakefulness and sleep. The blurred lines of conscious thought and dream create a very fun listen and the focus on the instrumentals in this track makes for a nice dream. This is a lovely track.
The closing track is ‘pumping of heart is torturing’ which is a whopping ten minutes long. This is fully instrumental and I love how dynamic this feels. There’s a xylophone, piano, several acid jazz elements and solid guitars. It’s a supercool listen and a great way to get your heart pumping.
Check it out here on Spotify.
This was originally published in our magazine here.
