ALBUM REVIEW: Weatherglow
Asian Glow and Weatherday - Weatherglow
A collaboration between indie artists Asian Glow and Weatherday, Weatherglow arrives in the middle of the 5th wave emo revival (as if it ever died!~) with furious, mathed-up guitar riffs and wailing that sounds like Cap’n Jazz without a sore throat, only to abruptly transition into mellow, heartfelt moments and shoegazing breakdowns that make you feel aptly like disintegrating up into the air while your bed melts beneath you.
Weatherday is the project of the artist known as “Sputnik” (a reference to Murakami’s Sputnik Sweetheart) from Sweden who gained significant underground popularity with the release of their 2019 album Come in, whose sprawling songcrafting undoubtedly helped to usher in the shoegaze craze that’s had its grip on the underground music scene for the past few years. Reaching across the globe, they began working with Asian Glow, another independent shoegazer from Korea, utilizing digital audio workstations and the miracle of the internet to their full potential to create something to keep the stagnation of the indie genre at bay.
Together, the two combine their seriously impressive instrumental and production skills to create dynamic guitar melodies conjoined perfectly with electronic synths and warm, vulnerable vocals that have the power to satisfy emo, shoegaze, electronic and pop fans alike. But Weatherglow is more than just a conglomeration of genres and a showcase of musical talent. Despite creating their music across the world from each other, Asian Glow and Weatherday come together and blend seamlessly in a way that resembles their emo predecessors while still managing to not sound quite like anything else. Between the intricate instrumentation and lush lo-fi electronica moments, the songs feel like they were recorded in a dream. The lyrics take a backseat to the full-bodied sounds of the music at times, but play on the heartstring at earnest moments, like in the titular track “Melt a Bed” — "If you still miss me, I'll be on my phone/ If you are hurting, let me show you're not alone/ If I feel out of reach to you, it's probably because it's true/ But instead of calling it a day, call me say, you're not okay.” There’s more emo fare on the track “Look Alive, Sunshine,” when Sputnik sings “Look alive, sunshine/ Take care of yourself/ They can spot the dark spots/ Underneath your eyes/ They can hear that you're/ Not quite fully here,” followed by the hard-hitting chorus that repeats “I don’t want to/ But I have to.” Overall, this EP is a must listen for anyone looking to escape into the digiverse and dream the day away.
~DJ Dogjeans
RIYL: Brave Little Abacus, Origami Angel, Parannoul, Candy Claws
Recommended tracks: “Melt a Bed,” “Center,” “Jet”
FCC: Clean