Album review: Parannoul – ‘To See The Next Part Of The Dream’: a window into catharsis

INSPIRING stories have been hard to find in recent times, so hopefully it will sound refreshing that a project from a South Korean bedroom artist has risen to global attention, on par with Lana Del Rey or Nick Cave’s latest releases.

It’s probably better not to even think about what the pandemic has done to musicians and artists at large, more than previous digital transformations have brought about. But at least it’s safer to say now that a self-released has (some) chances to succeed compared to anything coming out from a big label.

It’s hard to describe To See The Next Part Of The Dream without thinking of the pandemic mental state, or how the pandemic has exacerbated intergenerational issues. It is simply the best soundtrack when you are watching imperturbable blue skies from a window, wondering somehow impotently about the future (the title track). The energy seems to flow seamlessly from the wall-of-sound guitars, Parannoul’s voice blending with them in an unstoppable breath of life.

The songwriting on the record is similarly “elementary” but beautifully melodic, with fuzzy indie (“Analog Sentimentalism”) and punk (“Youth Rebellion”) pop unified under the emo banner (“Beautiful World”, “White Ceiling”). The unifying factor, in fact, comes from the inescapable flow of emotion that is constantly poured into songs, which is probably the secret of the album’s success.

It is refreshing that such simplicity can be simultaneously rewarding and compelling, such as in “Chicken” and “I Can Feel My Heart Touching You” (beautiful riffs in the latter, as in other songs).

One of the few miracles of the pandemic is indeed this Korean guy, whom we can hope to see play on big stages as soon as they are a thing again.