Inbox: Swallow - Aresco

Inbox features items that I have recently purchased or received.

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Swallow is a side project for Lee Giyong, who is the force behind the excellent Korean rock band, Huckleberry Finn. I sort of missed his debut album, but I found a copy of his second album after I realized that he had a side project going on and I picked it up.

You can immediately see the link to Huckleberry Finn in the songwriting, which shares a lot with Swallow. Seeing the Lee does most of the composition work for both, it's not very surprising. It's also interesting to hear Lee take on vocal duty--you can clearly see his vocal style lines up closely with Finn's lead vocalist, Lee Soyoung (as well as former vocalist, Nam Sangah). However, the compositions on Swallow are less straightforward rock and don't rock anywhere near as hard as the quartet does. That's not necessarily a bad thing as the album's slower, quieter and simpler approach gives it a space to explore a different sound.

It's an enjoyable work from start to finish and clearly demonstrates Lee's sonic tendencies, but I have to admit that a lot of the time I felt like I was listening to a more relaxed Huckleberry Finn. I don't know if that speaks to how much influence Lee has on the band or whether it's the band that has influenced his own work. Now, it's not a bad thing for your side project to resemble your main project, especially with a unit that produces music as fine as Huckleberry Finn does, and I understand that many of these compositions just wouldn't fit into the Huckleberry Finn format, so I understand Lee's need to express through a side project.

Perhaps, I was just expecting something a little different, like the side projects for other k-indie bands, like Chococream Roll/Kim Yoonah solo work (Jaurim) or Omega 3/Sweetpea (Deli Spice). I was satisfied overall with Aresco; it was a fine listen, it's coherent as an album and there's not a bad song among the bunch. At the same time, I don't think it really stretches at all. It's a comfortable album, one of many small pleasures in refinement, perfectly listenable, but I don't know how memorable it would be in my mind without truly standout songs or envelope pushing. But, then, perhaps, it's just trying to be that, a small work of little pleasures. A place for Lee to bring out all the music that doesn't work in his band and to enjoy it just on that level. And on that level, it wins. 7/10.

Tracklist:

1. Nobody Knows
   
2. 눈 속의 겨울
3. Three Seasons
4. 어디에도 없는 곳
5. Aresco
6. 내가 너를 따라 간다면
7. 몇 세기 전의 사람을 만나고
8. 밤은 낮으로
9. 너는 웃지 않고 난 웃었어
10. 어디에도 없는 곳 (Featuring 한대수)

Links:

• Available at MrKwang and YesAsia