Replay: Deli Spice - Deli Spice

Replay revisits music in my collection.

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The final track of the Who Are You? soundtrack would start a mystery for me to solve. "차우차우" was performed by Lee Junwoo (이준우), but was not written by him. So, in my early phases of interest in Korean music, I started searching around and it wasn't until I hit YouTube and saw some live footage of Deli Spice performing this song in concert that I found out who the creators of this epic song were.

Unfortunately, it would be a while longer until I could get a hold of their first album, because it was long out of print by the time I'd discovered the band. Fortunately, Vitamin Entertainment, a later distributor for Deli Spice got a hold of the rights to their earlier albums and then released a three pack that contained all three first albums of Deli Spice and I finally got a hold of this one.

From what I can tell, Deli Spice was a bit of a forerunner when it came to the indie rock revival in Korea, giving greater awareness of Korean indie rock to the greater public. Personally, I have mixed feelings about the album after listening to it, along with all of Deli Spice's discography. First of all, I cannot deny the band's talent. Honestly, I find their songwriting unique and inventive, but at the same time, despite the fact that I can't help but like their music because it is really good, I find myself unable to become immersed in their songs, except for the occasional single ("차우차우" in the case of their eponymous debut).

Deli Spice truly writes songs that only Deli Spice can write--you can tell from their melodic lines and swirling production that the music is theirs. Interestingly, they also feature of a pair of lead vocalists, who largely take turns on songs, with Sweetpea getting more lead work than Yoon Joonho. And the band can rock out. Perhaps what stands out on this first album is their attention to production detail, which gives most of the song on the album a spacey echoed feel with reverb and delay working to create a somewhat distanced sound. The songs themselves range from epic to intimate ("기쁨이 들리지 않는 거리"), but I think the roomy production prevents the music from really getting close and perhaps that's why I have some difficulty falling into the song.

Nonetheless, this group is noteworthy and over their six albums and many side projects have proven to be Korean rock stalwarts. I don't love this album, but for some reason I can't get it out of my head either, not because it's so pop-catchy that I can't resist, but because I respect the music. 7/10.

Tracklist:

1. 노캐리어 (no carrier)
2. 가면
3. 챠우챠우: 아무리 애를 쓰고 막아 보려 해도 너의 목소리가 들려
4. 콘후레이크
5. 기쁨이 들리지 않는 거리
6. 저승 탐방기
7. 귀향
8. 누가?
9. 투명인간
10. 오랜만의 외출
11. 사수자리

Links:

• Available at iTunes and YesAsia