Seoul
I Become a Shade
Reviewed by: Ziggy Merritt
Often enough most up-and-coming outfit will be likened to something similar in quality, tone, or production. Montreal-based band, Seoul don’t escape such comparisons on their debut album I Become a Shade, but that’s never necessarily a bad thing. Indeed that seems to be the preferred method of introduction for a band in the midst of forming their own discography of sound.
Perhaps sadly for some out there, Seoul’s debut does not cater to the 90s R&B and synth-heavy stylings of K-pop as the name might suggest, but instead grasps at the somewhat bygone chillwave era that began with established artists such as Ernest Greene of Washed Out or Chaz Bundick of Toro Y Moi. Likewise, the production seems to be influenced by these artists, yet impressively Seoul escapes the trappings of the genre to arrive at something more deeply introspective and inspired.
Aiding this is the foresight to place the heavy-hitting tracks (“The Line”, “Real June”, “Stay With Us”, and “Silencer”) throughout the length of the album instead of throwing all of them at the very beginning. They’re spread out into three distinct movements each accented by a brief instrumental interlude. By themselves these interludes don’t do much to enhance the flow of the album and at times seem like more of an interruption than anything else. But while this distinction might hold true they introduce us to the theme of the following movement, which all seem more wistful and melancholic as the album progresses. In this way I Become a Shade holds a grand, orchestral quality more reminiscent of M83’s 2008 concept album Saturday = Youth. In fact this comparison holds up quite well against the similarly styled and angsty quality of said heavy-hitter, “Real June”, showing Seoul’s ability to transcend past the most immediate comparisons to arrive at something altogether different.
This makes their debut something more than just a comparison. It’s able to stand upon its own well-earned laurels to surpass the limiting box of a genre. They combine soulfully rendered lyrics, some downtempo shoegazing, and lush layers of synth to arrive at a suite of satisfying sound. The inventiveness that came and went with the chillwave is revived here in excellent form.
Rating: Bad-Ass
