Chicago’s Own: Precocious Neophyte’s Latest EP, Stony, Hits Like A Dream Pop Avalanche

Jul 09, 2024 admin_bitlc Features, Music News, Reviews 0

By Kyle Decker

For the unfortunately uninitiated, Precocious Neophyte is the project of Korean Chicago transplant Ham Jeehye (or Jeehye Ham, if you want to go with the Western naming sequence). A veteran of South Korea’s indie music scene, Ham earned her stripes in the shoegaze/post-rock band Vidulgi OoyoO (I’ll spare you a Google Translate. It means “Pigeon Milk”) and the noise-rock/neo-psychedelic band JuckJuck Grunzie. Both of which are 100% worth your time to dig up.

Her current project, Precocious Neophyte, a combination of dream pop and shoegaze with a bit of noise rock mixed in for good measure, comes from her experimentations in home recording after relocating to Chicago. This resulted in the incredible Home in the Desert in May of 2022, which got a vinyl release/remaster through Graveface Records in September 2023. The recordings are, largely, a solo affair with Ham recording at home. Her partner, Ethan Waddell, himself a Korean indie rock veteran having performed in the bands Table People and Visuals, occasionally joins on keys and bass and is part of the live band. Waddell also takes on mixing and mastering. That said, Precocious Neophyte is very much Ham’s project. And, yes, the lyrics are in Korean. But that doesn’t take away from the beauty and emotion behind it. Anyone still carrying a “This is America. Speak English!” mindset may want to steer clear (of me, that is. Because, seriously, there’s no time or place for that attitude. Get yourself right). But they’d be missing out on some killer songs.

Let’s bring things to the present day. Just this month (by which I mean June 2024, because time means nothing to internet articles) Ham gifted us with Stony, a new 5-track EP that clocks in at a healthy 21 minutes. Which, for other genres, would comprise a full-length. This EP feels less like a continuation and more like an evolution of Home in the Desert. Like any good follow-up, it retains enough similarity to establish a cohesive sound and identity for the artist, but it does just enough differently that it stands on its own. While still very much carrying on the warm, comforting, wall of sound that Home in the Desert had, Stony carries a bit more weight to it. It’s heavier. If Home feels like a comforter, Stony feels like a weighted blanket.

The opening track, “마음 Maum” (literally “Mind”, but connotationally refers more to a feeling) opens with a haunting ambient drone as Ham sings some of the few English lyrics on the album: “Dreamer, you’re stuck in your mirror” with a soft longing. The first verse continues with gentle vocals and music but slowly builds for the first minute until it comes on with a wall of sound. As the music swells Ham continues, “Dreamer 어두운 터널 속을 쉬지 않고 달리면 네게 닿을까 (Dreamer eoduun teoneol sog-eul swiji anhgo dallimyeon nege dah-eulkka),” which roughly translates to, “Dreamer, if I run through a dark tunnel without stopping, will I reach you?” Obviously, I’m putting my spin on this, as one does with art, but it gets me reflecting on the heartbreak I’ve had seeing friends, family, lovers, and will-they-won’t-they’s head down dark paths where I can’t follow. Very much like the song says, “내 영혼을 멍들게 해 (nae yeonghon-eul meongdeulge hae).” “It bruises my soul.”

Track 2, “산 San” (“Mountain”), reminded me a bit of the band Venice is Sinking (which, incidentally, also started as a one-person project). There’s a dreamy quality to this song that stands as a great representation of Ham’s overall sound. That song dips and swells, its peaks and valleys very much like, well, mountains. It feels like the soundtrack to a person recalling a bittersweet memory as they stare wistfully out the window at a mountain range. A common sight in Ham’s home country of South Korea. Chicago? Not so much. Hence, the wistfulness, I guess.

“하루 Haru” (“One Day”) Stony’s third song, is a stand-out track. For me anyway. But it also distinguishes itself in an objective sense by being the highest-energy song on the album. Even reaching a damn near moshable fervor around the 1:50 mark. Haru, while literally meaning “one day” also happens to be the name of Ham’s cat. Which is made clear with lines like, “너의 꼬리가 내 팔을 간지럽히면 (neoui kkoliga nae pal-eul ganjileobhimyeon)” which, translated is: “When your tail tickles my arm”; “달빛을 보면 날카로워진 눈동자 (dalbich-eul bomyeon nalkalowojin nundongja)”, meaning: “When you look at the moonlight, your eyes become sharper”; “우아한 추락도 네겐 짜릿한 착지(uahan chulagdo negen jjalishan chagji)”, which in English is: “Even a graceful fall is a thrilling landing for you.” All of which suggest a certain catness. Okay, so there’s also a line that directly states: “넌 이세계에 제일 흔한 고양이지만 (neon isegyee jeil heunhan goyang-ijiman),” or, “You are the most common cat in the world.” But the rest of the imagery would suggest it’s not entirely figurative. Either way, the high energy of the song perfectly captures the anarchic nature of a cat.

Next up is “감기약 Panpyrin”. Unlike the other track names the Hangul (the written Korean language) and the Romanization don’t match up. “감기약” means cold medicine. “Panpyrin” is a popular over-the-counter brand. Although not directly about cold medicine, the song offers the kind of soothing relief that a cold medicine might advertise. Even the outro is an angelic repetition of the word “누워 (nuwo)”, which means “Lie down.” If I could assign a situation to the overall mood of this song it would be staying home sick from school. I say “school” because there’s something about the wistful tone of shoegaze as a whole, that exudes a sense of nostalgia. And there’s just something about this song, perhaps the title, that just reminds me of that sense of being a child in a familiar space, at an unfamiliar time. Now, while I don’t condone “Robo-tripping,” this song would be a good soundtrack for that too.

Closing out the EP is the mysterious titled “J”. The song opens with a crunchy, heavy, and layered riff, before becoming soft and dreamy. The vocals are practically whispered, giving a sense of apprehension. Perhaps even fear. Although there are moments when a semi-triumphant sounding guitar riff will come in, alluding to a sense of hope. Or hoping for hope. One thing about some Precocious Neophyte shows is that some songs will have translated lyrics projected onto a screen behind the band for a handful of songs. One line that gave me pause when I attended the release show for this EP was “No matter how small the cage is/ There will be a place for you”, or “아무리 작은 새장이라도 너의 자린 있겠지(amuli jag-eun saejang-ilado neoui jalin issgessji)” in the original Korean. I’m still kind of processing what that could mean, but damned if it doesn’t give me a lot to think about.

That all said, if you’re a fan of shoegaze, dream pop, or just really strongly written and composed atmospheric songs, Stony (and Precocious Neophyte, in general) is absolutely worth absorbing.

Stony is currently streaming. And is available on Bandcamp for purchase:
https://precociousneophyte.bandcamp.com/album/stony-2