Ookoorookoo
Back from the Dead: A Korean take on UK sounds
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By Giacomo Lee, http://giacomolee.com/
With its wistful vocals and sunny acoustica, Ookoorookoo’s debut single Sing 노래하자 from autumn last year summed up a lot of the current indie scene in South Korea, but with the added twist of a subtle, heavenly-sounding loop.
The use of that loop should have told me that Ookoorookoo aren’t just a simple acoustic band, like so many others playing out their tunes in Seoul coffee shops. Nevertheless, I was still surprised by their debut album Aurora 오로라 , which contrasts straight songs like Sing alongside tracks like Oasis 오아시스 or the eponymous Ookoorookoo 우쿠루쿠 , which with their lovingly cut-up vocals and guitars bring the UK genre folktronica back from its resting spot in the 2000s and into this new decade, reminding one of why it was so popular a musical style back then, and how good it can be when done right without boring anybody. Album stand-out Today I Want to Run for Some Reason 오늘은 왠지 달리고 싶어 manages to bring both strands of the band together, with a verse-chorus melody coasting along a glitchy Notwist-esque beat. It seems acoustica has finally mutated in South Korea.
Ookoorookoo’s latest release is the three track EP Spring, which shows the band already messing with their template as they dip headlong into synths, becoming more electronica than folk, as shown by lead song Feels Like Spring.
The trio’s unrelenting restlessness though means that by final track A Moment to Remember 순간을 기억해 they’ve already shifted the goalposts, turning out a brilliant dream-pop track carried along by euphoric synths and shuffling post-rock drums. This is why Ookoorookoo are definitely Korea’s best new indie band.
