Baek Yerin, the lead singer of The Volunteers, has had a pretty infamous career in her short life. First, she debuted under the K-Pop entertainment company, JYP, in the duo 15&. After their disbandment, she seemed to dip her toes in a lot of waters. She's featured in many r&b tracks like with Dean's Come Over. Now, after forming her own label, she's taking the lead as rock-n-roll frontwoman for The Volunteers. Beak got together two members of the indie rock group Bye Bye Badman, Cloud and Jonny, and drummer Kim Chiheon, to form what can only be described as alternative rock with punk sensibilities. And their self-titled debut album that was released this year, is certainly good at showing it off.
This album goes hard from the get-go. The opening track, Violet, leaves no room to wait as you're greeted with heavy drums and guitar riffs that cut through your eardrums. Yerin's voice really shows her vocal training. While it's perfect for a rock song, it shows nice contrast with the heavy instrumental. This heavy sound continues in the record with songs like PINKTOP, Crap, and S.A.D. Each song features some strong guitar riffs and heavy basslines to get anyone moshing. But there are also some incredible soft moments too. The closer, Summer, is the most notable with its soft indie sound. It's a great way to unwind with its soft synths and summery guitar melodies.
The punk sensibilities really shine through in the lyrics. All songs were penned by Yerin and she's talking a lot about society's expectations. Most notably in the song Crap, she sings "Don't let them tell you what to do." On PINKTOP, she's singing about wearing whatever you want. And on Violet, she's pushing back from her image as an idol as she sings about being ruthless and talking back to people who wronged her.
The Volunteers' debut is sure an impactful way to show yourself on the scene. This album is raw and exciting. Yerin's trained vocals and the group's heavy instrumentals are a unique blend but it works so well. This is an album that is surely not to be missed.
You can watch the music video for the track, PINKTOP below and check out The Volunteers on your preferred streaming service!
Comentarios