I was reminded about Soumbalgwang on Instagram. When I looked at their discography, the last release was 2021’s Happiness Flower. Fire & Light is a reintroduction of the band and their alternative, post punk, and garage post rock style.
If you’ve been waiting for aggressive, brooding, and loud music, Soumbalgwang brings that forward. The 10-track album spans 40 minutes with a lot of variable song lengths. On most of the songs, there’s an overbearing wave of moodiness. Included in that is an anger release throughout the album.
Fire & Light is a full tide cycle on each song. The waves rise and fall and sometimes there’s a lull. That’s what keeps Soumbalgwang interesting. Even though you could say there’s an amount of repetition stylistically, Soumbalgwang composes songs that are complementary but not copies.
“Terrified” and “Hammer” are tracks two and three and present many similar elements. But as you listen to each song, there are very distinct pieces between the songs that add to the overall narrative of Fire & Light. In my opinion, that’s the strength of this album. Soumbalgwang has a specific direction they’re striving for and it feels free.
It’s possible that other producers could have asked to reign in some ideas but having Choi Tae-hyun of Kuang Program facilitate the recording was an amazing choice. It sounds like Soumbalgwang were allowed to explore and embellish where they wanted.
In essence, Fire & Light is a message to everyone who listens. I don’t think it’s meant to impress or cater to any particular audience. Instead, Soumbalgwang created an album that represents themselves. The mixture of genres isn’t unique, but the outcome is solely something you will hear from Soumbalgwang. An amazing full length.
불과 빛 (Fire & Light) by Soumbalgwang / 소음발광
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Written by Chris P for Korean Indie.
