WAJANGCHANG! CRASH! Lucy is Back!
Photos: Mystic Story
Mystic Story’s prolific band LUCY is back with their newest EP: WAJANGCHANG, a springtime album that combines the band’s charismatic strings and sentimental lyrics with new swing, jazz, and their distinct indie rock. Yechan, Sangyeop, and Wonsang return with pre-release “Wakey Wakey” and title track “Hippo,” as youngest member and vocalist/percussionist Gwang-il fulfills his military service.
WAJANGCHANG, which refers to the sound of crashing, breaking, or cracking, references the hatching of a new sound for the almost 5-year band. LUCY’s signature flavor of indie rock always leans into their high, crisp vocals, fiddle-like violin riffs, and playful, bright melodies. However, WAJANGCHANG finds its own novelty with “Hippo’s” jazz piano, syncopated rhythms, and distinct sense of swing.
The music video is equally charming as their sound: fully animated, with the feeling of an anime ending or a short cartoon, the protagonist stumbles his way through confessing his feelings to his crush. The obstacle? Dancing, delightful cartoon hippos. While the lyrics lament the hippo as the manifestation of the narrator’s anxiety, or at least, something he can use to avoid eye-contact with his crush, the charming, almost Moomin-esque designs win you over. Everywhere the protagonist goes, he is faced with the looming, shimmying hippo. It’s stifling, the never-ending hippo. As the violin undergoes what can only be described as a masterful discordant jazz-shred in the bridge, the song evens its course. And the narrator chooses to look up, overcome his shyness, and look into the eyes of his crush, rather than the cartoon hippo behind her. As silly as it all sounds, “Hippo” is witty storytelling with a heartfelt conclusion. The animation is charming in its own way, overlaying perfectly over the music with neon silhouettes, saturated linework, and whimsical character and set design. While many bands struggle to keep up with the demand for dynamic visuals, given the choreographic limitations of their instruments, LUCY’s choice to opt in for a fully animated narrative arc both avoids these pitfalls and oozes storytelling charm.
TRACKLIST
“Wakey Wakey”
“Hippo”
“Pathetic love”
“Outsider”
“Why you hate…”
“bleu”
Pre-release “Wakey Wakey,” released on March 27, wakes you right up. With instrumentals that feel like the coming of spring, the lighthearted lyrics yearn for the one thing the narrator cannot do: go back to bed. The members sport pajamas, with Gwang-il’s absence noted by a giant teddy bear on the drums. In the end, the attempt to resist the siren song of the pillow is futile. Sleep wins.
LUCY’s choice to reflect daily, mundane trials in their songs with wit and charm sets them apart from a K-Rock scene that so often leans grungier, serious, or laid-back. The thunder noises of “Wakey Wakey” and the titular crash of WAJANCHANG – the group loves its silly, but sincere onomatopoeia. In this way, LUCY’s leaping melodies and upbeat, rhythmically driven tracks brighten up the EP and lend the band their distinct brand of indie K-Rock. They take this deviancy one step further: through dance. The trio’s simple, hand-forward choreography in the chorus of “Wakey Wakey” breaks out of the stereotype that K-Rock can’t also be accompanied by a dance challenge like its K-Pop counterparts. Perhaps TikTok fame is on their horizon.
WAJANCHANG’s four B-sides: “Pathetic love,” “Outsider,” “Why you hate…”, and “bleu” refine the EP. Mid-tempo powerhouse heartbreak matches soaring vocals in “Pathetic love,” while the rock-driven arpeggios of “Outsider” stutter their way through feelings of isolation and social anxiety. Acoustic “Why you hate…” is the softer, introspective counterpart to its pushier siblings, with the violin weaving sentimentality into every verse. Slow and steady, atmospheric “bleu” paints in watercolor with its mellow riffs, violin pizzicato ringing like rain, and airy, easygoing vocals. As LUCY wanders through shyness, anxiety, and dreams across WAJANGCHANG, they break out of their shell with a crash, in an EP that is as refreshing as it is introspective.
Edited by Cara Musashi