THORNAPPLE - 1st Album: I Keep Stammering and Forgot How to Sleep [Re-release]

* Specifications:

- Digipak 1CD

- 24P Booklet

Album Introduction

Dramatic tone and wide-spectrum psychedelic sound

THORNAPPLE's [I Keep Stammering and Forgot How to Sleep]

The thorny apple 'THORNAPPLE' you can't help but bite into

Yoon Sung-hyun, the band's leader, described THORNAPPLE's music as 'songs of adolescence that never end even after turning 20.' Just as he said, THORNAPPLE's debut album [I Keep Stammering and Forgot How to Sleep Remastered Version] contains profound insights into 'me,' 'you,' and 'communication,' much like the teenage fever everyone experiences. "Time of Oranges" depicts the compulsions unfolding within an individual and the self-destructive desires only humans can possess, while "Red Peter," a title reminiscent of Franz Kafka, reveals the clash between the Lacanian self, which can only be completed by the other, and the cogito. This infantile self, solely focused on itself, delivers a selfish verdict in "Gills," asking the other it identified with to 'rather die like this.'

However, the self, which is forced to live within "Your Crowd," despairs in "Plankton" as it continuously slips down the unattainable surface of meaning, eventually stepping onto 'reality' in "Reason" to express an intense desire for communication. 'Why do I have such an unbearable fever?' What is the 'thirst' that remains unquenched despite endless self-awareness and efforts towards completion? It is because humans are incomplete as individuals, because 'I' am fundamentally lonely without the 'other' that is 'you,' and because 'I' cannot be complete until I cross the deep valley of solitude and reach the act of 'communication.' And just as the lyrics of "Even When It Rains, Cicadas Cry" suggest, this gesture towards communication must be made, even if it is late.

Thus, this longing for communication, which must be reached no matter how many times it is frustrated, evokes the thorny apple, THORNAPPLE, which one cannot help but bite into, even if it means getting bloodied. Compared to its consistent thematic consciousness, the album's musical spectrum is quite diverse, and this diversity is a variation on its large conceptual theme. From the instrumental track "Bloom," reminiscent of post-rock, to the psychedelic atmosphere of "Time of Oranges" and the aggressive sound of "Red Peter," "Gills," which captures the lyricism and melancholy of 90s British pop, "Salamander," which stands out with its jazzy touch of contrabass and dreamy synthesizer use, the electronic "Cyanosis" and the gloomy trip-hop sound of "Plankton," "Reason," notable for its oriental melodic approach, and "Even When It Rains, Cicadas Cry," featuring refreshing guitar sounds and a unique chorus melody – when asked about this diversity, Yoon Sung-hyun replies, 'Diverse genre characteristics are merely raw materials for creating good music.'

Nevertheless, bassist Shim Jae-hyun, who was responsible for the album's mixing and programming, significantly contributed to the sound achieving a sense of unity. Furthermore, the distinctive lyrics and vocals create THORNAPPLE's unique originality. The words, seemingly drawn from a deep well within an individual's abyss, and sentences that exude a peculiar literary quality, gain vitality through Yoon Sung-hyun's neutral yet authentic vocals. The experimental guitar sound, which sometimes creates crumbling textures and sometimes overwhelms with an expanding sense of space, is also excellent. The stable ensemble of the rhythm section goes without saying. One more strength of this album is the power of its beautiful melodies. All tracks have excellent melodies, to the extent that they could all be released as singles without appearing out of place. Indulging in such high-quality melodies, meticulously crafted, is undoubtedly a great pleasure for the listener.