Tonight was my first visit to Club SSAM. Four bands were scheduled to play at the ‘New Romance Party’. There was certainly nothing romantic about the door fee, 18,000 won.
First up were Korean band ‘Gullivers’. They were not that bad at all. They reminded me of bands like Yo La Tengo, Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr and Pavement. That is, they were shoegazers. There were some interesting vocal melodies, which were complemented by creative basslines. The guitars worked well together and I liked the guitar distortion. Gullivers were a nice introduction to the evening.
Pika was next up. This performance got my attention. She used a synth and loop pedal to create looped noise patterns, and sang creative, penetrating lyrics over the top. Her style was almost theatrical. At times I felt like I was watching a play or musical, as she almost 'acted' in a Cinderella, fairytale type way. The music was well complemented by Jittery dancing and a background movie. I admired her ability to create interesting melodies.
Trampauline were the third act. Quickly into the performance I realized that Trampauline are very inspired by 80’s music. Infact, the room lit up with an 80’s vibe as they played. In my head I thought of Top Gun, ET, The Breakfast Club, Ferris Buellers Day Off, Dirty Dancing, Gloria Estefan, Whitney Houston and 80’s pop. It was kind of cool.
The singer wore a bright colorful jacket with sneakers which added to the 80s feel. Infact the colorful nature of her jacket reminded me of UK TV presenter 'Timmy Mallet'. The singer would bounce around her Roland keyboard, waving her arms, in a way that would make ‘Molly Ringwald’ feel proud. Trampauline’s blend of electro-pop is a unique feature of the Seoul music scene.
No disrespect to the last band Starry Eyed, but I didn’t remain for the duration of their performance. It was not my thing that evening. Sorry guys.
On the night, for me, Trampauline stole the show, with Pika in second, Gullivers in third.
Oliver Philpott
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