Originally released May 4, 2010,
Wild Days explores the many sides of punk rock, from mysterious, dark guitar-driven tracks to riveting, blood-pumping anthems. The album has its slower moments, but manages to keep the energy flowing throughout every track.
The minute or so long intro,
Mun (lit. door) opens the album with high energy, quite literally. Other groups’ introductions to a release are usually low-key - only in preparation for the succeeding track - yet the members of
Galaxy Express throw their hands into the air and channel all of their energy into the intro.
Nan amugeotto aninde maintains a high level of energy from
Mun with a steady beat and grunge rock style chord progressions. Vocalist/bassist
Lee Juhyun tears the vocal line part with his rough voice - so energetic!
Park Jonghyun's added vocals add further emphasis.
The tone throughout
House of Pain darkens a smidgen. Between layers of bass and guitar chords, the word “pain” is sung, creating an auditory soundscape of frustration. Listeners are able to experience this "house of pain."
Both
Bitsogui yeonin and
kumui geurimja are uncharacteristically laid-back, compared to the majority of the album. The latter,
kumui geurimja begins with slower, haunting tones in a minor key, and the tracks sound like something that might feature in an old western film during a bar scene. Sound-bytes of thunder roll into the beginning; the vocals have an accent on them, adding a certain mystery to the track. Towards the last third of the song, the tempo picks up, returning to
Galaxy Express’ brewed wild punk sound.
K
Both
Arkadia and
Reverse are instrumental tracks. It’s unusual to hear a song without vocals unless it’s a karaoke version or purposely crafted without vocals. These two tracks combined showcase each member’s abilities apart from singing the main melody:
Lee Juhyun’s bass lines,
Park 's heartfelt mini-guitar solo's,
Kim Heekwon’s drumming.
Just over two minutes,
Naui jigureul jikejweo takes the listener on a ride with gentle strums of acoustic guitar, electric organ and even a cat meowing at the end. The vocals are soft and alluring, unlike any of the crazy, high-powered punk rock tracks heard on the album.
Wild wraps up with two covers of previously released songs. The first is
Jungle the Black featured on the 2008 album
Noise on Fire. The
original track is very serious but this cover is of the members singing karaoke, filled with grunts, screaming and hilarious, off-key vocals with plenty of reverb - essentially poking fun at their own work. Everything is done on purpose. The second cover,
Hello ireohke is sung in same way but more focus on the purposefully bad vocals. This proves that
Galaxy Express can have fun too!
Generally, each track on
Wild Days is no more than two minutes or so, giving the listener a small taste of their world - just enough, but not too much. Undoubtedly,
Galaxy Express enjoy making music as much as any artist does, but that passion is really felt throughout their work.
