The Black Skirts - 201

The Black Skirts, also known by their Korean name Keom Jeong Chima, have caused quite a stir with their debut album 201 which was released in November last year. The indie band seemed to appear out of nowhere, but in the past few months they've been getting heaps of media attention. They have been featured on the homepage of naver.com, Korea's biggest search engine and appeared in the Korean edition of Elle, just to name a few.

The album features 10 tracks, all composed by front man Jo Hyu il, who used to be working in the US under the name Castel Prayon. It's been mentioned that he intended to show a poppier side of his work with The Black Skirts, and it seems it's working. Starting out with Like me (Johahaejwae), the listeners get introduced to the band with a rather merry sounding pop-rock track. The song consists of many varied parts woven smoothly together, and it’s exactly these little bits that make the song so interesting. A few elements that stand out are the fast guitar riffs undeniably reminiscent of US band The Strokes, lyrics sung in a high pitched voice and a little funk popping up here and there, and this mix makes the song incredibly catchy and has a high cheering-up potential.

Stand Still has an American indie feel to it, and again The Strokes come to mind. Definitely not a bad thing, because the fast-paced guitar riffs and cute 60s organ make it a very enjoyable song. The song is entirely in English, with perfect pronunciation. Dog (Kangaji) seems to follow in the same way, starting out with a sample of a dog barking and growling. Then, after the first chorus that is also sung in English, a sudden ska sound appears unexpectedly, giving the track an interesting twist.

Sangah is up next, featuring the trademark The Black Skirts sound, though a little slower-paced and less bright. The vocals are doubled, a duet between Jo Hyu il's normal singing voice and falsetto sound. Though it seems a weird idea that can go wrong very easily, the two vocal lines are well matched and without paying attention, one might as well have missed the quirky vocals.

The cheerful playfulness returns with Antifreeze, which features more keyboards and electronic effects. The merry atmosphere disappears instantly with the next track Tangled. This time lacking any fast guitar riffs and instead a medium-paced beat with piano playing along with the rhythm guitar, it becomes a very touching, intense track. The lyrics are almost completely in English, and it is the forlorn tone in the lyrics such as "Maybe we were wrong from the start because we are sorry, sorry excuses for love. Summer's never coming again, we will tangle in the wind and rain," that add to the melancholic sound of the song.

Avant Garde Kim brings back an upbeat sound, though it lacks any prominent hooks and that makes it more forgettable than the other songs. A nice extra touch is the 'doo doo doo' vocal part nearing the end of the track, but it's unfortunately not enough to carry the song. By starting with an intro of sounds played backwards, forming a harmonious soundscape, it instantly becomes clear that also Le Fou Muet is another song that distinguishes itself from the rest. It's dreamy and floats along in a spacey haze. It's simply a pity that the song barely lasts two minutes.

With Dientes ("teeth" in Spanish), Jo Hyu il shows his talent at Spanish as half of the song is in English, and the other half in Spanish. Both parts mean pretty much the same and also the Spanish pronunciation is good, close to perfect. The song itself is a melodic track with a quirky and naughty feel to it. It has a reoccurring rocksteady groove and at the same time it has an old-fashioned feeling, reminiscent of the 60s or 70s which is fueled by the backing vocals.

The album ends with the surprisingly jazzy Kiss and Tell. The band seems to have transformed into a jazz quartet, the sleek notes flowing smoothly. Somehow, the whole song has this sexual tension clinging to it tightly, and puts Jo Hyu il -who manages to look incredibly dorky on TV shows with his red cardigan and big glasses- with his sensual vocals in a completely different spotlight.

It's no surprise that 201 has been faring so well in Korea. The album contains plenty of styles, which have been woven together in such a way that they form a specific The Black Skirts sound, with an extremely catchy result. However, when listening to the album for the first time, it might be a little hard to get into at first. It may take some time for the songs to grow on you, but it'll be definitely worth it!