Evocative in all of its intensity, Parannoul has broken through and unleashed his momentous solo effort to date. ‘Sky Hundred’ is an album that reaches towards the scorching air within the skies, where the dynamic swells within melodies and production allow Parannoul’s devastating personal deals of absence to strike a chord and then some. Enrapturous in every minute, Parannoul has showcased a culmination of his past and accepted the flames of the future.
For the past few years after breaking through with ‘To See The Next Part of the Dream’, Parannoul has simultaneously sparked a swath of interest from large amounts of listeners to the growing established alternative rock scene in South Korea as well as eventually creating a kinship with other acts like Della Zyr, Asian Glow, and Fin Fior that also managed to gain recognition in the 2020s. At first glance, it does feel like a great thing to see as Parannoul continues to rack up success as he manages to perform his songs live, stretch his creative vision through his future projects such as the excellent ‘Downfall of the Neon Youth’ project with sonhos tomam conta and Asian Glow, the hushed soundscapes of ‘After The Magic’, or the classical ambient piece of ‘Rough and Beautiful Place’ from his side project Mydreamfever, the path moving forward for Parannoul seems to be in an upward stream. Yet, when ‘Scattersun’ - the phenomenal collab record between Fax Gang and Parannoul - was released back in June, it exposed the exhausting darkness that the writing expounds upon, perhaps hinting for whatever that upcoming solo project from Parannoul would go into. And now, with ‘Sky Hundred’ being released to the public, Parannoul returns to his familiar roots, where now, he carries a lingering pain that Parannoul muses within the entire project.
Within this new album that Parannoul has created, there is an immediacy that runs throughout the record, where the distorted shoegaze edges that Parannoul has started in his past records have been refined and amplified. The overall mixes are simmering and seething to the point that the soundscapes will get overwhelming, but it is an intended creative decision to complement the devastating revelation that he exposes within this album, an aspect of the album that Parannoul ensures is paired off with compositions and performances that matches that burst of emotion. Indeed, within this 52-minute record that’s filled with familiar post-rock embellished shoegaze sonic tapestries, Parannoul manages to ensure that the fullness of his vocals and his instrumentations are still heard despite its bricked-out edges, the compositions that have only gotten more dynamic power and tunefulness as he adds a prominent focus on his ear for synth patches and especially his gifted ability on adding a lot of brighter piano melodies, the consideration for structure that allows these songs to flow exceptionally well, and the vocal performances that he provides has gotten sharper to the point where you can hear the emotions that he desperately throws out. It leads to the album becoming invigorated in its passion. The piano-focused intro of ‘A Lot Can Happen’ where the melodies and vocals just churn a lot of vigor that it’s able to catapult into its crescendo impeccably well, the charged melodic swell of ‘Backwards’ where the ever so burnish instrumental melodies carries on forward with an epic melodic barrage as well as Parannoul going for his mistifying upper register, the captivating raw touches of ‘Painless’ where the guitars just snarl to the point where the pile of noise swallows Parannoul within, letting that distortion prick the mix more and more, and the overwhelming quality of ‘Gold River’ with the guitars, pianos, and keys careening through Parannoul as he sings his entire soul out of his body to the point where he shouts and shrieks with anguish.
These sonic elements collectively allow the somber moments to break apart in fascinating directions. The slower and gentler pace of ‘Maybe Somewhere’ gives way to the array of synth chimes, gleaming keys, and faint horns to let lose the fantastic crescendo that allows the melancholy to wade out of Parannoul’s presence and the calmness to temporarily pass through, the impressive melodic ventures where the bright and dark tones crash into each other for one last time on ‘Fantasy’, the brief collapse of ‘Lights Off Repentance’ where the piano and drum passages ascend to that melodic release just before it suddenly concludes down into a mish-mash of glitched out dissatisfaction, and the perfectly evocative 14-minute length of ‘Evoke Me’ where all of Parannoul’s pent up emotions just leaps off the page, filling every minute with expansively enrapturing melodic shifts, massive instrumental tunes, and intense vocal touches that let the song to evoke every single feeling that bubbles up within Parannoul.
And it is within the songwriting that lets into what Parannoul is now grasping at this point. There is no more sense of wistful yearning or dulled-out ennui that he temporarily muses before, as now he recognizes how the absence of loved ones within his life has affected him, an absence that wiggles through past memories or future loss that wrangles him to the core. It’s a devastating realization that only intensifies the personal stakes of his writing, where the sense of angst towards parts of his past and eventually accepting the sorrowful truth within it both intensifies the conflict from all the brightest and darkest aspects of living young and growing old, where the presence of time is the one that will essentially put him into that pressure and fear of losing the people that he has cherished within life. A grief that he will always carry within him, moving and changing him in such drastic ways. It is to the point that this emotion has eventually bled itself into the relationship between the artist and the audience, a thematic element that only amplifies more of Parannoul’s heartbreaking viewpoint of becoming a musician that will require him to expose himself to the public. It is an anxiety-inducing mindset - especially when his songwriting always never deflects away from showcasing Parannoul’s sincere emotional thoughts - that further complicates when that sincerity has to be performed in a live setting, with the audience taking in the sadness for their own personal vibe session rather than attempt to understand that this is something that Parannoul made for himself. But he might’ve accepted that perspective of the audience as well, where even if he won’t be performing these songs live anymore, he knows that these songs will serve as a way to connect with him even despite the frustrating thoughts that he might carry in putting these sincere emotions out to the audience.
And so, when the writing meshes together with the music itself, it collectively clears up the question of why the soundscape has to end up this way, as this is Parannoul’s way to let these frustrations and devastations out, inserting so many scorching edges on every note and texture that it soon brings him to exhale all of this out, then end up with him accepting the truth that he cannot run away from or pretend that it didn’t happen. He only has to move forward and let it change him, carrying his burnished passion through his life, leading him to strength and weakness on the roads he’ll tread.
With all of that being said, there is something rather profoundly gripping within ‘Sky Hundred’, where every single element is purposeful and is executed in a way that allows Parannoul to finally break through, bringing his best set of songs that he has mustered thus far alongside what he has brought together on his collab project with Fax Gang on ‘Scattersun’. It’s a record that will burn with a hot intensity that may overwhelm in its first listen, yet that intensity is the reason why the melodies, performances, and production manage to become impressive as a result, further allowing Parannoul’s personal reflections to cut deep down and let his revelations towards absence and growing older speak immense volumes. The bright skies might burn him down from the shadows that have left him behind, yet the passionate flame he carries rejuvenates him from those aching truths he has accepted.
Favorite Tracks: ALL OF THEM
Least Favorite Track: NONE OF THEM