I’m late to the party where this band is concerned, but giving truth to the saying ‘better late than never’, here I am about to launch into a full blog post about why this band is my new favourite band, and another reason to be thankful to the musical genius that is SUGA of BTS who is the reason I stumbled across them in the first place. I owe this to the song ‘Snooze’ which I’ve had largely on repeat since I first listened to it – it’s a beautiful song – and definitely my favourite song of 2023. The lyrics of this song are the star of the show, but Kim Woosung (“KWS”) is a very close second. His voice is the kind of voice that makes people fall in love with music all over again. Or at least, that was my experience. I love it when artists collaborate with others, especially ones I’ve not previously heard of. So, I took to Spotify and I listened to more of his songs. ‘Modern Life’ is probably my favourite but I really like ‘Phase Me’ too. Side note: I especially liked the line in ‘Lazy’ about how much he hates shaving (relatable) and the perfect way in which he delivers it – Apparently I really like impassioned song screaming. I digress. The point is that I found KWS, and from there I discovered….The Rose. The Rose are a South Korean indie rock band and they consist of Woosung (vocals and guitarist), Dojoon (vocals & keyboard), Lee Hajoon (drums), Jaehyeong (bass). Actually, they all sing and very well at that too.
Their album Heal is perfect. It is one of those very rare albums where I can say that I like all of the songs on. Since I loved them all so much I wanted to share my thoughts on the songs:-
Intro: ‘~’
This is one minute and five seconds of peace.
When I listened to this for the first, and second time, I imagined myself waking up to the sounds of a beautiful spring morning. I can picture blue skies, fields of pretty wildflowers. I am definitely on holiday. In the Tuscan hills perhaps? The windows are open, and a warm breeze is fluttering in through the curtains. I loved the birdsong especially. It lead perfectly into the first song.
Song: Definition of Ugly is
…A beautiful song. I saw a lot of the conversations I have with myself in this song. Why am I so insecure? etc etc. Its relatable, human. Kinda haunting. Has KWS voice ever been better matched with a song? Not sure. I saw a comment somewhere that said this song was inspired by someone who always felt like an outsider no matter what she did and where she was, no matter how hard she tried hard to fit in. KWS is also meant to have said that (and I’ve not verified this) the song is also inspired by the story of the ugly duckling, a story I used to describe how I felt growing up, and sits under my bed, which I only keep near me because the moral of the story is that the ugly duckling (who wasn’t ugly at all, only different) grew into a swan i.e. everyone is beautiful the way they are and you should not try to fit in all the time because we are all different, we are all human etc. I felt like this song was written to comfort me when I needed it. I often feel peculiar and lonely, and I’ve always felt like I’m an ugly duckling, so I related to this song a lot. I feel like listening to this song live, the last minute in particular, would give me goosebumps. I hope to one day.
Song: Childhood
This song made me cry. But it’s beautiful.
Song: Shift
I’ve felt a lot lately like something was missing, and its someone to feel this way about me. I also want to feel that way in return. To have a love based on friendship and mutual trust/respect. I liked the background music towards the end, which I felt was kinda like the Indie-Korean version of Church Bells ringing out for celebrations. I often feel like I speak with my eyes but I have no one who knows me well enough to understand what I’m trying to communicate, which is mostly my own fault. Ditto with: I feel like listening to this song live, the last minute in particular, would give me goosebumps.
Song: Cure
I knew this was going to be a good song within the first five seconds. I feel to say any more would ruin someone’s enjoyment of the song.
Song: See-Saw
Piano? Good. Comforting singing? Also good. Don’t worry, he says. High notes. What should I do, he asks. “Hello, it’s me, I’m here, And you’re okay, Don’t worry, What do you want to hear the most? I’ll do it for you all day, With no ups and downs”. Beautiful Instruments. Message: “The Rose’s message of healing. Healing cannot happen in isolation, it comes slowly by sharing our stories and staying by someone’s side”
Song: Time
One word review: Lovely
Song: Yes.
This is a positive song. I’ve never really been very good at going with the flow because I don’t surprises or being unprepared but I like the idea of waking up one day next to someone I love, and just having a ‘yes’ day – just going where the day, our thoughts, and conversations take us. Walking side by side. Sharing time. All that stuff. It’s a romantic idea, but like romantic in the sense of lovely, and actually, even just having days like that with a good friend would be amazing too.
Song: Sour
I lOvEd ThIs SoNg SoOoOo MuCh.
Outro: ‘-‘
More peace, but this time we’re given 2:17 of it. The only things to say here are that I enjoyed listening to this and that I spent more time than I probably should have trying to figure out all the different sounds, but I had fun doing so.
Overall thoughts
I love this album. I love this band. I love the sincerity of the lyrics. KWS’s voice makes me want to cry – it goes right through me – but they’re all amazing and super talented. For me, this was a sit up and listen kind of album. Or one to listen to while lying barefoot in daisy speckled grass looking up at the clouds floating across a clear blue sky – which is very specific, I know. It gets better every time I listen to it too.
The beauty of this album, I suppose, at least for me as I work my way through an existential and well-being crisis, is that it felt like it was made just for me. Humans, after all, aren’t so different. They could be people in a Korean Indie-Rock Band, or someone like me. I needed this album. My soul needed it, I suppose. Its upbeat and positive in a way that can only exist after sadness, but like the title promises, it’s about healing, and that’s great. I really do love this band and will wait with baited breath to see what they do next. Admittedly, I am a sucker for musicians with nice smiles but they are really talented and their music is really great. I hope you will listen to this album, and that you love it as much as I do 🙂
FYI: They’re playing at Hyde Park’s BST in July!
Instagram: @official_therose