Review Summary: Rating: 4.3
You've been walking your entire life, there isn't a memory in your mind that doesn't contribute to the journey, not a single one. Everything is intertwined with it, everything shapes it, and your entire mind depends on it. Otherwise, what would be the purpose of your existence? Or, more importantly, what would become of it?
You know what has happened, you know what you've experienced, but in reality... not much makes sense. At least, your brain makes you think that way as a means of security. You deny yourself, you say no, it can't possibly be you, and that your small failures can't originate from you... no, they must come from your surroundings, and the unity of everything doesn't exist for you initially. It's a stage of denial, but also a youth of failure, a failure that denies its own existence but lives happily within its home, the brain.
The brain doesn't even trust itself, so what's left in life? What are you supposed to do? Fight against yourself? You can fall under your own strength, feel like you're battling something invincible because, in fact, you don't know your weaknesses. But a glimmer will always be deep within the brain. The problem is finding it, and sometimes the process can be even more confusing than understanding.
In the process, you encounter a guitar, saturation, and a handle, a handle that allows you to unlock your creativity. That was the missing piece. Active creativity, a progressive sensation, a malleable execution driven by your own catharsis and creation. Thus, After The Magic is born.
With heart in hand, with the brain in use, with nostalgia in full swing.
After The Magic is an album that encompasses shoegaze, post-rock, art-rock, with clear, highly saturated dream-pop elements and a strong neo-psychedelic side that complements sweet, structured melodic touches of dreamy electronics. It creates a harmonious contrast of styles that are familiar with each other but manage to generate a completely new vision thanks to the artist's heartfelt sentiment and ability to convey it genuinely in the lyrics of this project. It feels personal, immersive, and deeply embedded in the music within an excellent album that may not be perfect but is quite majestic in its naturalness.
It has everything: post-rock influences, electronic elements, and even sweet Korean vocals that represent the most human aspect of it all. These vocals function as another instrument that dances harmoniously with the artistic expression. It's not always about making a mind-blowing impact; the narrative takes precedence, and the execution of the concept in comparison to the sound's finality is what truly matters. You describe something, and then you describe it in music. This allows you to imagine what it is, even if you don't understand the language, because the music places it in a visually and imaginatively auditory context that is beautiful and evocative. I translated everything, but I still felt that part.
The production is dreamy yet impactful, with drums colliding in a beautiful yet evocative and somewhat imposing manner. It blends beauty with a somewhat aggressive sense of naturally human threat, executed very well.
Introducing an album is difficult. Introducing a mind? Even more so.
Polaris is an incredible start; it introduces us to the sweeter side of the project, the nostalgic and visionary aspects that look toward the future while retaining a hint of the past, evident in the guitars, vocal melodies, and how the sweet voice creates a natural harp that connects with the environment, entering the trees and creating a blurred contrast of blue and white. It's a naturalistic future followed by a great electronic burst, skillfully managed by the indie rock sound.
This same transition occurs with Insomnia, delving more into dreams and less into memories, a dream within the realm of realism, albeit a more melodic one that remains undeniably progressive. It solidifies the freer sound we heard earlier and envisions us in a different aspect of the same subject, all within the same house. However, when it finally does step outside, it feels the real wind for the first time in years, it's Arrival, and you can feel why. It's brutal; it's incredible, the best of the project.
It's the most post-rock song, and for good reason, it will likely be my favorite. Its construction is intimidating; it makes the listener initially feel stationary, a state of vision but also confusion, as if in uncharted territory. The wind we never felt but knew existed suddenly materializes. The wind rushes directly into our faces, and our famous brain starts constructing new thoughts based on the new sensations. The guitars become more abrasive, more and more details emerge in what is essentially a surprisingly hypnotic and immensely satisfying tetra-dimensional journey that can drive anyone insane. It's simply an important, but also quite incredible, song.
"We Shine At Night" continues this with more impactful vocal execution than before, providing a solidification that recurs in many parts of the project. While they may sound similar, you'll always notice that they have different purposes. While the potential drawback of the album might be its occasional pretentiousness in revisiting similar themes, here it works and manages to encapsulate everything it aims for in a very good and excellent way. "Parade" blends the various visions and continues the game.
"Parade" is interesting; it effectively solidifies all the sounds from earlier into something resembling "Insomnia" with subtle touches of "Arrival." The saturation becomes uncontrollable, forming a literal heart, a cluster that already exists within its saturation and doesn't impact the listener further; rather, it enters, stays put, and conveys its message. One thing's for sure: don't pause the project and start it again 10 minutes later; it sticks to your ears.
"Sketchbook" is actually quite underrated; it may be of slightly lower quality than the rest of the project, but it's still very enjoyable. It's an important lyrical point when we realize that everything is being seen, noted, and slowly put into practice. This is harmonized musically with a great structure, excellent execution, and, in terms of cohesiveness, a better vision than the other songs.
"Imagination" surprised me; I didn't expect another lively post-rock touch, but here it is. It's constructed with a sweet double progression that dives into a structure that evolves further within its musical eye. It reaches an instrumental climax that is supremely incredible and truly beautiful, making me both nod my head and reflect, which is quite difficult to achieve and something this project accomplishes repeatedly.
"Sound Inside Me" is a considerable dip; it's beautiful, heavily loaded, and very good, but it doesn't maintain the same solidification we've seen from earlier. Fortunately, this happens almost at the end, because if it had occurred in the middle, it would have disrupted the album's structure. Nonetheless, it didn't, and I'm glad for that.
After this reflection, another thought emerges, one that confirms the journey from before. A journey that wasn't moving forward, a slow journey. Now, it wants to know what happens, and it's more positive than ever. All the unhappiness from earlier condenses into... happiness. "Blossom" is beautiful.
"Blossom" is one of the highlights of the entire project. It's a point where we realize everything, becoming realistic but also very optimistic. With this, our entire thought process solidifies; we want more, we want respect, but we also recognize our mistakes and try to avoid our future. These deep drums pair well with the saturated production, creating an atmosphere of hurried steps, a sense that we've finally reached that deep part of our brain with the help of that glimmer. Finally, we're in this forest.
"After the Magic" is a celebration, a highly emotional conclusion to the earlier reflection, and a reminder of what we've learned from our worst side. I would have liked a different ending, but nonetheless, this one is very good. It maintains the style, the lyrics, and the final message of an artist who truly poured their heart into this.
"After the Magic" is a truly beautiful and majestic album that maintains its solidity for a long time. Parannoul creates an excellent album through talent and emotions. It may not be the best, it doesn't need to be in the hall of fame, but it strikes a balance and creates something that doesn't feel pretentious or artificial; it feels natural, human, magical, but also like what comes after that magic.
The tree whispers to you, "Why are you here?"
Its leaves rest in your hair.
You say, "Why wouldn't I be here?"
