''After the Magic'' is the third studio album by
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
n
shoegaze
Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with dream pop) is a subgenre of indie rock, indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion (music), distortion and effects, a ...
musician
Parannoul. It was released on January 28, 2023 through
Topshelf Records
Topshelf Records is an American independent record label. Started in Peabody, Massachusetts and formerly located in San Diego, California, the label is based in Portland, Oregon as of 2022.
Topshelf Records has been profiled in the '' Pittsbu ...
, making it his first album not to be self-released. The album was preceded by two singles: "Insomnia" on November 9, 2022, and "We Shine at Night" on January 11, 2023.
Parannoul described the album as "not what you expected, but what I always wanted", and stated it was inspired by dreams he had after finishing his previous album, ''
To See the Next Part of the Dream
''To See the Next Part of the Dream'' is the second studio album by the South Korean musician Parannoul, released independently on 23 February 2021, and later that same year through Longinus Recordings and Poclanos. Parannoul, an anonymous arti ...
''.
Critical reception
Upon its release, ''After the Magic'' was generally well-received by music critics. Reviewing the album for
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
, Paul Simpson described it as "Parannoul's breakthrough moment, featuring their most memorable songwriting to date as well as their most stunning arrangements. Not quite as overtly emo-influenced as previous releases, ''After the Magic'' draws more from chiming, melodic '90s alt-rock, adding electronic flourishes such as glitches and subtle breakbeats, and even approaching chamber pop."
[ Ian Cohen for '']Pitchfork
A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials.
The term is also applie ...
'' rated the album an 8.4/10 and awarded it the "Best New Music" distinction, writing: "It's an album that might make one hour of our lives so powerful that we spend the rest of our days trying to remember it."[ '' Fader'' included "We Shine at Night" in a list of "The 20 Best Rock Songs Right Now".]
Track listing
Personnel
Additional musicians
* Della Zyr – vocals
* – vocals (8)
* Rei from Vampillia – strings, string arrangement
* Fin Fior – trumpet (4, 5, 9)
* Asian Glow – guitar (7)
* eeajik – guitar
Production
* eeajik – producer, mixing, mastering
* Parannoul – producer, mixing, mastering, album cover
* Sarah Alvarez – album cover
Chart performance
In the United States, ''After the Magic'' sold 1,000 copies in its first week of release and charted at 76 on ''Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' Top Current Album Sales
The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ' ...
, Parannoul's first appearance in the charts. Following the album's release, Parannoul charted at 45 on the Emerging Artists chart.
References
External links
*
After the Magic
' on Bandcamp
Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...
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2023 albums
Parannoul albums
2020s Korean-language albums