You possibly can’t plan successful as huge as ‘(It Goes Like) Nanana’, but when anybody may, it’s Peggy Gou. The Korean-born, Berlin-based home producer has made all the suitable strikes for the reason that playful 2018 single ‘It Makes You Neglect (Itgahane)’, which featured her singing for the primary time. Her cool supply and slick melodicism stood out. Quickly, she had Vogue photoshoots, a large social following and a busy tour schedule. However final 12 months’s chart success underlined her crossover attraction; not each dance observe will get sung like a soccer chant at festivals.
Writing successful put a pause on the album rollout. Followers have been drip-fed songs since 2021’s breezy self-motivation anthem, ‘I Go’. ‘I Hear You’ is a singles album, in that half the songs are singles. Whereas that kills a number of the first-listen buzz, it’s comprehensible. Gou frolicked fine-tuning to align along with her utopian imaginative and prescient of 90’s Eurodance, as nailed on ‘Nanana’. Some clear touchpoints are ‘Rhythm is a Dancer’, ‘Present Me Love’, and clearly, ‘9PM Until I Come’.
Like ‘Nanana’, ‘Again to One’ and ‘Lobster Phone’ have impeccably-layered synth hooks and nods to ’90s classics. Each songs current Gou as a beacon of positivity and perseverance connecting us via dance, as said in her cheeky Korean lyrics: “I do know you don’t perceive this / However it doesn’t matter / It’s all the identical / We’re all the identical.” It’s a easy message, nevertheless it’ll really feel downright religious after two pints within the park.
When ‘I Hear You’ deviates from its dance-pop blueprint, it doesn’t at all times work. The throwback R&B on Lenny Kravitz collaboration ‘I Consider in Love Once more’ is a diversion into drab balladry. Subsequent is ‘All That’, a Spanglish pop-rap tune that includes Puerto Rican rapper Villano Antillano. It gala’s higher due to their clear chemistry. Nonetheless, two mid-tempo tracks early on stalls the document’s momentum. It’s odd pacing from a DJ.
The album picks up in its explorative second half, with intercontinental drum’n’bass (‘Seoulsi Peggygou’) and comforting piano home (‘Purple Horizon’). There are nonetheless tacky references and canned snare fills, but additionally a welcome dose of shock.
That’s the enjoyment of Peggy Gou’s music – she balances class and kitsch equally. When it really works, it’s like discovering dance music for the primary time. ‘I Hear You’ has a pureness that may give many who feeling. You already know, that feeling? It goes like Nanana.
Particulars
- Launch date: June 7
- Document label: XL Recordings
