On the surface, Cull Ficle is unassuming with its childish MSPaint cover and murmuring vocals over noisy instrumentals. The first listen might not connect immediately given how Seoul-native Asian Glow sounds like any other new-wave emo act influenced by lo-fi rock, noise pop, and shoegaze elements. Beneath the surface though, there’s a beautifully melancholic tenderness that hints at sentimentality and nostalgia. It’s covered in a haze of distorted guitars and muffled drumming but there’s a distinct warmth to the vocals that hold back explosive bursts of emotion. Cull Ficle should feel familiar: the noisy, lo-fi sounds are clearly reminiscent of bands like The Microphones, and the bedroom-pop style of mixing sounds like other indie artists like Weatherday. Despite the similarities, Cull Ficle stands well on its own thanks to its stunning instrumentation and while it doesn’t break new ground, the journey is unforgettable.
What makes Cull Ficle so compelling is its melodic structures that take on a personality of their own behind the noisy distortion. On “5:21:2000”, the pulsing drumming and chord progressions give way to the restrained vocals that hold a sense of bittersweet nostalgia. There are unsettling moments like on “INeverSaidToYou” where the sudden transformation to a darker, ambient sound catches listeners by surprise. On “Aggressive” the melacholy acousitc guitars transitions into a vast sea of pure noise on “ILoveYou” as Asian Glow sings about mental exhaustion. The wide range of emotions found throughout Cull Ficle is highlighted by the low mix of the vocals to give a more personal connection to the songs. It’s here that the album excels as the purposely restrained vocals seem to temper the more explosive emotions hidden behind a veil of uncertainty.
There are a few minor missteps in Cull Ficle and the most noticeable one is how long the runtime is. It’s 53 minutes long and positively brimming with different ideas and movements. Towards the latter half of the album though, the thematic ideas on Cull Ficle have been explored quite extensively and start to blur together. The clever use of noise interludes keeps listeners on their toes but it loses its element of surprise by the time the third one rolls around. Throughout Cull Ficle, the songs flow along in waves to represent the dynamic range of emotions but during the ebbs, the stretched out ideas often overstay their welcome. Vocals on the album are also mixed extremely low so it’s nearly impossible to make out words in certain songs. Though it enhances the lo-fi effect of the recordings, having so much of the emotive elements hidden behind a wall of distortion leaves a lot to be desired. Nevertheless, there’s something special about the way Cull Ficle pulls at our base emotional instincts and though the dreamy atmospheres aren’t anything new, the adventure is always compelling.
Must Listens: Circumstances telling me who i am, 5:21:2000, No Exit