Indie rock band The Koxx is back with their long-awaited mini-album Bon Voyage, their first work since the release of Oriental Girl back in November 2011. With a style that they define as “electronic garage rock” and influences mainly from the indie rock, post-punk and electro-rock, The Koxx has somehow managed to create a unique style.

Since their popularity exploded after the release of their full-length album one year ago, the expectations for their comeback were big. So, do they disappoint or do they live up to their expectations?

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THE KOXX MAKE TROUBLE IN SEOUL
Corrupting Korean Youth with Dance Rock

By Suyeon Kim
January 19, 2012

Low moral standards. In a nutshell, that’s what Korean electro darlings THE KOXX are peddling with their cheeky live shows, their bowties, and their synth solos. College-age Korean girls (who seem to make up their entire fanbase, hmm), beware.

The dirty rock and roll facts:

Exhibit A: Their videos. The sum of THE KOXX’ visual oeuvre confirms the open secret that behind our deep bowing and our state-of-the-art cell phones, the Korean people are srrrious party animalz. A perfect example is the video for – the name says it all – the song “Troublemaker”:

This is also a great video, for “12:00″ (12 as in midnight, as in the deadline for desperate attempts at hooking up before last call). Lead singer Hyunsong follows a girl into a bathroom stall and…I’ll let you watch it.

Exhibit B: Their band name. Yeah, I think we can stop there.

Exhibit C: Hyunsong and lead guitarist Sooryun are more or less the Korean Mick and Keith. Look at Hyunsong’s debonair convulsions, and Sooryun’s bored expression during his vicious guitar solos: it’s the dynamic that launched the Rolling Stones into the stratosphere! Hyunsong and Sooryun are poised to rise to superstardom, get tons of girls, and eventually one of them will steal the drummer’s wife. You heard it here first.

Exhibit D: Their leering ode to dancing girls, “Oriental Girl,” which shows that Asian people are just as good at turning Asian women into sexual objects as the rest of the world is. I’m actually proud of this, because yes, as an Asian myself, I am just that competitive.

Speaking of competitive. Sooryun and Hyunsong, along with keyboardist Shaun, drummer Saron, and bassist Sunbin, are great musicians. They studied something called “applied music” at the same college, which is how they met. “Troublemaker” is the second song they ever wrote, and their debut album ACCESS OK is brimming with frenetic, high energy tracks that test their chops. So while they obviously love to party and get wasted, and write songs that facilitate these acts, THE KOXX sing about losing their minds over a very tight, musical groove.

It’ll be interesting to see what happens as their career goes on. Could their K-electro rock ever topple the dominance of K-pop? Real instruments on stage, and actual musicians playing them — might this be the future of Korean pop music?

Who knows. In the meantime, I have an idea. THE KOXX should hold a global dance rock summit with Two Door Cinema Club, Foster The People, and maybe Phoenix. They’ll broker peace in the electro world, and afterwards THE KOXX will take their new allies clubbing in Seoul. And they can all do sake bombs and hit on Korean girls deep into the night.

(Source: mtviggy.com)

4. The Koxx - Access OK

Demonstrating that there’s more to Korean music than the K-pop machine, The Koxx made a strong argument for Seoul’s indie scene this when the quintet issued Access OK. Their pulsing, danceable electro rock evokes a young, urban sensibility and a little bit of danger. We’re already jumping up and down and yelling for an encore.

For those interested in Tablo/Epik High, Fever’s End ranked in at #5.

5. Tablo - Fever’s End

Korean rapper Tablo’s epic two-part solo album Fever’s End includes brooding, brainy tracks like “Home” among more upbeat R&B influenced numbers. His English-language kiss-off to the fame game, “Dear TV” is a spare, envelope-pushing standout, but the whole album consists of that kind of reflective, solid material. There’s a post-hip hop/singer-songwriter vibe throughout, but it’s the sprinkling of K-pop dust that gives this debut just the right amount of kick. Listen to the wistful single “Tomorrow” by way of introduction.

(via MTV Iggy)

Daydayspring picked Access OK as #7 in their list of the 10 Best Korean Indie Albums of 2011.

Translation:

The Koxx released two singles and an album this year. They play electronic rock and their music is reminiscent of Hokkaido band Sakanaction. Where Sakanaction may be more refined and proper in sound, The Koxx’s style grows rowdy when guitars, bass, drums and keyboard fuse into a raucuous display like at the end of Trouble Maker, akin to the spectacle after having one too many drinks. No doubt that it would be a blast to watch them play this track live. Likewise, The Words, clocking in at 8:11 mins in length, showcases a different, toned-down side to the band. The instrumentation is slow and meticulous, and it brings to mind the image of waking up to blurring street lights during a long train ride.

The writer has made an excellent point about the accessibility of fansites online. IMO this is a stumbling block for bands in Korea since it limits their potential to reach out to international fans; hence hindering sales, etc. 

Unless we’re talking about the big K-Pop idol stars, it can be incredibly difficult to access—let alone really get into—the local Korean music scene. Band websites hosted by Cyworld or Daum Cafe are protected by the sites’ strict user policies, which definitely don’t make for easy browsing. SSAM is a music site where users can browse artist profiles and message boards, but is entirely in Korean, thereby completely unhelpful to any foreigners interested in seeing what Korean indie has to offer. There are a few record labels I’ve found that (while considerably smaller than the corporate giants) are big enough to have a buoyant following and showcase fairly well-known musicians: Locksmith Music, Pastel Music, HappyRobot Records. I don’t doubt there are many more, but like I’ve said, it’s been pretty difficult navigating the Korean music scene online.

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Posting old news for those interested.

 [CNNGo] Three South Korean indie bands to look out for: 

Chang Kiha and the Faces, The Koxx and Goonamguayeoridingstella are rocking the South Korean indie scene

The Band: New Year’s Eve, 2008. Having formed only recently as a jazz band, three art student friends decide to see in 2009 with a performance of the kind of electro-tinged rock they really love. 

Not for the last time, the reception is electric, and The Koxx, as they would soon be known, had found their calling. 

Overcoming a now infamously inebriated show before they even had a deal, The Koxx (now a five piece) have gone on to play a string of short, frenetic sets that have made them one the most talked-about live acts in South Korea’s indie scene.

“The only shortcoming in [their debut EP “Enter”] is that there are only six tracks on it,” says critic Kim Zakka, writing on 100BEAT.com website. “Of the rookies to have emerged this year, none can match up to The Koxx.”

The Music: Angular, tight-suited indie pop with doses of electro. Think Franz Ferdinand and shades of Daft Punk.

The Song: In what are invariably air-punching, mosh-prompting live performances, “Trouble Maker” is never less than storming. Listen and watch.

The Future: With their “Enter” EP out now and an album to follow in the spring of 2011, The Koxx are poised to translate their live power into a broader, more established fan base. 

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