1. Anomalies in the Oddity Space - The Poles

Musings The Poles' (더 폴스) 2024 EP, Anomalies in the oddity space, encompassing rebirth and the sense of self

Jun 17, 2024

In an internet dependent world where people share their thoughts in real time, where first reaction Youtube videos provide endless entertainment as a form of cultural commentary, where instant gratification with mass consumption takes precedent, I spend a lot of time contemplating whether there is space in slowing down to ponder and sit with a work. What is the value of an initial reaction versus a long-term contemplation? Where does that fit into the modern world view? Am I really rewired to process everything with immediacy? Do my feelings and perspectives even matter 1 month, 6 months, even years after a first interaction with something? These are constant questions in my overactive, anxious brain these days, as I try to forge a new relationship with the things I consume and things that bring me joy. Mindless consumption for a quick dopamine hit no longer provides long term satisfaction but, the path to understanding where the lines and moments are to truly feel and interact with something are ambiguous.

The Poles (guitarist/singer Kim Daniel, bassist Lee Hwangjae, Drummer Kim Kyungbae) established themselves with single releases beginning in 2017, exploring sounds with an experimental and lo fi approach to rock. Their music took full shape with their first full length album, The High Tide Club, released in 2022. Their previous work encompasses a type of melodic rock ergo the 90s and 2000s eras of Brit and Indie rock, calling to mind every bit of nostalgia that drew me to the genre in the first place. It also kept them apart from their peers in the Korean indie scene where such a sound is not as widely used. Since the beginning of 2023, however, the band was sparsely active (mostly due to guitarist/singer Kim Daniel’s other project, wave to earth, reaching global popularity) leaving fans wondering if the band would ever release music again.

Released in April 2024, Anomalies in the Oddity Space was an album I had to sit with. I was uncomfortable even within myself upon first listen, trying to process what about it wasn’t immediately pulling me in and wondering why I wasn’t as obsessed upon first listen as some of the views I was seeing online (though, people do put up a front). It wasn’t that I stopped listening to the album – completely opposite, actually, as the songs rank in my top 20 on Apple Music. Though I am culpable of being a routine looper of songs and albums by artists I like, the EP came to provide a sense of familiarity. Music I could turn to when I couldn’t quite put my finger on what I wanted to listen to. In retrospect, this would be a first step to reaching my full a-ha moment with it.

The past couple weeks, something finally clicked. Watching footage from their first live performances of the new album, the intent of the EP finally came full circle. (Ironically, I had the same reaction to wave to earth’s music and experiencing their live concert for the first time truly solidified me as a fan after years of casually listening). Of course, a live experience will create a robustness of sound that cannot always be replicated in a recording. But it is striking the way Kim Daniel’s various works strike a different chord when I hear a recording versus the live version. It may not be notable to others, as music and its experiences is subjective and personal, but I cannot help but think about how differently yet cohesively I’m drawn to the pieces based on how I’m consuming them. The additions of thundering instrumental breaks, interludes, and live speaker textures truly elevates the music, and creates an experience unmatched through what I can access on Apple Music.

Some live videos for you to review:1

First live concert-

Second live concert -

Notable clips, separately:

Oddities

Vancouver ‘23

Anomalies in the

I have always approached this album in halves. The first three songs representing a wandering soul, exploring their lows and dreams and trying to piece together where their life will take them. Vancouver ‘23 lyrically explores the shell of oneself after removing one’s ego (and, most likely, pushing through a period of burn out).2 The song that resonated with the band the most, it opens the album with a sense of a low, expecting a possible move to a higher emotional point, incorporating a softer approach to their sound.

Second track Stargazing takes the listener to that lighter place, elevating the mood musically with a more fun pop rock genre, while repeating a call and response style chorus with one’s desire to be a rock star. Simplistic yet straightforward, the song juxtaposes the previous track completely, creating a dichotomy of the self.

Prerelease single Cares comes third, piecing together the themes of the first two tracks into the self-soothing question of what is truly holding you back in life. Reciting fears of gaining and death, the speaker questions themselves and what self-inflicted obstacles prevent him from truly feeling the intricacies of his youth. This track calls back to the preceding musical themes the band used in their previous album, harkening back to the melodic sounds of Oasis and other bands from that era (my brain truly hears Don’t Look Back in Anger after this song ends).

The second half represents the thesis statement for where the band expects their self to be. Space kids being the band’s promoted representative song sings about persevering through life despite obstacles. Thematically similar to Cares, it provides a more carefree approach to the subject with melodic instrumentals that strike a sense of levity and movement in the listener (though the entirety of the lyrics being written in various styles of British English and slang is a funny concept).

The only true rock and roll song on the album, Oddities (my favorite track) creates a sense of being on a ride coasting at the speed of light, building up the instruments and pushing forward the speaker/listener within the “light” towards the end filled with darkness.3 The steady pace and build up or a dampened instrumental track paired with a soaring vocal line creates a perfect head banging song that serves as the full climax for the EP. The song flows directly into the ending instrumental track, Anomalies in the…(AIT). This duo immediately stood out to me – sonically providing a slowed down ride an ending in a dreamlike space. Rather than feeling like a finale, AIT gives a sense of continuation into the unknown, into spaces yet to be explored. You could say the transition from the thunderous rock vibes of Oddities into the more chill instrumentals of AIT is disjointed. I see it rather as the entire EP coming to a circular end – meeting back to the place we started in the beginning, giving an overarching theme of introspection and self-exploration. Instead of acting as a final song, or a period in the journey, it serves rather as an ellipsis, carrying the listener onto the next phase of the journey, whatever that may be.

The entirety of the EP encompasses the journey of the speaker, described by the band as an overarching rebirth.4 Particularly as the band went on a long, relatively indefinite hiatus, newer themes and approaches bloomed from their collective experiences, creating a new journey musically. My own interpretation reflects slightly differently, albeit probably just a nuance difference. Each song is a different facet of our existence, exploring the ways in which we exist in and work through the world, the ups and down, whether this timeline is within days, months, or years. Perhaps this is where my practice of looping albums subconsciously attached itself to this one — there was something in the circle of songs that gut felt from the start.

A band whose music is conceptually predicated on the idea of bringing together the poles, or trivial moments of a person’s experience, are these inherent anomalies in our existence?

“…progress until recently has meant fluctuating between two widely divergent poles …. So, after a long period of flux, a kind of truce has been reached: the yearning toward realistic depiction and the equally strong urge toward abstraction have come together and joined forces in the neutral territory of the studio” On Rodrigo Moynihan, 1988, from Something Close to Music, John Ashberry

Maybe this conceptual sense of self was what I needed to slow down and think more about how I fit into the world. To see that not everything has to be done with haste, and can be slowly chipped away at before it fully blooms into something beautiful before your eyes.

I hope you can come to sit with the fluctuation of your thoughts and feelings, parse through them, navigate through the abyss of emotions, rather than hastily conclude on a position of opposite poles, and navigate through this vast universe with calm introspection.

Thank you for tuning in.

on my frequency

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