By Sinead

Photo credit: Zhong Lin

Despite hailing from two different countries, a collaboration between Taipei-based romantic pop band Sunset Rollercoaster (落日飛車) and Korean indie band HYUKOH (혁오) now seems almost an inevitability.

Both well-known at home (and increasingly abroad) for their introspective, laid-back and often experimental indie sound, it was perhaps only a matter of time before they crossed paths. Perhaps this is most clear from their first time working together, as Sunset Rollercoaster remade HYUKOH’s dreamy, bossa nova-inspired single “Help” into a retro funk track.

Later on, frontman OHHYUK (오혁) featured on Sunset Rollercoaster’s 2021 track “Candlelight” from their album, Soft Storm, melding Sunset’s beloved synths with OHHYUK’s soulful vocals, bringing a spot of light to the dreary pandemic haze. It even made it to APW’s Best of 2020 playlist.

This low-key musical exchange has now graduated into a high-key epic HYUKOH/Sunset Rollercoaster collaborative album that is now live on all streaming platforms, making it both bands’ first full length release in four years.

The slop drip-feed of content has begun on their website (AAA (madeinaaa.com)), named after the name of the project – AAA – promising poetic lyrics and romantic melodies, reminiscent of Taipei’s warm climate.

The whole album has now been released, including the singles “Young Man” and “Antenna”. The former is an indie rock youth anthem about moving forwards in the face of future uncertainty, taking the the classic rock formula of kick pedal + tambourine and giving it a sprinkle of HYUKOH/Sunset in underlying synths and an overlaid electric guitar solo. The music video (entirely in Mandarin) directed by Pennacky, well-known for their work on Balming Tiger’s “SEXY NUKIM” and RM of BTS’ “Groin”), features all ten members as they play a dazzling range of instruments in an eclectic range of headwear, all plugged into a central machine. Adding in a dash of kaleidoscopic effects and colour/background-changing effects gives a pleasingly on-brand mix of retro and trippiness.

“Antenna” moves up the experimental scale audially, and especially visually. A gentle, repeating lullaby morphs into a lush audioscape, driven by a soft guitar lick and almost ethereal chorus of voices, as the bands (sing of wanting to turn back time. Another collaboration treat is in the video, with actor-of-the-moment/singer Hsu Kuang Han 許光漢 appearing for the first time alongside Hong Kong actor/singer Leah Dou 竇靖童 (could this lead to another epic collab? We will be watching) in an abstract, artist MV directed by rafhoo (Eun Hoo Song), another Balming Tiger performance director.

Another six tracks (“Kite War”, “Y”, “Glue”, “Do Nothing”, “2F年輕人” and the exuberantly named “Aaaannnnteeeeennnaaaaaa”) are now available to stream, while the bands have announced concerts in Seoul and Taipei in September.

Check out the AAA website for more information and to listen to the rest of the tracks.