Like a bowl of warm soup your mom makes after a tough day, there’s only one word to describe Wave to Earth’s new album: comforting.
Wave to Earth is a three-member indie-rock band composed of vocalist Daniel Kim, drummer Dong Kyu Shin and bassist John Cha. They made their debut in August 2019 with the single “Wave.” Their third album since then, “play with earth! 0.03,” which dropped Sept. 6 and features seven tracks, continues to showcase the band’s growth and artistry. After diving into the album, my personal favorites are “Annie” and “holyland.”
The title of “Annie” is a clever play on the Korean word “ani,” meaning “no.” In this track, Wave to Earth pushes back against the pressures and expectations they face as emerging artists. Their third album has been highly anticipated, especially as their popularity grew with the hit song “seasons.” In response to their rising fame, “Annie” stresses the importance of staying authentic, particularly as a young artist navigating the industry. Lyrics like “I don’t belong with big names/Nor do I care ’bout fancy numbers” and “How can I fail, compromise, and lose myself?” reflect the band’s commitment to their true selves.
“holyland” consists of a sweet melody accompanied by simple lyrics. The line “A daydream in the sun/I’m back inside your peace,” captures the feeling of comfort one feels in a loved one’s presence. Throughout the song Kim sings about how much his lover means to him as he croons, “Watch your breeze take over me/ Just like we used to be/ Let me float in your arms, in your arms,” capturing the excitement and charm of liking somebody.
A close second is “slow dive.” In this song, Cha and his bass stole the show with its rhythm. When Cha plays his instrument with Kim, it makes Kim’s singing better.
The album has a variety of songs, including instrumentals such as “are you bored?” and “play with the earth!” which allows the listener to take a little break as the album has more than five songs. It also shifts the focus to the instrumentals and made me appreciate the instrument players even more; although it is not always audible, they are the ones who truly tie a song together.
Overall, I’d give this album a ten out of ten. Wave to Earth’s melodies beautifully capture themes of self-growth, relationships and authenticity. If readers are curious to find out more about the band, their new release “play with earth! 0.03,” along with their earlier albums “0.1 flaws and all,” “summer flows 0.02” and “wave” are definitely worth listening to.
Daniel Kim, left, Dong Kyu Sin, middle and John Cha, right, play at the House of Blues in Orlando Sept. 15, 2023. Wave to Earth’s currently top listened song on Spotify is “seasons” with 270,939,037 streams. The band overall has 7.2 million listeners. (Photo/Kayra Dayi)
