NBTL - Article
I wrote and article for a magazine about an emerging band in Seoul. Read it below or visit the magazine (button link)
It's possible in 2025 to feel large quantities of hope and doom at once. These days, the phrase, "what a time to be alive," can easily be read both sarcastically and sincerely. Noise Between The Lines examines tensions such as this. Their new album is a welcomed, non-AI addition to Korea's already vibrant underground music scene.
Opening with a cacophonous 52-second experimental track called "Collective Monologue," the album begins with the sound of two bands wildly sound-checking at once. Atop this chaos lies a messy cake of overlapping prattle, meant to mimic the dramatic deterioration in our social discourse. I asked the band's singer, Hamin Kim (김하민), to translate the chatter. He replied, "It's not going to be that fun, but here's a few: 'why is it?', 'that is lame,' 'metric accents are different,' 'anything else to talk about?' I think the point is that it's a mass [of crosstalk and sound]."
Did the waste of words in pseudo-conversations like this—where people talk over each other without listening—inspire the band to make an album? Yes, it did. In this indifferent online world, I believe the struggle to find meaning is worth at least 1 record—maybe even ten?
With the release of Monologuing Collection, Noise Between The Lines makes its introduction as a unified group. They don’t care how you describe them. They play instruments, do live shows, and record at home together. No one person claims a leadership role. Eager to let their sound evolve through experimentation, the album proves their commitment to discovery in each successive track.
Here's What Will Happen to You...
If you listen to this album…
Neeha (니하), the bass player, says:
"It might feel noisy, dreamy, melancholic, or even nostalgic, but if you listen while reflecting on something personal, you might find yourself becoming part of the collective monologue."
Drummer JunYoung Park (박준영) says:
"You might feel a sense of fragmentation, even anger at points. But at the same time, the lyrics—maybe even philosophical in nature—could help you discover a more complete version of yourself."
My Description of Their Sound
Based on what I've seen and heard so far, NBTL writes songs that are vocally and lyrically driven, falling into the genre of alternative rock. "Noise" isn’t their genre, but they can get loud, layering blankets of experimental shoegaze guitar distortion. The lyrics explore symbiotic, opposing themes—existential detachment and disillusionment, impermanence and nothingness, the weight of words and miscommunication. Their words aren’t just about what’s happening externally—they’re about how it feels to drift through a world where nothing is solid, nothing is certain, and nothing is truly yours to hold onto. That’s the doomy part.
But they’re not nihilistic. There is hope in their message, found in their rejuvenative search for meaning—even when the hunt may never end.
"Always imagining a perfect place that exists nowhere"
(어디에도 없는 온전한 곳을 늘 상상하며), sings Hamin in “Slow Dance” (느린 춤).
As a live act, NBTL plays with singular melodic singing and intense volume crescendos. Their volume feels earned. Think The Bends-era Radiohead crossed with Mogwai. The four members—Hamin Kim (vocals/guitar), Gyurim “Qrim” Lee (guitar/arranging/mixing), Neeha (vocals/bass), and Junyoung Park (drums)—bring an interesting range of tools. Hamin, a classically trained pianist, has written most of the band’s songs so far, handles lead vocal, rhythm guitar, and keyboard duties. Qrim’s electric guitar is where the sonic experimentation feels located, vacillating between an instrumental form of lyrics and the literal embodiment of "noise" between the lines. Qrim has an inverted notion of this, thinking of his guitar as the lines, and not the noise in between.
"I think less about melody and more about filling out the sonic space [with the guitar]," says Qrim. "Since the guitar is an instrument with distinct pitch, it sometimes takes on the role of defining the lines in NBTL."
The Album’s Production Details
For those who prefer albums over singles, Monologuing Collection fulfills the promise of a deeper listening experience. The songs rely on juxtaposition for meaning, embodying multiple genres that define the band’s personality. It’s not over-produced or overly complex.
They employed a tracking method I like to call "studio drums, bedroom band," where the drums were recorded first in a studio, and the rest was tracked at home—relaxed and affordable. Qrim mixed the record.
Is There a Song That Holds the Weight of the Album?
For Neeha, it’s “느린 춤 (Slow Dance).” “I deeply love its lyrics,” she says. “It’s a song that hits me emotionally every time we play it live.”
Hamin highlights two tracks, “17시 (5 PM)” and “느린 춤 (Slow Dance).” “This album plays with textures—fractured, volatile emotions alongside lyrical, melodic moments. These two tracks, in particular, embody that tension.”
JunYoung agrees: “The two title songs of the album that carry the weight are '17시 (5 PM)' and '느린 춤 (Slow Dance).'”
Hamin’s Code
I met Hamin in 2022, before NBTL even existed. He and a friend sat down at my table at Café Unplugged while I was studying—a rare occurrence in Seoul. I noticed in his notebook some kind of numbered code. Turns out, it was his lyrics.
"Lyrics feel like overdue homework," Hamin explains. "I’m not good at them, so I cringe, erase, and start over. If I write in public, I don’t want anyone reading over my shoulder, so I use a code only I understand."
Here’s a shot of Hamin’s coded lyrics. He says one of these made it onto the album—but which one? That’s up to you to figure out.
Tagger
Neeha’s one song on the record, Tagger, gets its name from a the kids game, ‘tag’. Also, in counterpoint, “Tagger” expands the band’s range of sound. Neeha recorded this hypnotic patchwork of looped, harmonized voices and bass entirely on her own and delivered to the band. It lands with a Philip Glass, Einstein on the Beach quality—precisely the moment when I was ready for it in the sequence of songs.
Neeha explains how she was sketching around a drumbeat, adding breathy harmonized voices, using non-words, and a bass line to the rhythm. When it came to the lyrics, she hit a wall,
" When I first wrote the song, I started writing from the part where the drum rhythm comes in. There are two melodies in the bass, so I wrote that part first, added the rhythm, and then I stared at the screen blankly for a while, sighing as I wrote:
'내가 만든 말로 너는 속고 네가 만든 말로 나는 속고 우린 울고 멍들고 다치고 치료해 우리는'
'You are fooled by my words, I am fooled by yours, we cry, get bruised, get hurt, and heal, we.'
I wondered, can I put this all in the song? I decided, why not—just make it narration."
“This song is about ordinary people living together. People comfort me and hurt me, but I also comfort and hurt others. It makes me feel very helpless, but on the other hand, if I were a stone that couldn't give and receive emotion, I wouldn't be able to write songs, so I think it's fortunate that I can feel like this,” Neeha reflects.
What the Band Is Listening To
Neeha (니하): Yard Act. "I watch their live performances more than listening to recordings. Their energy is incredible, and James Smith is captivating."
Hamin (하민): Messiaen, Domenico Scarlatti, 3호선 버터플라이 (3rd Line Butterfly), 무키무키만만수 (Mukimukimanmansu), The Beatles, ゆらゆら帝国 (Yura Yura Teikoku).
Qrim (이규림): Fall Out Boy, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus.
Junyoung Park (박준영): Duke Ellington, Yuseff Dayes, Fourplay, Polyphia, Yellow Days, Coldplay, The Volunteers, CHS
Conclusion
This is my first piece for Debaser Magazine. I embedded myself with NBTL for a few days, shooting photos, video, and even playing a show with them. I invite you to listen to NBTL’s “Monologuing Collection”. I hope Debaser asks me back!