This ain’t the first time that you’ve seen the name Weird Korea. I may have posted about them once, or twice. Weird Korea consists of Nicholas Shapiro, Matthew Palmer and Nick Corbo. They’re all friends who met while attending SUNY Purchase (they’re still students there!). They each shared a love for punk, psych, and motown music, and wanted to find a way to combine them all into one sweet sound. The result was Weird Korea.
They officially formed in spring 2009, playing Velvet Underground covers at their first gig ever, which was at an art gallery. They have already recorded an EP, which is called No Art / No Trade. It’s an incredible 26 minutes of garage/punk rock that is far from amateur. It features dirty jams that demonstrate that these three students are serious players. It’s raw and edgy, yet, there is a strong sense of melody and rhythm that is well established by the end of each song. They also write mean fucking tunes.
There live shows have a strong reputation over at Purchase. When Titus Andronicus came to play at Purchase this spring, they asked Weird Korea to open for them. The guys also played with Turbo Fruits and Surfer Blood when they stopped by Purchase. Impressed yet?
This surely isn’t gonna be the last time that you will see the name Weird Korea. Big things are in-store for these guys. You can download the entire No Art / No Trade EP right here.
If you still need motivation, I posted two tight cuts from the EP to give you a taste. Check out “Nebuchadnezzar II” which should be the summer party anthem of 2010. Then move onto the stunning 8 minute gem “Dagger”. It features riffs that sound like a tribute to the Is This It days of The Strokes. The song builds and builds upon itself, creating 8 minutes of near perfection. If the last 2 minute of this songs don’t blow you away, you betta’ get your ears checked!
[mp3]: Weird Korea – Nebuchadnezzar II
[mp3]: Weird Korea – Dagger
The band will be touring NY this summer. Check out their dates over at their myspace. Nick has told me there is a chance they will be playing in Brooklyn in early August. I’ll keep you folks updated on that.
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