South Korean indie band Say Sue Me delightfully emerged on a 2017 self-titled debut that culled from classic 90s indie, shoegaze, and surf rock vibes. Led by singer-guitarist Sumi Choi, the quartet were SXSW darlings and it was nothing short of joyful to see a South Korean band who was not only inspired by classic indie but were so damn good at making it themselves.
Today, Say Sue Me have announced the new album, The Last Thing Left, due out on May 13th. As the follow-up to 2018’s Where We Were Together, the new album seeks to pick up the pieces of the grief that set in four years ago when drummer Semin Kang was dealing with a terminal illness. Kang passed away in 2019 and The Last Thing Left tackles love and hope amid the loss of a dear friend that the Busan-based band experienced. “This album has the theme of some realization, eventually the realization of love,” Choi says. “Love in relationships, love for oneself, and the ultimate love gained after realizing those two things.”
Lead single “Around You” has a riff that’s as cute as Choi’s lyrics. “I’ll be better when I’m around you,” she sings, in the upbeat tune. The band wrote this song at the beginning of the pandemic when they self-produced the album in their Busan studio. Choi says it was written “in a world where it became difficult to go outside and meet people freely. I felt like time is totally mine, but I still don’t know how to control it. My thoughts linger and dwell within me and my youth is slipping away. Perhaps when I go outside something is waiting for me that makes me think better than this!”
“Around You” is sure to boost your spirits and you can watch the video for it above.
The Last Thing Left is due out on 05/13 via Damnably. Pre-order it here.
