——— NOSO (US-KR)
FR/
Avec When Are You Leaving?, NoSo revient avec un deuxième album d’une rare finesse, où sa pop élégante et lumineuse contraste avec des textes profondément introspectifs. Derrière ce projet, on retrouve encore une fois Baek Hwong : si leur premier disque Stay Proud of Me explorait avec tendresse le rêve d’une transition à venir, ce nouvel opus affronte la réalité post-transition, entre victoires intimes, doutes persistants et nouvelles désillusions.
Avec une production toujours aussi maîtrisée (en grande partie assurée par NoSo lui-même), l’album oscille entre ballades indie raffinées, éclats disco mélancoliques et expérimentations électroniques, flirtant parfois avec la new wave ou la house. Entre poésie désarmante, humour discret et mélodies accrocheuses, NoSo impose une vision singulière, lucide et profondément humaine, dans la lignée de Wild Nothing, Mitski ou TV on the Radio.
EN/
When Are You Leaving?, singer/songwriter/producer Baek Hwong’s second LP as NoSo, finds Hwong trading fantasy for reality. Previously, Hwong (they/he) sang about longing for “straight hips” and “simple limbs” in advance of their transition. Their debut Stay Proud of Me was an album-length daydream about what it would be like to fully embrace their transmasc identity, written mostly under quarantine restrictions. They released that record in 2022 to critical acclaim, with praise from NPR’s All Songs Considered, Paste, The Guardian, Notion, a performance at Tiny Desk and much more.
But it’s one thing to wistfully yearn for transition, and another to actually do it. So what happens after? What happens when you get what you've always wanted, and it comes with a new set of problems? Even if you do everything in your power to feel more comfortable in your skin, it’s hard to tell who sees you and who doesn’t. When Are You Leaving? tenderly but directly explores the internal effects of those relationships with a witty, mature lens. The aching from their past work has itself moved into something more thoughtful and measured, showing a more fully-formed, complex Hwong in the process.
Originating from Chicago before studying guitar and songwriting at the Thornton School of Music, and now based in Los Angeles, NoSo’s music deals with the alienation that comes at the intersection of his different identities. The stage name of NoSo itself comes from a question he’d get growing up in a largely white neighborhood (“North or South Korean?”) While he became known in LA for his talent with guitar, he ultimately decided to pursue writing his own deeply personal music.
He clarifies about the album: “While it’s intense in terms of lyrical content at times, it’s still triumphant, but in a more grounded and realistic way.” The joy doesn’t come from daydreaming, but from tangible, smaller victories like leaving toxic relationships and painful situations. That title, When Are You Leaving? comes from the mental fortitude required to deal with or exit those dynamics altogether. The music gives those small successes the scale they deserve.
As with Stay Proud Of Me, Hwong largely self-produces, increasingly comfortable with expanding the scope of his music. All the instruments were recorded remotely, but the cumulative effect is far from Hwong’s bedroom pop roots. The album shows Hwong’s diverse taste; “Dad Made Toast!” is an explosive experimental house-influenced track, while the piano-led opener “A Believable Boy” is quietly stunning. On “Sugar”, a co-production with Jack Tatum of indie project Wild Nothing, Hwong’s lush harmonies soar above a smooth disco groove.
When Are You Leaving? finds Hwong coming into his own as a master songwriter. Themes of mental illness, platonic heartbreak, interpersonal + professional power dynamics are brought to life with vivid and specific imagery. On “You’re No Man” he’s in bed with a woman, but isn’t seen as himself; on “Nara”, he’s seen as himself, but doesn’t feel loved. That’s until the partner on “But You Want Him”, beneath the saxophone and gated drums, confirms his worst fears: “I’m reminded of/How you missed white men/So simple and tame/Eyes dilating.” Few songwriters are articulating such experiences as precisely as Hwong is.
The polished sound and the thornier lyrics don’t exist in opposition, instead complementing each other and creating a fuller picture of who Hwong is. The acoustic “Who Made You This Sweet” gently glides, interweaving countermelodies as Hwong playfully describes trying on masculinity. At the core of the album is a longing to feel understood; the seeming contradictions aren’t really contradictions at all, just different parts of a complete human being. That knack for nuance makes When Are You Leaving? a unique achievement – and all the better, you can dance to it.
——— INFOS
• Tickets on sale 21/05 - 10:00
• Rotonde (Botanique) / Doors 19:30
• Bota'Carte 15,5€ (
https://bit.ly/Bota_Carte)
• Ticket 18,5€
• At the door 21,5€
(costs included)
——— TICKETS
FR:
https://botanique.be/fr/concert/noso-2026
NL:
https://botanique.be/nl/concert/noso-2026
EN:
https://botanique.be/en/concert/noso-2026
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