Korean music has clearly taken over internationally, with bands like BTS and films like K-pop Demon Hunters gaining immense popularity. Still, one thing to note is that wave to earth happens to be a band from Korea. People often want to put a familiar label on a face or brand, but Korean musicians aren’t a monolith of K-pop. This isn’t a slight against those talented artists, but an appreciation for the different atmospheric, intimate sound wave to earth creates.

The stage felt like a cozy, mid-century lived-in space, set with a rug, leather couch, and warm mood lighting. A live saxophonist and pianist joined three main band members for their live renditions. They kicked off the night with “sing it all again” which is the fourth track off their latest album. Compared to other shows where the opener hits you hard and fast, this dreamy track floats you into the set to come. Kim’s soft vocals, layered over guitar and percussion, swelled through Radio City Music Hall with emotion. Live renditions had jazzier notes, like in “everything comes and goes” where there was a prolonged sax solo. It felt like you accidentally walked into a small studio set where band members were riffing off one another, giving you what seemed to be a look into their creative process.

They went on to play hits like “seasons”, “bad”, and “homesick.” Fans stood and swayed in unison to the clean, reverb-drenched guitar sounds. The entire concert felt like the tracklist to your favorite rom-com closing scene – where a couple finally reunites, holding one another as the Q train carries them over the Manhattan Bridge. I often leave concerts feeling energetically drained from the NYC commute to overwhelming crowds, but I left the almost 100-year-old venue with a sense of whimsy and reset. Some nights are for moshing with blown-out eardrums, and some are for reflective moments about your existence in this world. This ordinary Tuesday night turned into an introspective one with wave to earth. If I had one critique it would be the amount of phones up in there air. The crowd was definetly younger, and I’d hoped they’d be able to live a little bit more in the moment.

Order tickets for Wave To Earth HERE

Words by Alycia Gimler