<NOW>

SE SO NEON went through a few different incarnations in its initial decade as a Korean indie rock band, but its center held steady: vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter Hwang So-yoon. For SE SO NEON’s first studio album, and first album release since 2020 EP *Nonadaptation*, Hwang was the band’s solitary member. As a soloist operating under the name So!YoON!, Hwang has collaborated with some of K-pop’s biggest idols (RM for 2023’s “Smoke Sprite,” HOSHI and WOOZI for 2025’s “PINOCCHIO”) and some of the world’s most respected musicians (Ryuichi Sakamoto, John Cale). As the central figure in SE SO NEON, she grounds the group’s musical legacy with a unique combination of androgynous vocals, sincere lyricism, trend-agnostic composition, and electrifying guitar skills. *NOW*, which comes almost a decade after Hwang formed the band, is hyper-aware of its specific moment in time, even while including previously released tracks like 2021’s “Jayu” and 2023’s “Kidd.” Lo-fi rock track “Remember!,” inspired by the loss of Japanese composer Sakamoto, Hwang’s friend and mentor, is an invocation to hold on to the present without letting go of the past, while album opener “Twit Winter” has the Soyoon of today calling out to the Soyoon of tomorrow: “Me and you against time, how has it changed us, are we fine?” The theme is grounded by a romantic-grunge title track that aims for “infinite tenderness” in its slow-burn, introspective ambition.